iphone 4 5.0.1 Front Camera issue.. shutter stuck.

[peterbmontgomery]

I haven't checked back for a while but I thought I share my experience with fixing the front facing camera on the iPhone 4(GSM).
If the part on the photo is missing on your GSM iPhone 4 (AT&T) your front facing camera will not work again until you fixed the connection.
If you have never opened the phone before, there could be other reasons for the front camera problem. Try a hard reset on your phone or an IOS update first. Bring your IPhone to an Apple Store if it is still under warranty.
If you want to check the connection be very careful when you pry open the plug for the camera.


The Photo I have posted is from an unlocked GSM phone (like AT&T).

Be careful with the soldering iron, this connection is tiny.
If you never used a soldering iron before you might want to consider an iPhone repair service for the camera issue.

I'm pretty new to soldering, but very experienced with fixing iPhones (for a couple of years now, basic screen/parts repairs).
Can you be a little more precise on how to solder this jumper? Do you simply melt some solder between the two contact points?

Thanks!!

[brhuff7]

I also need a little more information on how this process works. I see in the photo the piece that is missing, the front camera connector and the other part. Where exactly do I solder and what am I soldering it to?

[mb12uk]

Most of the times the front facing camera stops working after swapping out the screen. The reason for that issue is that you mess up two contact points when you pried it open. Many people talk about a software issue or a bad ribbon cable, but this is most likely not he case. Most of the times swapping out the camera won't work either. If this is the case please check the following. You need to check if the connection on the attached picture makes contact. If this is not the case you have to bring them back together. Use a small soldering iron and proceed with caution. This should fix your front facing camera.

Has anyone got a guide or step by step on how to get to this area and perform this soldering of the 2 contact points?

thanks

[KihOshk]

Mr. Absinthe provided an excellent example image (from White, I believe). I fixed my own issue with a $20 Caig CircuitWriter Pen from Radio Shack. The polymer is meant to be instantaneously conductive, but it took a few hours for my cam to start working again; I expect it needed to cure first.

[chako]

I have not attempted the repair yet but thought it would be helpful to see a working phone vs a non-working phone. It's pretty clear the part is missing but how to solder two missing pieces of wire together that no longer exist seems difficult. Should this be done from the back of the board?

Working Phone:


Non-Working Phone: (Front Camera Freezing at Shutter image):


I'll post a fixed photo if I can manage it. Wish me luck!

[KihOshk]

Chako, read my last message...MUCH easier than soldering.

[tashrocca]

for those of you that dont want to get too testy with the internals of you phone and dont have much of a use for the front camera and are stuck at the closed shutter screen i found this fix at another site that will disable ur front camera via ifile making ur camera app useable again

iphone - Change Camera.app Settings manually with iFile? - Stack Overflow

pretty much you are just editing

/System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/N90AP.plist

and setting the values of the front facing camera to false and reboot

[harrychong]

Hello guys sorry for bumping this thread, but I have some question and I don't know where should I post it.

I've pointed out the jumper that dropped, its different jumper from what this thread has been talking about.
But I face the same problem too, my front camera stuck at shutter.
May I know if that jumper can be fixed by soldering too? What should I do?
Thanks in advance

[DC_Dave]

Hi, very difficult to solder, Presuming the missing chip component is just a zero ohm link, I would get a very thin bit of wire (or a single strand taken out of a multistrand cable) make a small U loop shape and hold with tweezers (solder the wire first) and heat the wire with a soldering iron rather than the pcb. Sliding one end at a time onto the pcb as the solder melts, dabbing passive flux on the pcb first will help the solder take. It might be worth looking at the other side incase you have a larger area of copper to solder to. If you have a multimeter, stick it on ohms and see if those two solder points go anywhere else like one end of one of the other near by chip components and solder your wire from there instead.

[steve_guk]

I have fixed a lot of iPhones and never had this problem, but now I currently have two phones that have lost the chip above the audio flex, I tried soldering but to no avail. I am not very good with stuff like that, how can I fix them? I need them done ASAP! :/

[Maxer95]

Okay, I have the same issue, I opened up my iPhone and sure enough the resistor was gone. But here's where things got really bad; I soldered a jumper and restated my iPhone, but now neither the front nor rear cameras work. Please help!

[ErmyDermy]

Most of the times the front facing camera stops working after swapping out the screen. The reason for that issue is that you mess up two contact points when you pried it open. Many people talk about a software issue or a bad ribbon cable, but this is most likely not he case. Most of the times swapping out the camera won't work either. If this is the case please check the following. You need to check if the connection on the attached picture makes contact. If this is not the case you have to bring them back together. Use a small soldering iron and proceed with caution. This should fix your front facing camera.

Thank you so much for this! I had this problem and did exactly what you said. 5min with a soldering iron and it did the job! Many thanks.

[dachampionshak]

Took me almost 2 hours to solder a jumper on but i got it work. thank

Hi, I have a question can someone do this for me? I have no soldering kit and am afraid I will mess up, If I ship it to someone would you be able to solder the 2 contact points back on? I can pay shipping for $10.00 2 way. Please let me know. Thank you.

[iyabba]

hi, did you ever find a pic for a verizon phone?

[rayrod354]

Hey Guys,

Just found this post... I'm having the same issue and tried to get solder to stick and create a jumper between the two points but for some reason the solder is not sticking and don't want to keep trying so that I don't damage the board... What can I do? Help please...

[randolfotecnicom]

Front camera working 100%
thanks master
mr.absinth