Some Galaxy S24 Ultra units have camera hardware issue, check yours!

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Hotstar in UAE
Hotstar in UAE

Samsung‘s Galaxy S24 Ultra has a camera hardware issue, in at least some units. The images on the screen shift abnormally when switching between 1x, 3x, and 5x lenses. X user @smasithick first spotted and reported the issue, which has been confirmed to be a hardware problem by a Samsung service center official. We can confirm the same issue on one of our retail units.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a camera hardware issue

The Galaxy S24 Ultra features four cameras at the back. There’s a 200MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide lens, a 10MP 3x optical zoom camera, and a 50MP 5x optical zoom camera. When capturing photos and videos, it can automatically switch to the right lens based on the zoom, lighting, and distance to the subject. You can also manually select the lens you want to capture a shot with.

Normally, this switching happens smoothly like you are zooming in and out with the same lens. However, X user @smasithick recently noticed that switching between the main shooter and the two zoom cameras causes the image to shift on their Galaxy S24 Ultra. The phone doesn’t smoothly zoom into the subject. The issue is particularly noticeable when focusing on nearby objects.

The affected consumer visited a nearby Samsung service center and demonstrated the issue to the officials there. They initially denied any issue and said it was within normal functioning for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The service center personnel flashed the phone (the user had already performed a factory reset to no gain) but the image shift issue persisted. After a long discussion, they eventually approved a replacement the next day.

Samsung confirms it is known a hardware issue

The Galaxy S24 Ultra in question here was purchased in India. It was manufactured in the country in December 2023. While Samsung agreed to replace the defective unit, that isn’t the end of the story. The service center manager told the user that the company was already aware of the issue. It identified the “hardware issue” during the first batch of production in India. The issue exists on many devices from the first batch, the manager suggested.

They added that Samsung fixed it in the second batch. However, it still decided to sell the faulty units, which is unethical and extremely disappointing, to say the least. The same X user confirmed the issue on a couple more Galaxy S24 Ultra units, while the service center personnel showed a video of the issue on another unit from a different Samsung showroom. It also exists on our Indian retail unit of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Put simply, this is a fairly widespread hardware issue with Samsung’s best flagship smartphone that the company was aware of even before it started selling the device. The firm could have easily avoided it. Worst yet, it may not be limited to Indian retail units, as there are reports of the same issue from Thailand and Spain as well. It remains to be seen how the Korean firm handles it all.

As of this writing, Samsung has yet to acknowledge the issue, though it expressed concern about the X user’s posts saying that they had negatively impacted its reputation. Maybe you should make customer experience of paramount importance for a positive word of mouth, Samsung. We will keep a close eye on this matter and let you know when we have more information. If you have a Galaxy S24 Ultra, make sure to check for the issue.

2024-02-02 15:04:11