Chosen Solution
Hi there, I am hoping someone can help me out with an issue i have encountered about 3 times in the last 10 screen changes. All goes well and i reassemble the new digitizer/lcd etc and all is flush. When i test the camera it functions normally , that is the rear camera takes pictures and video no problems, But.. the minute i touch the switch camera icon, top right, so that the front facing camera is in use it freezes the camera and the only way out of this is to go to settings/general/reset all settings. I do not believe i have damged the front camera during installation, as i say, i have done quite a few by now, so what else could be causing this? What does the little spring do next to the rear camera? is the camera shield plate that sticks to the back of the digitizer really neccessary? does it creat a circuit somehow? Hope someone can help or at least test this after an install to see if they come across the same issue. I should add, I make sure that i reinstall everything exactly the same as it was. The only thing i normally leave off is the copper binding around the digitizer connector (but i tested that as well without success) Thanks David Update Well, Since i posted this first message I have not had any more with this issue. The solution seems to be changing the cameras where need be. My idea of the cuase is that during the installation process, the on/off button is getting pressed and switching the unit on. Obviously you won’t see this as the screen is off so you wouldn’t know it. If this is the case then connecting the new lcd in this state may be frying the camera or it could even be a result of shorting the back plate of the camera against something live. Anyway, thats the only thing i can think of as like everyone else, i ame xtremely careful when prying up the board to remove the digitizer clip.
@dh721 above asked about the solution at this link: http://www.gsmindia.in/forum/apple-iphon… I had an iPhone 4 (Model A1332) that I did a screen swap on and when I tried to switch to the front camera it would freeze on the shutter. I tried the reset solution – nothing! I bought a $0.99 camera application and the App would freeze when I tried to switch to the front camera (i.e., it was a hardware issue not a software issue). I went to the above link and then cracked open an iPhone 4 with a working camera and the iPhone 4 with the bad front camera. The pics are below – clearly there was a small jumper that snapped off. It seems that snapping this off is at greatest risk when the Headphone jack/volume button cable connector is pried off – you can even see the jumper in the iPhone 4 iFixIt Guide just above the connector (yellow box). It is next to impossible to try to drop a little solder across these two points. This is what they recommend on the above website Caig CW100P Circuit Writer Conductive Ink Pen Caig also makes a sealer: Caig CircuitSealer Conformal Coating Pen, 100%, acrylic-based I have ordered this Circuit Writer Pen … will update this post to see if I can fix it!
I imagine that if you were to magnify the board where the jumper ripped off you would see craters with the leads to the jumper (i.e., not visible to the naked eye). Therefore, I would guess that all you would have to do is put the CAIG Jumper Juice on there and it will seep into said craters and enable the required connection. There’s no reason to think it wouldn’t work!
hi,if your back or front cam not installed and conneccted good way your cams wont work good.recheck your cams if they r connected good..
I’ve just done a complete swap of the innards of my iPod Touch as both the lcd and rear case were damaged (I bought it like this with the intention of repairing it). Everything was working well on it, however when I turned it on for the first time only the front camera was working. Pressing the camera swap button on the top right caused the software to lock up, however neither are working now even though I have not done anything to it. I’ll try the reset feature as suggested above and see if that helps.
I have been replacing iPod Touch 4th gen digitizers for a while now. and yes, i have run into the same issue in that about 3 out of 10 of the cameras don’t work. I haven’t found a way to fix the camera issue but have found a way to avoid it. Instead of disconnecting the camera plugs, pop off the metal plate that holds the back camera and pry it out of place, and unscrew the front camera and pop that out of place. So far, all cameras on the last 4 I have worked on do work.
Well, for one thing China has shut down their factories for the Year of The Dragon Holiday. Right now, companies that may be low on stock are selling a lot of after market parts – this means a high amount of defective parts flooding the U.S. So, buying 5 cameras and only 1 working isn’t a surprise. On another note, check the flex cables connector and the receiving connector on the board and see if you spot any pins broke or bent. Disconnecting and reconnecting these connectors will loosen and can easily lead to one breaking which can easily be overlooked. I’ve also seen cases where connecting a new camera, while the iPod is powered up, can cause an electrical arc which will short/burn out the camera.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have an anti-static work mat when working with iPods/iPhones, etc. I’ve been repairing systems, networking, etc since 1988 or so and never really had to have a mat. When I started working on iPods in 7/2011, I had a few that when squirrel’y especially when I would swap everything over to to a new case / backplate, simply for no reason. I spent about $20 on some large anti-static mats and haven’t had any issues (especially weird issues like after replacing the LCD the logic board overheats for no reason, etc). I’ve seen tons of posts related to little ‘weird’ things going on after a simple repair, thought I would toss this out here.
I had the same problem and am not sure if it is the screens or what? When I try and use the front camera it locks up the camera program. I can tell you if you go to settings then General then to bottom of screen hit Reset then hit Reset all. It will ask for confirmation hit yes. This unlocks the camera and the back camera works but the front locks it up again when I try and switch to it, then I have to reset it again. I replaced the cameras tried the screens on different phones and still same problem. Note this will only change your settings like background, ringtone etc. Not your data. easier then a restore, which did not work.
This appears to be an issue with the actual motherboard (in my experience). I have no idea what could be done to the motherboard to make this, but I have the exact same issues as you do. I have seen this on several at&t iphone 4’s during screen swaps, and I have no idea why. I have tested the motherboards in different iphone 4’s and swapped different motherboards into the culprit iphone 4’s. Regardless of how it is swapped, the motherboards with the issues always have camera issues, and the ones without the issues, never have the issues. Therefore : it is not strictly a “phone body” (cameras, screen, case, battery, speakers, etc) issue. I am hoping it is a software issue of some type, as I have seen this on all too many iphones recently, (although not many before). I have tried all of the normal restore, dfu restore, hard reset, methods, to no success (although they pretty much all make it so the back camera works again). Please update or contact me at rwall002@gmail.com with the subject “iphone front camera problem”. I have many iphones that I can use to help diagnose this problem, all disassembled and ready for testing, but I simply cannot find any new tricks to do.
I have the same issue on an ipod touch, I think it is from using metal tools to pry the connections off. I got a faint burning smell when I was replacing lcd. The back camera worked but when opened facetime it locked up camera and reset hasn’t fixed it either. I’ll be using strictly plastic tools from now on.
I was replacing my girlfriends digitizer. Went testing before I completely sealed the ipod, everthing worked fine, including the front cam. When I put it back together, I sat it down and left it alone for about 4 days. Then when the day I was going to give it back to her, the front cam stopped working. She said that it has happened twice before and eventually works itself out. So hopefully it will do it this time as well.
I replaced a screen recently and found that both cameras werent working…odd thing though if you download a mirror app the front camera will come on and show imaged…but still will not take photos…
Having mended many iphone 4 phones I have never had this problem until I had a problem with my own unit. Like you I’m very careful with how I fix things and followed the normal procedure. When everything was back together the camera worked fine until I put it on to front facing which jams the camera front and back (unless you use the message camera) this is how I take pictures at the moment. I then ordered a NEW front and rear camera and replaced these and still have the same problem. If I reset the phone General> reset< reset ALL settings then when it has finished the camera works again UNTIL I press front facing camera then it goes off again and you can see the camera/video button flicker. So its not software and its not hardware. I would say a break in the soilder on the board is the only other answer to this issue.
I had an ipod touch 4th gen - did an lcd replacement and rear cam didnt work. Same issue, just froze up when cam app opened. Took apart ipod again and when i got to the rear cam i saw that it was not completely connected. Snapped a new one in place with the power OFF. Put back together and all was well. I dont know if the old cam would have worked and dont really care - its fixed. Hope this helps someone. Joe
Had the blank (white) screen problem first then the camera(s) issue. Blank screen fix is hold Power, Up Volume and square button at same time til Apple appears then restart. I hadn’t removed the cameras during screen repair, so I went back to check all connections as it sounded like a hardware problem for sure. Found the front side camera plug loose on back of mother board; made sure the “little” spring was not bent and also found the new screen did not have the metal plate glued to it like the original. The spring makes contact with this metal tab which also grounds to the copper foil which wraps the digitizer plug. Used strips of carpet tape (cheap and very sticky) to put all back together; both cameras working. Hope this helps.
Please check to verify that you have not disconnected the connecter from the front camera (to the right of the camera - connects underneath the circuit board). When I lifted the circuit board to replace my screen/digitizer the connector conpleted dis-engaged and I has to snap it back in place and I need to be carefull to to overstress it.
Make sure you lift the cameras up out of their wells after removing their screws and before lifting board up this will keep cameras from popping off the connectors.I repair 15 or more a week and never have a camera problem.
it’s cause during the front panel replacement process,you have probably hit a little fuse on the board!!i had the same issue on 2 iphone4 and finnally resolve the probleme by bypassing the fuse….u have to find the right place where the fuse was placed before and soldering between the 2 spots
This is my first time here and i apreciat your info.. By the way I could tell you some of me Experience, Since I’m practicly new at This Ipod dismanteling I can give some of input might help some too.. Well got 32g ipod 4g for a $100.00 bucks, screen busted, bought a screen on Ebay A piece sh*% they sent me, had to pop it out again and it stopped working, anyway It looked cheap, compared to the one I bought next.. The next I bought looked better cuality in construction.. So I put that 1 on put it together and and the cams don’t work.. same story , took it apart checked the cams and exactly the badly seated plugs,( thanks to the info here).. Second I wanted to say that there’s a tiny spring, it didn’t have it.. The metal plate on the screen neither.. And it seems to be all working fine.. ‘‘‘My advice be gentle, couscous and use the right tools.. start prying around the bottom edge corners where the the home buttons are at, If you go up the go gentle and don’t go around the top (screen and digitizer cables are there) bottom and sides only be careful with the wifi ant. it’s near the top left corner.. Prying the plate beneath the LCD be careful left side be be careful pry there the up and down volume are there.. Be GENTLE! This is not for the weak of heart’’’.. lol! There’s great is info here… Thanks…
I recently fixed my ipod im 14 and its perfect and if you have any questions feel free to ask
iPod touch 4th generation Camera locks up when you try the camera App, after Digitizer/LCD Replacement was done Attempted new F&B cameras, still not working on cam app. But when I Open Face time the camera works! NOTICE* Only the Front Camera works, because face time initiates the front camera from the start, unlike the camera app which initiates the back camera from the start. Restored the iPod to factory settings in case it was a bug on 6.1.3, it still had the same issues. Downloaded another camera app to test both cameras, the front camera initiated, the back camera would lock the app up. Conclusion was that the back camera was bad.. Replaced back camera still had the same issues. Started thinking i would have to have the customer attempt to apple warranty the device. Hard reset device by holding the power button and home button down 10-15 seconds till the device shut off then came back on. Opened Camera app. BOOM Back camera is now working, along with front camera. Keep in mind i had the device powered on still the entire time during this repair, i should have had it shut off but i was diagnosing it from a previous repair as quickly as possible. What i failed to notice was a hairline fracture on the flex of the back camera was the cause of the issue. I’ve been doing Cell phone repairs, and iPod touch repairs for 5 years this July, and i still make rookie mistakes. Small over sites that lead to a lot of trouble shooting can be annoying. Hope this helps anyone with similar issues. Camera in photos is not the exact camera that caused the issues, but it s ripped in the same area as the one that was. Possibly crimped to hard right on the bend from the board and actual camera module. From personal experience, a rip like this happens when you remove the metal plate and leave the foil over the camera, causing it to pop up and tare, even the littlest tare can cause this issue.. keep extra back cameras in stock in case of these issues being more common for your repairs.
I have run into this issue multiple times and also found it to be very frustrating. Today I found a fix!!! What has happened is the cable on the front facing camera gets a small tear from the stress of removal. This somehow locks up the camera app even though it opens on the rear camera. After replacing the front facing camera all is fixed. I would highly recommend changing the front facing camera on any ipod that is locking up on the camera app!
I am not saying i know what’s wrong but i see a trend here. I worked with various consumer electronic and maybe these cameras are getting blown out because the units are on, then when you discover they are bad before sealing you try to replace one with a new one that has a different profile. What i am trying to say is it may not be like a hard drive or dvd drive where you can plug any new camera in. it might have to have a certain resistance or capacitance. For example very sensitive electronics like thermal head printers , and dvd player optical lasers need to be calibrated before use. In a dvd factory they are in a bin that will accept a type of laser in a certain range then they self calibrate, that is what the mirror like ring is for in the center near the hole. it’s called a mirror band. it’s where all discs start to read before table of contents. I cam to this conclusion after i bought 8 or more cameras, they were in a bin marked bad but in a bind i tried one then four and then it worked, i seem to have found one that would work with my unit. Apple loves this so much people with version or generation 5 are have the same problem. Now they are running with this and they have to find a way to get rid of all GEN 4 ipod touch, here is their plan: All applications will require ios 7 and all Ipod gens will never get it, they stop at 6. Now if you want to use “find my Ipod " you can’t unless you have it backed up on your computer or icloud. Go there and try to download with you gen 4 ipod touch you can’t download , it starts but 8 secs into it a warning comes up saying it will not work. The whole thing is called Steve Jobs planned obsolescence
