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iPhone X camera can't focus anymore after update to 11.2

A

appleino

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 3, 2017
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Since updating to 11.2, the camera of my iPhone X has a huge issue focussing. Focus on the wide angle lens only seems to work for object close to the lens but as soon as I try to focus on something that is 1-2m or further away, the images are completely out of focus. It won't work with the stock camera app and also fails with third party apps.

Anyone with the same issues?
 
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My wife ran into this same issue.. hers will work if using the 2x zoom but not 1x.

She didnt notice it right away after 11.2 and mine with 11.2 hasnt done it yet.
 
Thanks, has your wife found a way to fix the problem yet?

I spent two hours with Apple yesterday trying to find a solution but nothing has worked so far:

- they had me quit the app and relaunch it (had done that before, of course)
- they had me do a hard reset (had done that before as well)
- they had me remove my original Apple Leather case (didn't work)
- they remote-connected to my phone and downloaded error reports but couldn't find anything
- they had me restore the phone in recovery mode; iTunes only offered "cancel, restore and update" even though my phone was already on 11.2; they suggested to select "update" but this also didn't work

The case had escalated a few times during our conversation but even the "most experienced senior engineer" couldn't find a solution.

My camera is completely unusable now and they suggested to visit an Apple store. I guess hanging out there for 1-2 hours with the guys doing exactly the same again will still not fix the problem.

How did you and your wife update to 11.2? I had updated over the air on my phone.
 
We both did ours over the air. Hers still has the issue. Mine hasn’t yet.

We tried an Apple store but no luck due to them being busy.

She posted to Twitter and Apple has asked her for more info.
 
I have a similar problem, it only seldom happens and I can fix it by rebooting the phone.
Sometimes I see out of focus images, sometimes just black. I have an 8+ so not the same phone but I have two lens as well
 
There are other threads about this, more on the iP8 side though.

I wonder why this isn't already on the front page ?

Come on MacRumours we may need publicity to get this fix speeded up !

Btw, I tested this on my iP8+ with a bunch of Camera apps I have installed and they all suffer the same issue.
 
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madmin said:
There are other threads about this, more on the iP8 side though.

I wonder why this isn't already on the front page ?

Come on MacRumours we may need publicity to get this fix speeded up !

Btw, I tested this on my iP8+ with a bunch of Camera apps I have installed and they all suffer the same issue.
Click to expand...
Yeah none of the apple news outlets have picked this up yet. Seems like apple cash is the priority at this point. Also it could be a very small # of users affected. Just hoping for fix by end of next week
 
No prob here, iP(X)+11.2
Maybe a side effect of some app that had access to camera and left in an unusable state?
 
Thanks, I had thought the same regarding a camera app but I even restored, set up the phone as new and copied over my backup but the problem is still there. I had deleted the only third party camera app I have and also had checked that no other app has access to the camera before I tried it but it still can't focus... I've seen that suddenly many more people have the same problem either on their IP8+ or X, so it must be a software problem, in my opinion.
 
So, with all the threads here during all the betas, there were definitely people running iOS 11.2 betas on their Xs and 8s/8+s, did anyone experience this prior to the final release (I mean even beta 6 was the same as final)?
 
Got the issue on my iPhone 8+ restored back to 11.1.2 to be able to use my camera. Apple need to fix this!!
 
lascott said:
So on my wife’s it cleared up today and works just fine now...... strange
Click to expand...

Now this is strange indeed! Did she do anything that could be connected to this sudden turn of events? Like installing or deinstalling an app? Or taking her phone out of her case if she has one?
 
Nope, we originally tried a hard reset, removing the case (apple leather case) and had no luck. no app updates either as we are on vacation and didnt really want to risk updating apps.
 
appleino said:
Since updating to 11.2, the camera of my iPhone X has a huge issue focussing. Focus on the wide angle lens only seems to work for object close to the lens but as soon as I try to focus on something that is 1-2m or further away, the images are completely out of focus. It won't work with the stock camera app and also fails with third party apps.

Anyone with the same issues?
Click to expand...
I discovered the focus problem on my iPhone 8 plus, immediately after updating to 11.2. It seems to be confined to the built-in camera app. Normal view photos and videos are fine, but the camera will not focus if you zoom or just use the 2x button. Interestingly, if you choose 2x for photos, things are blurry, but if you tap Portrait mode, the app focuses instantly. It's a temporary workaround for photos only. Apple support worked with me for quite some time (working through 2 people and finally to engineering). They ran remote diagnostics on the iPhone, had me video what happens, gathered a whole bunch of data, and it is now in the hands of the software engineering team. I'm supposed to talk again tomorrow. Definitely seems to be a software issue. One site posted instructions for downgrading to 11.1.2 https://www.gottabemobile.com/how-to-downgrade-ios-11/
[doublepost=1512485399][/doublepost]
appleino said:
Since updating to 11.2, the camera of my iPhone X has a huge issue focussing. Focus on the wide angle lens only seems to work for object close to the lens but as soon as I try to focus on something that is 1-2m or further away, the images are completely out of focus. It won't work with the stock camera app and also fails with third party apps.

Anyone with the same issues?
Click to expand...
I discovered the focus problem on my iPhone 8 plus, immediately after updating to 11.2. It seems to be confined to the built-in camera app. Normal view photos and videos are fine, but the camera will not focus if you zoom or just use the 2x button. Interestingly, if you choose 2x for photos, things are blurry, but if you tap Portrait mode, the app focuses instantly. It's a temporary workaround for photos only. Apple support worked with me for quite some time (working through 2 people and finally to engineering). They ran remote diagnostics on the iPhone, had me video what happens, gathered a whole bunch of data, and it is now in the hands of the software engineering team. I'm supposed to talk again tomorrow. Definitely seems to be a software issue. My 3rd party apps appear to be working fine (although I haven't confirmed if they are actually using the telephoto lens, which is the problem "eye"). One site posted instructions for downgrading to 11.1.2 https://www.gottabemobile.com/how-to-downgrade-ios-11/
 
No issues here on my X.

My laptop case at about 15cm wide angle lens.

aa7fbafa0af118e62eeaa600f6504fee.jpg


Telephoto lens selected.

05ffc46b95acf4c32999f943a7093042.jpg
 
0014 said:
No issues here on my X.

My laptop case at about 15cm wide angle lens Telephoto lens selected.
Click to expand...

Nice, but if you want to play with iOS 11.2 wild-pitch autofocus (aka blurry photo mess) get your hands on an iPhone X case with magnets in it. Otherwise you'll probably get sharp pictures every time ;)
 
I have no focus issues - my phone X is great. Of course I don't have a case with magnets that I would assume could cause other problems also
 
A case doesn't make any difference for me - if I put the phone inside the Apple leather case or take it out, the result is still the same. The camera simply can't focus anymore after updating to 11.2 rendering the phone pretty much useless for me since I take photos each and every day, usually. I now take a pocketable camera with me everywhere I go...
 
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I have the "Dallas" folio case by Kavaj that has a magnetic portion for the front. Prior to the 11.2 update I would have focus issues at close range, post 11.2 update it is unable to focus at any distance or zoom. Kinda frustrating since the magnet on the folio doesn't really seem necessary.

I'm hesitant to use any case with a magnet for fear damaging the camera motor, but maybe a software fix is coming. Has anyone had any luck de-magnetizing the case, or do they use neodymium magnets?
 
No problems what so ever here, iPhone 8 Plus. Both lenses working fine in the inbuilt camera app and third party apps! Over the air update performed yesterday.
 
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