As an iPhone owner, I was frustrated when I realized my front camera was blurry. After doing some research and testing, I wanted to share my experience and the solutions I discovered with other iPhone owners out there.
Accumulated dust, app glitches, and outdated software can all reduce the front camera clarity. Plus, there could be an issue with the iPhone’s hardware that’s throttling the image quality.
In this article, we dig deeper to find out the common reasons and how to deal with each of them, so stick around!
| Reason for Blurry Front Camera | Description | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Dirt or Debris | Dust particles or dirt stuck to the camera lens. | Clean the lens using a microfiber cloth. Remove the screen protector if necessary. |
| Software Glitches | Issues with the camera app or outdated iOS version. | Restart the app, switch to a different camera app, restart the iPhone, or check for system updates. |
| Focus & Exposure | Incorrect focus and exposure settings. | Tap on the area you want to be sharp and adjust the exposure slider. Edit depth control in portrait mode. |
| Portrait Mode Settings | Incorrect usage of the iPhone’s portrait mode depth settings. | Adjust the depth control in portrait mode to add blur to the background and make the image appear sharper. |
| Faulty Hardware | Issues with the iPhone’s hardware affecting image quality. | Get professional repairs at an Apple Store or authorized service provider, especially if covered by AppleCare+. |
Table of Contents
Top Reasons Why Your iPhone Front Camera Is Blurry
Before we dig into the solutions, let’s take a look at the common culprits that could be behind the blurry selfies.
- Dirt or debris stuck to the camera
- Software glitches (from either the camera app or an outdated version of iOS)
- Forgetting to adjust the focus and exposure
- Incorrect usage of the iPhone’s portrait mode depth settings
- Faulty hardware (these are the hardest ones to diagnose and fix!)
How to Fix a Blurry iPhone Front Camera
Regardless of the reason behind the fogginess of your front camera, we’ve put together a list of all the practical solutions.
In most cases, you won’t need to be super tech-savvy to point out the issue, so let’s dive right in!
- Wipe the Camera Clean
If you notice any dust particles or dirt surrounding your front camera, you can easily tackle the issue head-on using a cleaning cloth. A simple microfiber cloth can get the job done without scratching the lens.
If you see that the dirt is trapped under your screen protector, we recommend removing it completely.
Then, you can wipe off your screen properly and stick a new screen protector after you’ve made sure that the camera is sharp.
- Restart the App to Resolve Glitches
Sometimes, there could be nothing wrong with your front camera. The issue is likely to be a minor glitch while starting the app.
To quit the app, you will need to press the home button twice or swipe up from the bottom bar at the bottom of the screen, depending on the model of your phone.
That should take you to your app history, where you can swipe the app up to close it. Then relaunch it to confirm that the blur is gone.
- Switch to a Different App
If restarting the app doesn’t fix the blurriness, you can always test things out with a different camera app.
This way, you can determine whether the issue is with the phone itself.
- Restart the iPhone
Before you take drastic measures, try a simple restart to see if it fixes things. After all, phones sometimes lag a bit, especially if you’ve been using them for quite a while.
Give your phone enough time to restart, and then launch your camera app.
- Check for System Updates
Sometimes, we postpone updates because they can be a bit of an inconvenience, but it’s just a quick way to decrease the output of your phone overall.
So, if you have any pending iOS updates, this could be why the camera app is underperforming.
To fix this, head to the Software Update section under the General settings menu and let the process run its course before testing the front camera once again.
- Adjust the Camera Settings
A change of settings may cause a loss of sharpness in the camera app.
So, go ahead and try tweaking the focus and blur levels in the camera app by tapping on the areas that you want to appear the sharpest and adjusting the exposure slider up and down.
You might also want to edit the depth control (the icon with the “f” inside it) in portrait mode to add blur to the background. This can make your image appear sharper in contrast.
- Get Professional Repairs
Unfortunately, fixing faulty hardware is usually complicated, and it’ll be hard to tell that this is the case unless you see any scratches or cracks.
So, if none of the troubleshooting steps work, you might need to go to the nearest Apple Store and get your phone checked for faulty hardware.
That may be a bit costly if you’re not covered by AppleCare+, but it’s the safest way to go about it.
The Takeaway
Read more: iPhone screen is black after dropping
iPhones are famous for their outstanding imaging output. So, it’s really inconvenient to deal with a blurry front camera, especially if you’re a big fan of selfies.
Sometimes, the blur is caused by dirt which you can easily get rid of with a microfiber cloth, but you could need to remove the screen protector if it’s getting in the way.
At other times, it could just be a glitch within the app. In that case, you can either relaunch the app, restart your device, install pending updates, or just try using a different camera app altogether.
