What you need to know
- Pixel smartphone users are experiencing issues after recent software updates have caused apps to crash when attempting to access the camera.
- The majority of users having problems use a Pixel 2, but many others have reported issues when using other Pixel smartphones.
- As a result, there are several posts on the Google support forum about the issues, and the Google Camera app is also getting flooded with one-star reviews.
Google's Pixel lineup of smartphones is usually praised for its photography prowess. That was until recently, when many users began having issues even opening the camera app. Over the past couple of months, several reports have popped up online of Pixel users unable to take photos because the camera app keeps crashing.
A quick look at the Google Pixel support forums reveals thread after thread of users complaining of issues with the camera crashing, dating back as far as December 2019. Most recently, affected users have taken to the Play Store to voice their complaints, leaving one-star reviews on the Google Camera app.
In the meantime, some users have had success getting their phone replaced under warranty, while others outside of the warranty period are less fortunate. They are being told to factory reset their phones, which so far has not been helpful, or to visit a third-party repair specialist where a camera replacement can run between $110 and $180.
While the majority of the complaints are for the Pixel 2, there is still a growing list of reports from owners of other Pixel models with the same camera issues. To make matters worse, the problem isn't limited to only the Google Camera app. Users are also reporting other apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more crashing when attempting to use the camera as well.
Could this turn into Google's next class action lawsuit? Earlier this year, the search giant finally began paying out settlements for two of its previous phones. The first was over a hardware flaw with the microphone in the original Pixel smartphone. The second settlement was due to another hardware flaw in the Nexus 6P, which lead to bootloops and battery issues.
