Dip in the loo

[suzee]

As happens my s21 phone fell out of my pocket.....Mostly recovered except for two areas. The camera and biometric recognition. I have tried all the usual stuff, and even new apps don't fix it. Any advice please?

[suzee]

Thanks🙏

[Obsydian]

Ouch - try to rice thing, worth ago, doesnt work, but made me feel like my S9 and Buds2 Pro would be fixed and fine.

Keep it as a trade in, just ensure (somehow) you deactivation reactivation lock, do not chuck it away it has value as a trade in any broken mobile.

[Darrenmox]

The problem might be deeper possibly hardware-related.

For the camera, start by checking for any visible physical damage like cracks or dust on the lens. Open the default camera app and see whether the screen is black, blurry, or if the app crashes. Try booting your phone into Safe Mode (hold the Power button, then press and hold “Power off” and select “Safe mode”). If the camera works in Safe Mode, a third-party app might be causing the problem. You can also try a different camera app like Open Camera from the Play Store. If that doesn’t help, dial *#0*# on the phone to enter Samsung's built-in diagnostic tool and tap on the Camera test. If this test fails, it likely means the camera hardware has been damaged.

As for the biometric recognition, whether it's the fingerprint or face unlock, first go to Settings > Biometrics and security. Remove any saved fingerprints or facial data and try registering them again. If the phone won’t let you register new biometrics at all, that usually indicates a hardware failure. You can also use the same *#0*# diagnostic menu and run the fingerprint or sensor test to check if the component is functioning. Alternatively, you can access diagnostics through the Samsung Members app by running tests under the Diagnostics section.