Google Pixel 3 bug prevents camera from working

Hollis Johnson/Business
Insider

• A bug in Google’s Pixel
  3 smartphones
  is causing the camera to become completely unresponsive, some
  users have reported. 
• Restarting or factory-resetting the device doesn’t seem to
  fix the issue.
• Google Support and Pixel Community Managers have confirmed
  that Google is aware of the issue and that a fix is in
  development. There’s no official acknowledgement from Google so
  far when Business Insider reached out for comment.
• The camera on the Pixel 3 is among the best on any
  smartphone. It’s one of the three main reasons why people should
  buy the phone. 

Owners of Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL,
are reporting a crippling issue with their cameras on
Google’s Pixel Community Forum and
Reddit.

Reports started coming in late October, with some stating that
the issue starts when users try to use the camera in another app,
like a social media app or a banking app that lets you take
photos of checks to deposit them. Then, when they return to the
main camera app on the Pixel 3, the camera app shows a blank
screen, or a notification pops up within the app saying the
camera has experiences a “fatal error.”

This is problematic, especially for the Pixel 3, which has the
best camera on any smartphone. Google’s Pixel phone cameras are
one of the three main pillars that makes the devices so
desirable, including running a “pure” version of Android and
receiving Android updates as soon as Google releases them. Most
Android phones can’t boast the best camera, best version of an
operating system, and receiving timely updates all in one
package.

Hollis Johnson/Business
Insider

Pixel 3 users largely said they tried restarting and
factory-resetting their devices to no avail, but some said that
restarting the phone worked to fix the camera.

The recent November Android update also doesn’t seem to have
fixed the issue, and some suspect that it may even have caused
the issue to occur.

Some users have been able to get replacement devices from Google,
while others haven’t. For those who have received replacement
devices, the camera issue hasn’t returned.

One Pixel Community forum member said Google refused a device
replacement when they cited the error code, and that the issue
will be “fixed soon,” which suggests it’s a software bug rather
than hardware related. 

Community managers in Google’s Pixel Community Forum have
acknowledged that Google is aware of the issue, and some users
have reported that Google support has also acknowledged the issue
and that a fix is in development. Business Insider requested
comment and tips for users affected by the issue from Google, but
did not hear back immediately.

Google’s Pixel 3 has been plagued with bugs since its launch in
October, including bugs that made
photos and
text messages disappear, as well as a bug that
prematurely closed
apps running in the background.