Front facing camera stopped working on the iPhone 4s

Attempted to use the Camera App today and was presented with a closed shutter screen in the Camera app as pictured below. No tramma or anything happend to the phone no recent OS update, just not working out of the blue.

If I open the FaceBook app and go to the "Take Picture" section, the camera opens successfully, but when I attempt to switch to the front camer, it goes back and gets stuck at the shut shutter screen.

What I have tried:

• Quitting the "Camera" app and re-opening it

• Shutting down and restarting the iPhone.

• The force shutdown method, hold power + home button until it turns off.

• The Restore in iTunes

Still the same rear camera works, and when attempting to switch to the front camera boom closed shutter screen.

Any other ideas, it looks like I have a hardware problem...

Solution 1:

This is a hardware problem. This comes up when the ribbon connector from the camera to the main circuit board comes loose or gets disconnected altogether. If you have the right tools and enough DIY skills to open up your iPhone, it's a very simple fix that should be fairly obvious to see. Otherwise, the Apple Store should be able to repair it for you (I would think free of charge, but who knows).

If you do want to take apart your iPhone and attempt the repair yourself, PowerBook Medic has some really nice instructions for taking apart all versions of iPhones from 3GS and above. They also sell replacement parts and will repair it for you as well if you want. (Disclaimer: I have no affiliation nor prior experience with this company, so use at your own risk.)

This is what the front camera of an iPhone 4 looks like:

That little white/silver part is what's probably come loose; just pushing down on it gently should allow it to snap right back in.

Solution 2:

This does indeed seem like a issue worth taking your iPhone to an Apple Store to repair, as you have performed all the recommended troubleshooting steps already.