Why the camera suddenly stopped shooting properly

The complaint usually sounds like this: "I'm taking a photo and everything looks blurry, even though everything was fine yesterday." There are several reasons for this behavior, and the most trivial one is simply a dirty lens cover. But sometimes it's worse.

Common causes of blurry photos

Dirt, grease, or fingerprints on the protective glass

Most often, people bring us an iPhone with a perfectly clean screen but a greasy camera lens. Pockets, bags, hands with cream—the glass collects all of this unnoticed. One greasy spot right over the lens creates a bokeh effect for the entire frame, only an ugly one.

Fogged lens from the inside

It happens that the camera starts shooting blurrily after the phone has been in the cold and then brought into a warm room. Moisture condenses inside the module. The shots are cloudy with a characteristic haze—this is not dirt on the outside, but steam on the inside. It goes away on its own, but not always.

Broken autofocus

The iPhone cannot focus and takes everything out of focus. This is a mechanical issue: the autofocus module doesn't move or moves incorrectly. On iPhone 11–13, we've seen this after drops even without cracks on the body—the impact shifts the lens mechanism.

Shifted or damaged lens block

After an impact, the lens may shift slightly. In the photo, one zone is sharp while the rest is blurry. Or there is a slight defocus across the entire frame that the autofocus can no longer correct because the lens block itself is misaligned.

What you can try yourself

  1. Wipe the camera glass with a soft, lint-free cloth—the same one you use for your screen or glasses. Do not use your finger: this will only smear the grease even more.
  2. Restart the phone. Sometimes the autofocus freezes due to software, and a simple restart returns it to normal.
  3. Open the "Camera" app and tap directly on the subject on the screen—this is forced focusing. If the image becomes sharp after this, everything is working, the phone was just focusing on the wrong thing.
  4. If the phone was in the cold, let it sit at room temperature for 15–20 minutes without a case before taking photos.
  5. Check if there is a third-party case installed that covers part of the lens—this happens with cheap covers.

Examples from our practice

An iPhone 13 is brought in—it shoots blurrily, the owner is sure the camera is broken. We take a look: the module glass is covered with a thin layer of silicone oil—the phone was lying in a bag next to cosmetics. We wiped it, checked it—it shoots like new. Five minutes, zero rubles.

Another case—an iPhone 12 Pro after falling off a table. The body is intact, the screen has no cracks, but all photos are blurry across the entire frame. We opened it up: the wide-angle camera lens block had shifted from the impact. We replaced the module—the work took about an hour, it cost approximately 3 500 rubles. The client was surprised that the phone looked fine on the outside.

When it's time to see a technician

If cleaning the glass and restarting didn't help, you can't fix it yourself. You shouldn't disassemble the camera module without experience and tools: the flex cables are thin, the fasteners are microscopic, and you could add a damaged connector to the problem.

Come to us if:

  • there are cloudy spots inside the photo—condensation or dust has entered the module;
  • the camera doesn't focus on anything at all, regardless of the distance to the object;
  • the phone was dropped, even if there is no visible external damage;
  • the problem appeared after contact with water or a severe temperature change.

Come to iClub Service at 35 Kommunisticheskaya St.—camera diagnostics are free. We will take a look, take test shots, and tell you exactly what happened and how much it costs to fix. No hidden fees.