How to fix Snapchat Camera Errors!

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Does your camera frequently stop working in Snapchat? I FINALLY found a consistent solution!

Update: My solution isn't particularly infallible (obviously I didn't test enough before declaring that it worked). I'm working on it.

Update 2: I've disabled the Filters and Front-Facing Flash and so far, no camera problems! I'm willing to bet that the filters are causing problems for you too - and I have a theory as to why, too. See below for instructions and a possible explanation

Do you get the 'Could not connect to camera' error in Snapchat on Android? Here is my list of things you can try, followed by the solution that finally solved this problem for me.
My solution requires Tasker and Greenify apps though!

Note that not all of these solutions will be applicable.
Also note that these solutions vary in ease of execution, and how harmful they might be to your phone...

  1. Restart Snapchat (unlikely to work but worth a try)
  2. Restart the camera app
  3. Restart your phone (This should usually work but it is a pain to do this every time the camera breaks!)
  4. If that doesn't work, try restarting Snapchat, turning off your phone for a few minutes, then turning it on again
  5. Uninstall Snapchat, restart your phone and reinstall Snapchat
  6. Disable Geotagging of photos (Open camera, go to settings and switch it off there)
  7. Try using the Snapchat Beta channel
  8. Boot your phone into recovery mode, wipe Dalvik cache and cache partition
  9. Update Snapchat (if there is an update available)
  10. Restore your phone to factory settings (you have to be pretty desperate to do this one)
  11. Flash the Omni Rom Mod
  12. Use the Restart Camera APK by temasek (this just restarts the camera, but is quicker than rebooting your phone)
  13. Rename the DCIM folder. The next time you run the camera app, it will recreate this folder. You will need to restore your photos from the renamed folder.
  14. Install and use Google Camera instead
  15. Alternatively if you have Google Camera installed already, try uninstalling it and using the stock camera instead
  16. Flash the latest version of GApps for your ROM
  17. (if you have an LG G2 or something similar) - Go to Settings > Display > Aspect Ratio Correction and switch it off
  18. (if you have a Samsung Galaxy) - Go to Settings > Display > Adapt Display and switch it off

And finally - the solution that fixes the Snapchat camera problem for me:

(Actually to be honest it's more like a workaround.
And requires Tasker and Greenify!
If you don't have Tasker and Greenify, get them both now.)

Simply follow these instructions:

  1. Create a new task called 'Greenify Snapchat' or whatever you prefer
  2. Add the following actions to the Greenify Snapchat task:

    1. Kill App - Snapchat (App > Kill App > Snapchat)
    2. Hibernate Now - Snapchat (Plugin > Greenify > Hibernate Now > Snapchat)
  3. Create a new profile called 'Snapchat Greenifier' or whatever you prefer

  4. Use the following settings:

    • Context: Application - Snapchat
    • Exit Task: Greenify Snapchat

That should do it! Since creating this profile in Tasker, my camera hasn't failed once, even with thorough testing!

The real solution:

  1. Disable filters.

Seriously, that's it. If you don't know how to do that, here are the steps to fix your snapchat camera, in more detail:

  1. Open Snapchat. If you get a blank screen with a popup saying 'Snapchat cannot connect to the camera', keep pressing Cancel until it goes away.

  2. Click on the ghost at the top of the screen:
    snapchat-fix-1.png

  3. Then click on the cog at the top right of the screen:
    snapchat-fix-2.png

  4. Scroll down to Manage, under the heading Additional Services, and click on it:
    snapchat-fix-3.png

  5. Untick the Filters box:
    snapchat-fix-4.png

  6. If your camera is not currently working, restart your phone.

You should now be able to run Snapchat without the camera failing any more! You won't be able to send snaps with filters, but who uses them anyway?

My theory as to why the filters cause problems is because Snapchat wants to use location services for at least one of the filters (presumably the one that shows your speed), and this somehow messes with the camera and causes it to break. I always have location services turned off unless I'm using Google Maps, so it doesn't seem to matter whether you have it on or off - the camera tends to break either way.

If your camera breaks again after the most recent Snapchat update:

You should be able to fix it by clearing your cache and rebooting your phone. You might be able to get away with just clearing the Snapchat cache; I cleared the entire cache partition from recovery and this solved it for me.

This works for me and hopefully solves your Snapchat camera problems too! If none of the above solutions work for you, please message me below and let me know!

By the way, I am currently using the Resurrection Remix ROM, but had the same problems with Cyanogenmod 11. I didn't have any Snapchat camera problems with stock ROM.

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