In this troubleshooting guide, we cover several solutions to resolve issues with the new Camera Control button on iPhone 16, including problems with opening the camera or activating visual intelligence.
The Camera Control is a new hardware button on the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. It allows you to open the camera with a single click, adjust in-camera settings with a double click or swipe gestures, and activate AI visual intelligence by pressing and holding the button.
While it’s rare for this button to stop working, issues can occur due to user settings, glitches from regular use, an improper case or cover, hardware damage from dropping your iPhone, or manufacturing defects.
If the Camera Control button has become unresponsive, follow the tips below to quickly resolve the
Make sure Camera Control is set to open something
Out of the box, Camera Control is assigned to launch the stock Camera app. But if you ventured into settings and mistakenly set the button to do nothing, clicking the Camera Control button once or twice will not open the camera. So, go to iPhone Settings > Camera > Camera Control and set it to open the Camera or the camera system of some other app like Instagram, Snapchat, Halide, etc.
Set up Apple Intelligence
Pressing and holding the Camera Control launches visual intelligence, allowing you to point your iPhone at objects and learn more about them using ChatGPT or Google Lens. Visual intelligence can also perform tasks like translating text, adding calendar events, or providing a shop’s working hours. As this is an AI-powered feature, you’ll need to set up Apple Intelligence on your iPhone for it to work.
Ensure Camera Control isn’t disabled
If you find yourself accidentally triggering the Camera Control button, you might have turned it off in your iPhone settings and forgotten about it. Open the iOS Settings app, go to Camera > Camera Control > Accessibility, and check if the Camera Control switch is on. If it’s off, tap to turn it back on and regain access to this new button.
Enable secondary click and swipe gestures
Apple allows you to turn off the extra Camera Control features and use it merely as a shutter button. If you did that and can no longer use the additional light-press and swipe gestures, head back to Camera Control accessibility settings and revert the features you disabled.
Camera Control does different things in different apps
One important thing to know about this button is that it does different things in different camera apps as needed. For instance, when you’re inside the Camera app, it lets you take the shot as well as change the exposure, zoom, tone, etc. But it can only zoom in when you’re in the Code Scanner to read QR codes. And, when you’re in Instagram, the Camera Control works only as a shutter button and nothing more. So, don’t expect this switch to do the same things across different apps.
Camera Control doesn’t work when iPhone screen is off, but you can change that
Pressing the Camera Control button when your iPhone is locked just wakes up the device, and pressing it once again launches the camera. This is the default behavior, but if you want this button to open the camera in one click at all times, go to Settings > Display & Brightness and turn off Require Screen On.
Force quit and reopen the set app
If you’ve set the Camera Control to open the Instagram camera, but it fails to do so, force close the Instagram app and try opening it again.
Restart your iPhone
System glitches can cause issues where your iPhone’s physical hardware buttons, including the volume keys, may stop functioning as expected. Simply turn your iPhone off and back on to smoothen such problems.
Update the app or reinstall it
If the Camera Control problem continues with a specific third-party app, first update it from the iOS App Store. And if that doesn’t work, delete the app and re-download it.
Remove the case if it covers the Camera Control button
You may be unable to click the Camera Control button or swipe on it if you use an unusual case that covers it entirely. So, use Apple’s official case for your iPhone 16 model (get it from Amazon or Apple), as it has “sapphire crystal coupled to a conductive layer to communicate finger movements to the Camera Control.” You can also use a cheaper third-party option, provided it has a proper cutout for the Camera Control button so you can interact directly with your finger.
Update to the latest version of iOS
Bugs in the operating system can be yet another reason for the failure of the new Camera Control button. So, head to iPhone Settings > General > Software Update and install the newest version of iOS currently available for your device.
Factory reset all iPhone settings
If you’re still unable to use the Camera Control, try resetting all iPhone settings to their default state. Doing so will only affect the various settings and won’t delete your photos, videos, and apps.
Erase everything from your iPhone and set it up again
If resetting all settings doesn’t help, consider erasing your iPhone and setting it up again. This is a time-consuming process, and you should do this only after all the above solutions have failed and you’re considering taking your iPhone to an Apple Store.
Take your iPhone 16 to an Apple Store
Lastly, if you still cannot make use of this new camera button, have an Apple support staff check it. At the time of writing, all iPhone 16s still have their standard one-year warranty. So, unless your device has suffered hardware damage that’s not covered under the warranty, chances are Apple will diagnose the device and fix the problem free of cost.