S24 ultra 3x telephoto camera not working

[CopperTheFox]

I was taking some pictures with my s24 ultra the other day and it was working perfectly fine, then I got the dreaded warning camera failed message the next morning. 

sometimes a 3rd party app accessing the rear cameras seems to, in rare cases, corrupt the cache and give the warning, and clearing cache partition always fixed it

So, I thought, no big deal, I'll just wipe the cache partition, but it turns out that one of the lastest updates has completely removed the wipe cache partition option from the recovery menu. I tried clearing the cache on the camera app in settings and restarting, that did nothing to help (and never helped before either, when wiping the cache partition would always fix it) tried resetting camera settings and that didn't help either. 

Ive tried safe mode, but in safe mode the camera app doesnt even attempt to open at all, nothing happens when you tap the icon. Not even quick selfie mode.

Back to normal mode, I can access the cameras if I use the pro modes, or by holding the camera app, selecting selfie, then selecting more and pro modes, then I can use the other cameras without issue until I touch the 3x telephoto which then gives the warning camera failed error and crashes the app.

When I turn the phone around and open the camera app, I can see all the rear cameras (including the 3x telephoto) move to their center positions, then go slack when the camera failed message appears.

[userJoEg9GRVFc]

Have you tried to run phone diagnostics and check the camera?

[CopperTheFox]

It just says issues detected.

Front camera works fine if you launch with the selfie mode when you hold the camera icon, and from there the rear cameras on pro mode work as long as you don't hit the 3x telephoto

[userJoEg9GRVFc]

You're absolutely correct that the wiping the cache partition is gone from the recovery menu. I also have a S24 Ultra, and I checked after reading your post.
Sorry I can't help you further. The camera of the phone is not giving me any issues.
Have you tried resetting the camera settings by going to the camera settings? I saw a suggestion of using a 3rd party app that may make the camera work. This will also help identify a hardware issue.

[CopperTheFox]

I fixed it, apparently one of the connectors had come slightly loose for the 3x camera, I tried the squeeze trick but I guess I wasnt squeezing it hard enough for it to work so I set it down on the carpet and lightly stepped on the back glass near the cameras, not full body weight but just leaning on it, avoiding the lenses themselves obviously

Cleared cache and restarted the phone and now everything is working normally again 😅