11.2 and iPhone 8 Plus camera focus issue

[madmin]

^ Don't listen to this. This is not a thing. It's iOS 11.2 and has nothing to do with a case. I don't have a case and have autofocus not working on objects over a foot away in all settings/light/etc.

It sounds like there are different but similar problems happening here, which probably isn't helping us to get a fix from Apple. I and some other posters have reported this being related to case magnets. Yours is probably caused by something else but that doesn't mean it's the case for everyone.

Who knows, maybe you just have a magnetic personality

Keep hitting Apple with this issue.

Probably safer than the youtube clip about hitting your iPhone to fix this

 

[markp-a]

What is the best way to make apple aware?

 

[iLoveMyApple]

I downgraded to 11.1.2 last night and my camera is back to normal and focusing correctly. It’s definitely and 11.2 issue.

 

[hmmwhat]

So, I also downgraded to 11.1.2 and, like magic, my camera was back to normal. This is on an iPhone X.

I'm uploading three photos ordered chronologicaly from left to right. All photos are taken from the same point and zoomed in to show the detail, which is where the focus issues are most apparent for me.

• I took the first one (11.1) about a week ago, this is the control photo.
• The second (11.2) is from yesterday afternoon. Taken from the exact same distance, there was no way for me to focus any better than this. Even using 3rd party apps*.
• The third photo (11.1.2) is from this morning immediately after I restored my phone using the old firmware.
• The fourth photo (11.2 #2) is from right now. Seeing that 11.1.2 fixed the issue, I was curious if I updated whether the problem would re-arise. There was a noticeable loss of detail, although it does seem like a better photo than the second one (11.2). Not sure what to make of this. Still obviously not as crisp as wither 11.1.x photos.

These photos perfectly illustrate the issues I've experienced. Something about the 11.2 update has dramatically altered the camera. I was able to compare my phone to a friend's iPhone X last night and, even though he was also on 11.2, he did not have any problems with the camera. So this problem does not appear to be universal. The issue seems to be limited to the wide angle lens. Using portrait mode fixes the problem because portrait mode uses the tele lens. Macro shots are unaffected, so the problem lies in the ability to focus at infinity. Something is holding the lens back.

I'm not sure what else to do at this point. One one hand, I'm glad that I have evidence that this issue is 100% software-based, but on the other it's frustrating to know that my phone is crippled until Apple acknowledges and fixes the issue. I can't afford to stick around on the 11.1.2 firmware until a fix is made, so I will just stay on the flawed 11.2 and hope for the best.

Until then, macro telephoto photos only, I guess.

*3rd party camera app permissions were my first suspect, so those were all denied permission/deleted when I first began to troubleshoot to no avail.

 

[madmin]

@hmmwhat

Good info, thanks for sharing. It's certainly frustrating and needs fixing. Hopefully more people will come forward soon and help raise the profile.

 

[Gamblor420]

I too am having this issue. Iphone X on 11.2, updated on Monday and immediately noticed that my camera is no longer focusing correctly. I do not have a magnetic case and the issue persists regardless of it being in the case or not.
I'm currently in the process of downgrading back to 11.1.2. Apple needs to fix this bullS**t ASAP

 

[metsjetsfan]

I too am having this issue. Iphone X on 11.2, updated on Monday and immediately noticed that my camera is no longer focusing correctly. I do not have a magnetic case and the issue persists regardless of it being in the case or not.
I'm currently in the process of downgrading back to 11.1.2. Apple needs to fix this bullS**t ASAP

Do third party apps work for you

 

[Wheresjerry]

I tested some things that people mentionned in this thread and it really seems that the issue is with the magnets used behind cases, the camera out of the case is working as it should but as soon as I approach it near the camera cutout where the magnet are suppose to be, the camera is acting up like when it's in the case. When I put it on the other side of the cutout it works flawlessly. Something was changed in the behavior of the camera software wise because it wasn't doing this with earlier versionS of iOS 11.

Exactly

 

[Gamblor420]

Do third party apps work for you

Nope
[doublepost=1512698264][/doublepost]Just finished downgrading back to 11.1.2 and now the camera is working beautifully. Guess I’m stuck with this version until Apple fixes the problem

 

[nowhoney]

Has anyone experienced this with an iPhone 7? I woke up Wednesday morning to have my phone no longer be able to focus.

The focus appears to be locked to close-range - anything at distance is massively blurred.

I spoke with Apple support (which is still ongoing) and they think it sounds like a software issue. All of you guys’ findings seem to support this claim.

 

[MikeSny]

I am having this issue on an iPhone 6sPlus with IOS 11.2. Seems to be related to the IOS version. Case on and off does not matter. Using Apple silicone case.

 

[madmin]

These new reports coming from owners of previous models are very interesting. Contrary to initial impressions, it now seems to have nothing to do with wireless charging models. How many more people need to come forward before we get a fix or see some front page articles ? Has the tech press decided that Apple's had enough bad publicity for one holiday season

 

[appleino]

Apple needs to come up with a fix asap, the media has reported about this embarrassing issue during the last 24 hours but their journalists didn't properly research it and suggest taking off a case to fix it...

A few links of large media sites in Germany reporting about it:

https://www.macwelt.de/a/iphone-x-ab-ios-11-2-manche-huellen-verursachen-unscharfe-fotos,3438146
https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/webw...iOS-Update-unscharf-Hier-ist-die-Loesung.html
https://www.pcwelt.de/a/iphone-x-ab-ios-11-2-manche-huellen-verursachen-unscharfe-fotos,3438146

 

[Mr. Bulb]

Another website highlighting this issue. Come on Apple, why aren’t they taking note!

https://appletoolbox.com/2017/12/iphone-issues-ios-11-2-update-accessory-use/

 

[Domadia_Jasmine]

I don’t understand, iPhone hardware is same, software also same, why some people have this problem & some don’t have at all.

 

[MikeSny]

Update....Chatting with support to report the bug and also submitted bug report on their website.

What is the best way to make apple aware?

I have been chatting with Apple this morning and they are going to get this to the engineers. they too believe it is an ios issue and not hardware. I have also submitted feedback bug report on their website
[doublepost=1512742534][/doublepost]

I don’t understand, iPhone hardware is same, software also same, why some people have this problem & some don’t have at all.

Not sure myself. I checked with someone on 8 Plus and IOS 11.2 with no issue.

 

[markp-a]

I don’t understand, iPhone hardware is same, software also same, why some people have this problem & some don’t have at all.

That’s what takes time so random they have to figure out what is causing it.

That’s what happened with their music app back on iOS 9.x did it on some and not others.

This fix will be a while. (My guess)

 

[MikeSny]

update....I have an appointment with a senior adviser to gather information over the phone and live tests tonight that will be submitted to the engineers who will then get back to me with more information.

 

[appleino]

I went through the same with Apple last weekend. It started with a standard advisor who asked the most stupid questions ("Have you tried to switch your phone off and on again?" - probably meant for people with zero IT knowledge...). When he couldn't help further, he escalated it to the "most senior advisor" in the support team. He did some live tests as well, couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and finally gave up as well. They suggested to visit an Apple store - I was laughing my ass off. Traveling to an Apple store takes me an hour, sitting there with a "genius" will take another 1-2 hours and getting back another hour. All in all I would spend around 4 hours of my time plus travel costs while knowing already that the "genius" is probably even less clueless than the guy I chatted with the other day. This is clearly a software issue and I have a hard time believing that the Apple support staff will magically be able to re-code iOS 11.2 while I'm waiting.

 

[MikeSny]

I went through the same with Apple last weekend. It started with a standard advisor who asked the most stupid questions ("Have you tried to switch your phone off and on again?" - probably meant for people with zero IT knowledge...). When he couldn't help further, he escalated it to the "most senior advisor" in the support team. He did some live tests as well, couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and finally gave up as well. They suggested to visit an Apple store - I was laughing my ass off. Traveling to an Apple store takes me an hour, sitting there with a "genius" will take another 1-2 hours and getting back another hour. All in all I would spend around 4 hours of my time plus travel costs while knowing already that the "genius" is probably even less clueless than the guy I chatted with the other day. This is clearly a software issue and I have a hard time believing that the Apple support staff will magically be able to re-code iOS 11.2 while I'm waiting.

Have you heard of a beta 11.2.1? I have a big trip coming up around new years and would like to have this working by then. My next idea would be to save all data on phone and revert ios but I have never had a reason to do so, so I am unfamiliar with that process. I have iMac and Windows.

 

[appleino]

Have you heard of a beta 11.2.1? I have a big trip coming up around new years and would like to have this working by then. My next idea would be to save all data on phone and revert ios but I have never had a reason to do so, so I am unfamiliar with that process. I have iMac and Windows.

I haven't heard of a beta, I'm afraid, but I need to get the camera working much earlier than New Year. I've paid over 1.1k GBP for the X that is now crippled and forces me to take a separate camera with me at all times (it sounds even more ridiculous when I write it down).

If you save your data on iCloud or via iTunes on your Mac or Windows computer, you will only have a backup of the current iOS version you are on. I had to learn it the hard way myself - I made a backup before upgrading to 11.2 and restored from that backup after the upgrade. Later on when I noticed the issues with 11.2 I downgraded to 11.1.2 and wanted to restore from my former 11.1.2 backup but iTunes didn't show this older backup anymore. What it did was overwriting the backup with the 11.2 data immediately after I had upgraded which made it impossible to get my data back onto my phone on a lower firmware. The only "solution" was to upgrade again to 11.2, restore from the backup and crippling my camera again.

That's the current status quo, the only thing I can do now is sit and wait until Apple releases a fix (or go back to 11.1.2 and loose all my data).

If you want to save a backup permanently, you need to archive it in iTunes' preferences (another ridiculous way to hide this option, why can't you do that directly in iTunes frontend?). Unfortunately, I only learned about that when it was already too late for me.

 

[madmin]

There isn't an iOS developer or public beta above 11.2 for the moment, according to Apple's developer site. Hopefully won't be long ...

 

[MikeSny]

I haven't heard of a beta, I'm afraid, but I need to get the camera working much earlier than New Year. I've paid over 1.1k GBP for the X that is now crippled and forces me to take a separate camera with me at all times (it sounds even more ridiculous when I write it down).

If you save your data on iCloud or via iTunes on your Mac or Windows computer, you will only have a backup of the current iOS version you are on. I had to learn it the hard way myself - I made a backup before upgrading to 11.2 and restored from that backup after the upgrade. Later on when I noticed the issues with 11.2 I downgraded to 11.1.2 and wanted to restore from my former 11.1.2 backup but iTunes didn't show this older backup anymore. What it did was overwriting the backup with the 11.2 data immediately after I had upgraded which made it impossible to get my data back onto my phone on a lower firmware. The only "solution" was to upgrade again to 11.2, restore from the backup and crippling my camera again.

That's the current status quo, the only thing I can do now is sit and wait until Apple releases a fix (or go back to 11.1.2 and loose all my data).

If you want to save a backup permanently, you need to archive it in iTunes' preferences (another ridiculous way to hide this option, why can't you do that directly in iTunes frontend?). Unfortunately, I only learned about that when it was already too late for me.

Does the iPhone backup

There isn't an iOS developer or public beta above 11.2 for the moment, according to Apple's developer site. Hopefully won't be long ...

I hope so...not a good time of year to have camera issues.

 

[metsjetsfan]

I went through the same with Apple last weekend. It started with a standard advisor who asked the most stupid questions ("Have you tried to switch your phone off and on again?" - probably meant for people with zero IT knowledge...). When he couldn't help further, he escalated it to the "most senior advisor" in the support team. He did some live tests as well, couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and finally gave up as well. They suggested to visit an Apple store - I was laughing my ass off. Traveling to an Apple store takes me an hour, sitting there with a "genius" will take another 1-2 hours and getting back another hour. All in all I would spend around 4 hours of my time plus travel costs while knowing already that the "genius" is probably even less clueless than the guy I chatted with the other day. This is clearly a software issue and I have a hard time believing that the Apple support staff will magically be able to re-code iOS 11.2 while I'm waiting.

I feel like apple doesnt even view this as a bug. Maybe they will call it a feature. Ok kidding aside

I think there are still many people who havent updated to 11.2 yet and some still on ios10 which didnt have Dec 2 date issue. As more updates hopefully apple fixes it. Otherwise we wait until iOS12. There was a refocus issue with ios10 they never fixed. Also beleive or not many people dont use their cameras or may not even notice this. Hopeful they rollout update next tuesday but wouldnt be surprised if we are stuck.
[doublepost=1512749101][/doublepost]

Hello there, was wondering if anyone have this issue too, when on iOS 11.2 the camera isnt able to get in focus, the lense just go back and forth indefinetly. Restored back to 11.1.2 and the issue is gone, updated back as new iPhone on 11.2 issue is there. So this looks like a software problem. Anybody with the same problem?

I think this needs to be updated to not just the 8plus now

 

[MikeSny]

Does the iPhone backup


I hope so...not a good time of year to have camera issues.

I heard there may be an update released some time next week for a Homekit issue. doesn't seem likely it will fix this issue from what I have found.
[doublepost=1512753860][/doublepost]

I feel like apple doesnt even view this as a bug. Maybe they will call it a feature. Ok kidding aside

I think there are still many people who havent updated to 11.2 yet and some still on ios10 which didnt have Dec 2 date issue. As more updates hopefully apple fixes it. Otherwise we wait until iOS12. There was a refocus issue with ios10 they never fixed. Also beleive or not many people dont use their cameras or may not even notice this. Hopeful they rollout update next tuesday but wouldnt be surprised if we are stuck.
[doublepost=1512749101][/doublepost]
I think this needs to be updated to not just the 8plus now

I heard there may be an update released some time next week for a Homekit issue. doesn't seem likely it will fix this issue from what I have found.