Help Desire Z - Camera no longer working

[psybience]

Hi,

I just tried to use the barcode scanner app and the camera didn't seem to work, screen was just completely black. This app recently updated, so I thought it may be an issue with the app, so I uninstalled it and installed it again and still no luck. So then I checked the camera app itself and it had the same problem, screen is black and none of the buttons work, except the home button which takes me back to the homescreen. Any program that uses the camera has the same problem.

It seems this is a problem with other Desire phones, but there doesn't seem to any definite solution apart from returning the phone under warranty, which I can't do.

I've read that it is actually a software issue, but resetting the phone or returning to factory settings doesn't help. A user on another forum mentioned that on his Desire HD, he solved it by flashing a new ROM and making a deletion using Superwipe. I have no idea what he is going on about, but could this solve the problem? If so, is there any guide I could follow in order to do this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Any ideas?

 

[El Presidente]

If a factory reset doesn't resolve, then I'd say that it isn't software at all and it's a hardware issue, sorry.

You could try clearing the cache and data associated with the camera app, see if that works (it has been known too)?

Flashing another ROM might work, but there are no guarantees. Why can't you return under warranty btw?

 

[psybience]

You could try clearing the cache and data associated with the camera app, see if that works (it has been known too)?

How would I go about doing this? Is it possible to delete and reinstall the default android camera app?

I was thinking it's a hardware issue, but it seems really odd that straight after this barcode scanner app updated, this problem appeared.

 

[El Presidente]

It would be Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications -> All -> Camera -> Clear Cache/Data.

It does seem slightly weird that it happened after the scanner app opened, but it could just be a coincidence? Anything that was going to use the camera might have caused it.

The Phone has a 2 year warranty though, so you should be able to claim on it.

 

[psybience]

Tried that, still not working. Yeah I checked the warranty and it seems I should still be covered. I wonder what the turn around time is, as I'll need to get spare phone in the meantime.

Sigh ...

Thanks for the advice in any case.

 

[El Presidente]

No problem, sorry it didn't work.

Turn around time is about 10 days now I think. It was circa 6 weeks at one point, but they managed to clear the backlog.

 

[Tencor]

Hello. I just bought a second hand Desire Z. This have the same symptoms as psybience. When starting camera app, I only get a black screen, and only Home button get me out of it.

I bought the phone cheap with this error, thinking I could fix it. Well, changing the camera did nothing. So unless the new camera is faulty also, this must be a motherboard error or some firmware error. Also, I found out that the vibrator motor did not function. A new one of these are in the mail, but now i doubt this will work either.

How do I check that the camera is communicating with the PCB, firmware and so on?
I found a code on another thread that was supposed to open up for firmware uppgrade or being able to read firmware version for camera. I could not get this code to work though. But no instructions on how to apply the code were given. Anyone know anything about this code (cant find the thread now).

A note for thought: Although I am on the first charge on the battery after changing camera, the battery stamina seems to have improoved somewhat. I was initially disapointed by the battery life, but only today it seems to have improoved after changing the camera. This need more checking, though.

Any hints are wellcomed. I can't find much about this topic.