You bought a new phone and just after a month or two, pictures from the camera no longer look like they use to be. Photos now appear blurry, and the overall camera performance has deteriorated. If this is what you’re dealing with, you just might be able to fix it on your own.
Don’t expect much from low-end phones
Just to be clear, if your device is a low-end phone and pictures never looked good right from the start, this article might not be able to help. Image sensors on these cheap phones are not capable of taking stunning images. I’ve seen budgets devices that take rather foggy photos right out of the box.
However, if you are certain your photos should look better than they do now, a simple DIY fix might be all you need to take great photos again.
Is Electronic / Optical image Stabilization missing?
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) are two different technologies phone manufacturers use to stabilize images taken on your smartphone. While OIS tends to give better results and outperforms EIS in a lot of cases, both still work great to achieve the same aim.
When holding your phone and taking photos, there’s a chance you hand would shake, this is why you should have a form of image stabilization technology on your phone. Lots of cheap phones lack this feature, but a lot of mid-range devices now pack EIS. Most high-end phones ship with Optical Image Stabilization, and this is why you’re less likely to get blurry images with a high-end phone even while you’re moving and your hand is shaking.
If your device lacks this feature, your blurry images could be as a result. If you’re still taking blurry images while your phone is held steady, the problem is definitely not due to imaging stabilization then.
Fingerprints can be nasty
This is something a lot of smartphone users tend to overlook. In the guide I wrote explaining how to take better photos with your smartphone, I mentioned that fingerprints could easily spoil what could have been an otherwise great photo. Having fingerprints all over your lens cover reduces your picture quality by interfering the light coming into the sensor.
Even if you use an iPhone X, this could easily make your photos appear blurry. Try to find a clean piece of cloth and wipe the lens clean. This is the simplest fix that works for quite a lot of people.
Dust too…
If the dust resistance rating of your phone is below standard or there’s an opening somewhere you’re not aware of, you might notice dust (or specks of dirt) gathering behind the glass protecting the lens. Unfortunately, you might not be able to fix this on your own unless you have the courage to disassemble the phone and clean the lens cover.
If this isn’t something you can fix on your own and you’re certain this is the problem, getting a technician to fix should help.
Scratches on the lens cover
If your phone comes with a camera bump and you’re not using a good case with the phone, you may start seeing scratches on the lens cover. Having lots such marks on the lens cover tends to affect your picture quality.
How do you fix this? You may have to change that lens cover or completely replace the entire back cover.
What now?
If none of the above suggestions worked for you, there’s a chance your phone’s camera module has a hardware issue. If it’s still under warranty, you might get it fixed for free by contacting the manufacturer.
