Your iPhone camera stays black? What you can do about it

The camera is one of the most important components in modern smartphones. We use it for snapshots with friends, for our social media accounts and much more. If it just stays black, that's pretty annoying.

How to check why your iPhone's camera isn't working

Before you send your iPhone in for repair, try the following tips first:

1. Restart your iPhone. Most of the time, this will already solve the problem.
2. Check if the camera lens is dirty or covered.
3. Test the camera directly in the pre-installed camera app, instead of WhatsApp, Instagram or other apps. Possibly the other app is responsible and must first be updated.
4. Possibly the error is in the settings. Open the "General" menu in the settings, then tap "Restrictions" and look for the "Camera" menu item. Deactivate the camera to activate you directly again.
5. Check whether the latest version of the operating system is already installed. If it is not, perform an update.

How to perform a reset

Finally, you can try a reset. Perform a soft reset by pressing and holding the "On-Off Button" and the "Volume Down Button" until the Apple logo appears on the display. If that didn't help either, you can perform a hard reset. This will erase all data from your iPhone, so be sure to make a backup beforehand. If the problem persists after this, contact an Apple store. Possibly there is then a hardware defect.