Why can't I use my flashlight?

Chopped7821 Yes it says "flash/torch is unavailable for this mode".

On my 6a, using the GrapheneOS camera, I get that message if the app is using the selfie/video camera on the same side as the display, but I do not get that message when the app is using the rear high-quality camera.

Maybe you have to do a Hardware research

Chopped7821 I was hoping that upgrading to Graphene OS 2024082200 would fix this but it did not.

I suspect whatever is going on is unique to your device -- either a configuration issue or a hardware issue -- and thus won't be fixed by updates.

One option might be digging through the system log to see if there are any complaints when you invoke the flashlight. Another option, albeit disruptive, might be a factory reset (followed immediately by testing the flashlight, before installing or configuring anything).

de0u One option might be digging through the system log to see if there are any complaints when you invoke the flashlight.

Chopped7821 Where's that?

Settings, System, View logs

de0u Another option, albeit disruptive, might be a factory reset (followed immediately by testing the flashlight, before installing or configuring anything).

Chopped7821 Since the error occurs with new users, will a factory reset affect this issue?

Is it possible to provide links to cases involving new users?

Chopped7821 I had the opportunity to install the original Google Pixel OS and re-install GrapheneOS on the phone, but the "camera in use" error was persistent across both operating systems, so it seems certain it is a hardware problem.

Thanks for reporting back!

Chopped7821 Hey I just wanted to chime in and mention that I have had the EXACT same issue and EXACT same experience you have on my Pixel 7 Pro running GOS. Of course, my flashlight also worked seamlessly for many months until 1 day last year it just didn't anymore, then reflecting the same 'Camera in use' error you mentioned.

So you factory-reset your device and even on stock Pixel OS, your flashlight had the same exact issue!??

...so what.. we spend all this money on what's supposed to be a smartphone with premium hardware only end up with a borked flashlight for no apparent reason!?

Zosh So what.. we spend all this money on what's supposed to be a smartphone with premium hardware only end up with a borked flashlight for no apparent reason!?

Hardware breaks. All hardware breaks eventually, some hardware breaks earlier. In only a billion years either Mars or Mercury might well crash into the Earth (source).

Software can break too, sometimes in subtle ways. Completely resetting all of the software on a device is very inconvenient, but it can greatly reduce uncertainty about whether a given phenomenon is due to hardware breaking or software breaking.

Probably nobody knows how often any given Pixel component tends to break. Google is probably in a better position to have good guesses than others (they handle in-warranty repairs and sell parts to third-party repair shops), but they probably don't hear about lots of failures, because people may decide to junk a device instead of fixing it. So maybe Pixels have an elevated rate of flashlight breakage compared to other phones, or maybe not.

If some part of some phone breaks at a rate that is genuinely elevated far above normal breakage rates, there may be lots of reports online, maybe class-action lawsuits, warranty extensions, etc. But if one Pixel in a million experiences flashlight failure there might be only a few scattered reports online from people with unusually bad luck.