How to restart your camera on Xiaomi: a step-by-step guide for all models

The camera on Xiaomi's smartphone stopped working after the update? Does the Camera app fly out at launch and the lens don't focus? Camera module problems are one of the most common malfunctions on Redmi, POCO and Mi devices. Most often, software failures, application conflicts or incorrect settings. But don't rush the phone to the service center: in 80% of cases, the camera can be restarted on its own without losing data.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways to reboot your camera on Xiaomi, from simple (cache cleaning) to radical (reset to factory settings), how to diagnose a problem, what bugs can be fixed without root rights, and when a wizard really needs to intervene. And if your model supports fastboot, we’ll show you how to bring the camera back to life even after a critical firmware failure.

1.Diagnostics problem: why Xiaomi camera doesn't work

Before restarting the camera, it is important to understand what exactly went wrong, divided into software (software fixes) and hardware (requires repairs), here are the key symptoms and their possible causes:

• 📱 The camera app does not open or close immediately. → Failure to work MIUI, conflict with other applications or damage to system files.
• 🔍 Black screen when shooting, but the interface works → Camera driver problem or physical plume damage.
• 📸 Blurred image, artifacts, "ripples» → Lens contamination, matrix damage or image processing failure.
• 🔄 The camera is working, but it will freeze periodically» → Lack of RAM or overheating of the processor.

If the problem occurs after updating MIUI or installing a third-party application, the software is 95% to blame, and the following sections will help, and if the camera stops working after a phone drops or moisture hits, you will most likely need to replace the module.

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi models 12T Pro, Redmi Note 11 Pro+ new POCO F5 A bug with a pink screen camera is common, and this is a well-known Leica driver problem that is only fixed by a firmware update via fastboot.

Method 1: Reboot the phone and force the application to stop

The simplest but most effective method is to force the camera to restart via Android settings, which works if the problem is caused by a temporary app malfunction or a lack of RAM.

How to do this:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Camera app (or com.android.camera) in the list.
3. Press Forced Stop, then confirm the action.
4. Restart your phone (press the power button and select Reboot).

Once turned on, try to start the camera again. If it doesn't work, move on to the next step. Some models (e.g. Redmi 10C) may need to clear the app cache:

• 🧹 In the same app management menu, click Storage → Clear the cache.
• 🚫 Do not click Clear Data – This will delete all camera settings!

Method 2: Clearing the cache and data of the camera module via Recovery

If standard cache cleaning didn't work, try deep cleaning through Recovery mode, which removes temporary system files that could block the camera. Importantly, it doesn't delete user data (photos, contacts), but it resets some settings.

Instructions:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power + Volume buttons up at the same time and hold for 10-15 seconds until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select the language (if required), then go to Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the process to be completed.
5. Reboot your phone with Reboot → Reboot to System.

If after this procedure the camera worked, but after a while the problem returned - the fault may be a damaged MIUI update.

Charge your phone at least 50 times%|Make a backup copy of important data|Make sure that SIM-card and memory card removed (optional)|Remember the password from the Mi Account (required after resetting)-->

Method 3: Resetting camera settings to factory

If the camera turns on but doesn’t work properly (e.g., doesn’t save a photo, doesn’t switch lenses, or gives an error “I couldn’t connect to the camera”), resetting the app will help, and this method will return all the camera settings (resolution, HDR, night mode) to the default values.

How to reset your settings:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Put it on the gear. ⚙️ in the upper right corner (or swipe from the right edge of the screen).
3. Scroll down and select Restore Default Settings.
4. Confirm the action.

On some models (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra with Leica firmware), this item may be called Reset Camera Settings. If the camera still does not work after reset, try to remove the application updates:

• 🔙 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Camera. → ⋮ (three-point) → Remove updates.
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Warning: On devices with an unlocked bootloader, resetting the camera settings may result in a Camera error. API In this case, you will need to flash through fastboot.

5. Method 4: Restart the camera via ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods fail and the camera still produces a “failed to connect to the camera (code 0xA00F4244)” error, you can try forcibly restarting the camera service via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the phone to the computer and enabling debugging mode.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. Tap the version number 7 times until the notification “You’ve become a developer!” appears.

USB debugging

• Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
• Turn on the debugging switch over USB.
• Connect your phone to your PC and execute the commands: adb shell pm clear com.android.camera pm disable com.android.camera pm enable com.android.camera

These commands will sequentially clear the camera data, turn it off and turn it back on. After you do, restart the phone. If ADB issues a "device unauthorized" error, check that a window has appeared on the phone requesting trust in this computer.

6. Method 5: Flashing the camera module through Fastboot (last resort)

If all previous methods failed and the camera still doesn’t turn on, you can reflash the camera module through fastboot mode.This method is suitable for devices where the problem is caused by damage to system files after a failed update or rooting. On Xiaomi 12S Ultra and Redmi K50 Pro models, this method often solves the problem of the pink screen after upgrading to MIUI 14.

Important: for firmware you will need:

• 💻 Computer with Mi Flash Tool drivers installed.
• 🔌 Original. USB-cable (preferably from the set).li>
• 📥 Fastboot firmware for your model (download from the official Xiaomi website or forum) XDA Developers).
• 🔋 Battery charge of at least 60%.

Instructions:

1. Unpack the archive with firmware in a folder without Cyrillic characters (for example, C:\miui_fastboot).
2. Turn off the phone and press Power + Volume down to log into fastboot.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and start the Mi Flash Tool.
4. In the program, click Select, specify the path to the firmware folder, then select Clean all (full clean) or Save user data (save data).
5. Press Flash and wait until it is completed (usually 5-10 minutes).

⚠️ Note: Firmware via fastboot with Clean all option will completely delete all data from the phone, including photos, messages and applications. If the device is enabled Mi Account protection, after firmware you will need to enter a login and password.

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Firmware through fastboot is a last resort, and before using it, try all the other methods and make sure that the problem is not the physical failure of the camera module.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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If the camera on Xiaomi periodically “hangs” during shooting, try to turn off the AI function in the camera settings. On weak models (for example, Redmi 8A), artificial intelligence can overload the processor, causing lags.