Pixel camera crashing for some on Android 14 Beta 2.1

Most beta software comes with a risk of bugs and other problems, and the ongoing Android 14 beta is no exception. Granted, Android 14 has been more buggy than I’m used to with Android betas, and another somewhat frustrating glitch is now plaguing users.

This time around, people running Android 14 Beta 2.1 are running into issues with the Google Camera app. As detailed by Android Police, switching between the primary and ultrawide cameras can cause the Camera app to crash.

Further, Android Police reports that if you manage to swap successfully to the ultrawide lens, the app will crash when you switch back to the primary lens. Moreover, if a crash happens while you’re recording a video, the Camera app will show a pop-up warning that some of the last recording might not have been saved.

Android Police notes it installed an over 300MB Camera update following the Android 14 Beta update, but that doesn’t appear to have fixed anything. The problem appears to affect mostly Pixel 6 and 7 series devices.

There are a few potential workarounds as well. Switching to portrait mode and then back to standard mode seems to fix whatever issue causes the crash, allowing users to freely swap lenses as much as they want. Similarly, quickly snapping a photo with the primary camera also seems to prevent crashes.

However, it’s not clear how widespread the bug is. In testing with my Pixel 7 running the Android 14 beta, the camera app worked just fine and I didn’t experience any crashes. That said, I also haven’t received the large Camera up update that Android Police received, so that could be a factor.

While an odd and likely frustrating issue overall, at least the workarounds are fairly simple. As we get closer to the Android 14 release date, many of the bugs and issues should end up fixed. As always, we recommend that those curious about trying the beta do so on a secondary device just in case bugs like this (or more serious problems) turn up.

Source: Android Police