Some Google Pixel users facing ‘black camera viewfinder’ bug after Android 14 update

One of the main features on each Google Pixel generation is its camera system. Google’s image processing software has always been among the best in the industry, offering great results even with ‘outdated’ sensors. Therefore, having the cameras randomly not work would likely be a nightmare for Pixel users.

Sadly, that’s what multiple Google Pixel users are currently facing. This is because after updating their phones to Android 14, they have been unable to use the camera due to the viewfinder going black, or even the app persistently crashing.

‘Black camera viewfinder’ bug affecting some Google Pixel users on Android 14

A section of Pixel phones users have been complaining that their devices’ cameras became unusable after updating to the latest Android version. For some unknown reason, Android 14 update is triggering a bug where the Google Pixel camera app only shows solid black in the viewfinder for them.

The problem seems to mainly affect the rear cameras, since some reports indicate that the front camera continues to work. However, there are also even more unfortunate cases where neither the rear nor the front camera work correctly.

While there are situations in which the camera app goes permanently black, there are also others where it crashes shortly after opening it. On a smartphone with so much focus on photography, this problem is quite serious and a deal-breaker.

It’s noteworthy that this problem is not exactly new, since there are some similar reports of Pixel devices running Android 13 too (the screenshot above shows a report from a Pixel 4 user). However, it seems that the latest Android 14 update intensified it somewhat, as complaints became more frequent (even from Android 14 beta).

Currently, the exact reason why the camera on some Google Pixel becomes unusable after updating to Android 14 is unknown. Also, there are people (like Rev James Spence on Pixel Forums and brownbuck11 on Reddit) who cannot even try to reboot their phones in safe mode to determine if their camera hardware is damaged, due to having the Family Link app enabled and set.

For these cases, a Google Product Expert from the official Pixel forum recommends contacting the Family Link support team directly (via this link).

Sadly, there is still no a workaround or fix for this problem, and although there are a few lucky ones for whom it was resolved after closing the app, others have not been able to use their phones’ cameras for days. Most of the things they have tried have not worked, so the overall situation is being quite frustrating.

Interestingly, the bug was reported and escalated in the official Android issues tracker at the end of September (during Android 14 beta stage). But, given the multiple complaints, it seems that the fix did not reach the first stable version.

Let’s hope that Google offers a solution to all users affected by the ‘black camera’ bug on their Pixel phones, either via updating or replacing their devices under warranty if necessary.

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