A blurry camera on your Fairphone 5 can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to capture a clear moment. The blur might be constant, only happen in certain lighting, or affect just one of the lenses. Before you worry about a hardware fault, there are several straightforward things you can try to get your focus back.
Clean the Camera Lenses
This is the simplest and most common fix. Gently wipe the camera lenses on the back of your phone with a soft, lint-free microfiber cloth. Fingerprints, dust, or smudges on the lens glass will scatter light and cause every photo to look hazy or soft. Avoid using your shirt or a rough paper towel, as they can leave micro-scratches on the lens coating over time.
Remove Your Phone Case
Take your Fairphone 5 out of its case and take a test photo. Some cases, particularly third-party ones, can have a camera cutout that's slightly misaligned or too deep, causing the edge of the case to intrude into the shot and create a blurry corner. Also, check that any aftermarket camera lens protector you might have installed isn't dirty or of poor optical quality.
Use Tap to Focus
Open the Camera app and tap directly on the subject in your viewfinder. You should see a focus box appear. The camera's automatic focus might be choosing the background or something else in the scene. Tapping tells it exactly where to focus. For a steady shot, you can press and hold on the screen to lock the focus and exposure (AE/AF Lock).
Switch Between Camera Lenses
Your Fairphone 5 has multiple cameras. Try switching between them in the Camera app to see if the blur is isolated to one lens. If the main camera is blurry but the ultrawide is sharp, or vice versa, it points to an issue with that specific module, which could be a software glitch or, less likely, a hardware problem.
Force Close and Reopen the Camera App
Swipe up from the bottom of your screen and hold to enter the recent apps view. Find the Camera app and swipe it away to close it completely. Then, reopen it and try focusing again. This clears the app from memory and can resolve temporary software hiccups that cause the autofocus motor to stick or the image processing to malfunction.
Restart Your Fairphone 5
A full restart clears system caches and resets all background processes, including those for the camera. Press and hold the Power button for about 10 seconds until the phone restarts. If that doesn't work, you can use the unique Fairphone method: power the phone down completely, then pop off the back cover and remove the battery for 30 seconds before reinserting it and turning the phone back on.
Check for Software Updates
Go to Settings > System > System update. Fairphone is committed to long-term support, and camera performance improvements are often included in these updates. Installing the latest software can fix known autofocus bugs or image processing issues that might be causing the blur.
Clear the Camera App's Cache and Data
If the problem persists, the app's stored data might be corrupted. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps. Find and select "Camera." Tap on Storage & cache, then tap Clear cache. If that doesn't help, you can try Clear storage or Clear data. Just be aware this will reset all your camera app settings to default.
Try a Third-Party Camera App
Download a free alternative camera app like Open Camera or Google Camera (GCam) from the Play Store. If your photos are sharp using a different app, the issue is likely with the stock Fairphone camera software, not the physical hardware. This can be a helpful diagnostic step while you wait for an official app update.
Check for Physical Damage or Moisture
Inspect the camera lenses closely for any cracks or deep scratches. Also, if you've recently been in a humid environment or moved from a cold to a warm place, condensation could have formed inside the camera module. Let the phone sit at room temperature for a while to see if it clears. The modular design means the camera unit is a sealed module, but it's not immune to environmental factors.
