S21 camera level very inaccurate, how to calibrate?

[Burbankjim]

Hello all,

My S21 Ultra camera level is way off and there does not appear to be a way to calibrate it. When in pro video or pro photo mode with grid squares enabled, there is a horizontal line through the frame which is supposed to be a level indicator so you know the horizon will be level in the photo, but mine is off by a whopping almost 5 degrees and I cannot find any way to calibrate it. I have a separate level app as well as the level the s21 Ultra comes with and they are okay, but that is because they have a calibrate button within the apps that allows you to get it right. I want my level in the camera app to be correct, not WAY off. Can anyone help? Incidentally a google search for S21 Ultra camera level calibration produces no answers. Apparently, I have the only S21 ultra on earth with this problem. Please help if possible.

Thanks,

--Jim

 

[ocnbrze]

try clearing cache and data for your camera and see if that helps.

 

[svim]

If you look in the Settings menu of your Camera app, is there are any option referring to calibrating or orientating the auto-leveling feature? It might be some obscure option buried in a contextual sub-menu so look around carefully just in case.

If there isn't any such option, have you tried just restarting your phone? A restart can clear up a lot of one-off glitches that might be a part of this problem. Also, has this been a problem you've always had or just something the occurred recently?

 

[Burbankjim]

If you look in the Settings menu of your Camera app, is there are any option referring to calibrating or orientating the auto-leveling feature? It might be some obscure option buried in a contextual sub-menu so look around carefully just in case.

If there isn't any such option, have you tried just restarting your phone? A restart can clear up a lot of one-off glitches that might be a part of this problem. Also, has this been a problem you've always had or just something the occurred recently?[/QU

I have had the phone almost a year, but I only recently started using the Pro video and Pro photography modes, so I don't know how long the problem has existed. It could have been that way the day I bought it. I have tried reboot and now I have also tried clearing data and cache as someone else suggested. So far no luck. I also cant find any calibration option anywhere.

 

[ocnbrze]

I have had the phone almost a year, but I only recently started using the Pro video and Pro photography modes, so I don't know how long the problem has existed. It could have been that way the day I bought it. I have tried reboot and now I have also tried clearing data and cache as someone else suggested. So far no luck. I also cant find any calibration option anywhere.

it might be a hardware issue...i dont know. i would take it in and have a professional look at it.

 

[svim]

Any chance you could post a screen shot of your screen using your Camera app aimed at something and showing the grid lines?
https://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-galaxy-s21-ultra/screenshot/

 

[Burbankjim]

Any chance you could post a screen shot of your screen using your Camera app aimed at something and showing the grid lines?
https://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-galaxy-s21-ultra/screenshot/

Here is a screenshot of the viewfinder in pro photo mode. THe camera is perfectly horizontal, and the level indicates that it is not horizontal. In fact, the level is off by about 5 degrees which makes it completely useless. Photo attached.

--Jim

 

[svim]

OK, that is a puzzling issue. (And that is a really nice example pic with appliances and things with lots of horizontal and vertical surfaces.)

You referred to using other apps to confirm your phone's sensors where working as they should so this suggestion might be repetitive -- if you install this 'GPS Status & Toolbox' app it includes some utilities to reset some of same sensors that the Camera app is using for that leveling bar. You need to access the Status bar and tap on the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) to see them. There's a 'Diagnose sensors' option that brings up a window showing the various sensors in your S21 Ultra and it's in real-time so as you move your phone around the displayed numbers change accordingly. There's also a green checkmark indicator for sensors that are OK, a dash for nonexistent sensors, and red exclamation indicator for stuff you probably have disabled (i,e. if you have Location disabled the GPS sensor might show that red exclamation). Anyway, the ones that relate to you issue, like the gyroscope sensor or orientation sensor appear to be working? There's also a 'Compass calibration' option and a 'Calibrate pitch and roll' option to use that might be relevant.

Another thing to try just as test is temporarily use a different camera app and see if there's a similar problem when displaying a leveling bar. Install this 'Open Camera' app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera&hl=en_US&gl=US
In its Settings menu go to 'Camera preview...' and enable the 'Show angle' and 'Show pitch lines' options. Now viewing the usual aiming display is there also that odd leveling problem? (... instead of a horizontal bar with your S21 U Camera app, this shows a light, white cross that turns green when leveled.) If that is also that same problem you're having, that's a possible indicator the issue is with your phone's sensors or maybe a glitch in the Android OS or Samsung's One UI. If not, that's an indicator the Camera app is the source of the problem.

 

[Burbankjim]

OK, that is a puzzling issue. (And that is a really nice example pic with appliances and things with lots of horizontal and vertical surfaces.)

You referred to using other apps to confirm your phone's sensors where working as they should so this suggestion might be repetitive -- if you install this 'GPS Status & Toolbox' app it includes some utilities to reset some of same sensors that the Camera app is using for that leveling bar. You need to access the Status bar and tap on the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) to see them. There's a 'Diagnose sensors' option that brings up a window showing the various sensors in your S21 Ultra and it's in real-time so as you move your phone around the displayed numbers change accordingly. There's also a green checkmark indicator for sensors that are OK, a dash for nonexistent sensors, and red exclamation indicator for stuff you probably have disabled (i,e. if you have Location disabled the GPS sensor might show that red exclamation). Anyway, the ones that relate to you issue, like the gyroscope sensor or orientation sensor appear to be working? There's also a 'Compass calibration' option and a 'Calibrate pitch and roll' option to use that might be relevant.

Another thing to try just as test is temporarily use a different camera app and see if there's a similar problem when displaying a leveling bar. Install this 'Open Camera' app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera&hl=en_US&gl=US
In its Settings menu go to 'Camera preview...' and enable the 'Show angle' and 'Show pitch lines' options. Now viewing the usual aiming display is there also that odd leveling problem? (... instead of a horizontal bar with your S21 U Camera app, this shows a light, white cross that turns green when leveled.) If that is also that same problem you're having, that's a possible indicator the issue is with your phone's sensors or maybe a glitch in the Android OS or Samsung's One UI. If not, that's an indicator the Camera app is the source of the problem.

Greetings,


Thank you for the good suggestions. I tried the Open Camera app and it produced the exact incorrect level information. However, it has a level calibrate function which the Samsung camera app does not have. See the photos taken before and after calibration. I am thinking that there is a hardware problem with the sensor like maybe it is not positioned correctly within the camera body because it does report all axis information, it's just off by about 5 degrees. A calibrate button would be a big improvement, but if the problem is hardware, then it's only hiding the real problem. My warrantee expires in about 4 days. If I need to have a hardware repair, I need to make that decision very soon and I will need to backup and then factory reset the phone for security reasons before sending it in. What do you think?

--Jim

P.S.: I have the GPS Status app and it works great but using the reset functions made no difference.

 

[svim]

Well calibration isn't so much about actually 'fixing' a hardware problem but mostly an issue where software needs to be adjusted to correspond with hardware. In this situation it's all about some GUI matter (the Graphical User Interface) -- the displayed image vs. the sensors involved. But yeah, that's a subtle, debatable distinction.
And is brings up the argument if this is an actual hardware fault or not. I think this more of a software problem, the camera app, and taking into consideration the Samsung Camera app is often reviewed as being pretty sophisticated it is a bit surprising there isn't some kind of level calibration option in the app's settings menus. But whether this is a hardware or a software problem, it is a big hassle to go through a full backup and later the restore process if you do opt to have this looked into by Samsung tech support.
All I can suggest is you weigh the time and effort you'll need to safely backup and then wipe your phone, and then do a complete restore afterwards versus just putting up with that leveling bar anomaly when using your Camera app's Pro mode. Are you having any other problems with your phone? If this leveling issue is just one of several others than it might be better to have the phone looked over elsewhere but if things are working pretty well as is, personally I'd just consider this to an odd annoyance to ignore.

 

[Gilmour]

Download "Expert Raw"
https://galaxystore.samsung.com/prepost/000005977497

Separate Camera app for Samsung Ultra phones.

See if you get the same problem

 

[Burbankjim]

Download "Expert Raw"
https://galaxystore.samsung.com/prepost/000005977497

Separate Camera app for Samsung Ultra phones.

See if you get the same problem

I tried Expert Raw and it's level is off in the same direction and by the same amount as the stock camera app. I really think this is a hardware issue.

 

[Gilmour]

Well in this case. You shouldn't be worried about warranty. Because it is clearly a defect. Reach out to Samsung and let them do the diagnostics. I think you can even do it from the phone. There's a remote support app in the settings. Let us know what they say. Good luck!

 

[Burbankjim]

UPDATE:

I took the phone to the Samsung store in Glendale CA 4 days before the warranty expired. They were very busy and made an appointment for me which was about a week after the warranty expired. However, since I made the appointment before it expired, they honored it. The problem was with the motherboard and here's the great news. They did not repair my phone. They gave me a new phone which is outstanding because there were some scratches on the screen and now it's perfect and the camera level is working right. I couldn't be more pleased. Getting everything restored was a pain, but all is good now.

--Jim