Unfortunately for Pixel 3 owners, they are dealing with yet another software glitch, one that could prove itself to be a showstopper for a lot of users. Owners of this phone took on Google’s forums, Reddit and other such gatherings – including an Engadget staff family member – to report a flaw which seems to prevent them from using the official camera app that is featured on Google’s Pixel 3.
Some users get a message with a ‘fatal error’ when they try to use the camera app, while others will get a message stating that they ‘can’t connect to camera’ in a third-party app and they start to lose access from then onward. They could try to reboot their phones but this only acts as a temporary fix for the issue, and it can occur even if you choose to return to the factory settings of the phone or trying to use it in Safe Mode.
So far, we are not exactly sure what seems to be causing this problem. According to Charged, they inspected the camera code and they believe that the problem might stem from Android not being able to properly release a lock on the camera, which leads to other apps to think that it is still in use and prompting a crash.
When Google was asked if it can comment on these reports, their support representatives haven’t made it clear as to whether or not there will be a fix, although some owners stated that they were denied access to replacement units. Regardless of what the solution might be, this represents a serious issue and for all purposes and intents, this effectively renders the signature feature of the Pixel 3 completely useless. Early Pixel 3 owners could become frustrated and stray away from this phone.
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
