Samsung Galaxy S5 - Warning : Camera Failed

[Sarette]

For the past few days, I have been unable to open and use the camera on my S5. I get a Warning- Camera Failed message on a black screen. Upon Googling, I see it is quite common. I have cleared the cache, rebooted and followed all advice I could find, and the problem has not been resolved.

I bought the phone from Vodafone - it was an upgrade on 29th April 2014, contract was for 2 years. I was planning on upgrading this year to the S7 and was happy to wait until the contract was up, but now I have a faulty phone and am not keen on being cameraless for 2 months, nor do I want another S5...

Help!

[kids]

As it is covered by a two year warranty you could send it to Vodafone for repair but you may be better served going direct to Samsung as it is a known fault,

It is worth checking if you are within your early upgrade period.

[hrym]

At this stage, all you can really expect is a repair, either by Vodafone or Samsung, but that'll mean being without your phone while it's away.

Depending on whether your previous upgrade was an early one, you may be within the early upgrade period now.   Have a look at your online options or call 191 during office hours and select the "thinking of leaving Vodafone" option that's near the end of the list.  That'll get you the retentions team who are best placed to advise you of your options.   The S7 isn't out yet, but I think is imminent.  It'll be in heavy demand when it first appears and I don't know whether you can pre-order as a upgrade.

If you can manage without a camera for a few weeks (rather than months), that would be your best option.   However, it might also be worth comparing the specs of the S7 and the S6 as the older model is here now and you may be able to get a deal on it.