What To Do When Your iPhone 6 Plus Camera Becomes Blurry

        2 weeks ago, we were out of the house going about our day, when I decided to take a photo of our good friend Gerry of Dude4Food with Rain (because she was feeling extra lambing that day to everyone). When I raised my phone up to take a shot, it took me longer than usually because for some reason the photo looked blurred and was taking its sweet time focusing. I tapped the screen to focus it, but after a few gentle taps, end then a few frantic taps, it just would not respond! See the photo above. If you're looking at it from a far, you won't really notice. But see it up close and it's blurry. Look closely at Rain's face.

        Panicked, I showed my husband and he tried to restart the phone. Still negative. Then our good techie friend Chuckie (AllChuckedUp), who was my last ray of hope at that time, tried to check it and did a hard reset, hoping the problem is the software. Still, photos from the back camera, or what they call the iSight camera, remained blurred. Holy moley I realized I was in trouble. My phone camera was broken!

        So as soon as we got home I googled the night away looking for anyone or any article who experienced the same thing my phone was experiencing. And then I found this:

"Apple has determined that, in a small percentage of iPhone 6 Plus devices, the iSight camera has a component that may fail causing your photos to look blurry. The affected units fall into a limited serial number range and were sold primarily between September 2014 and January 2015. 

If your iPhone 6 Plus is producing blurry photos and falls into the eligible serial number range, Apple will replace your device's iSight camera, free of charge."

        So apparently the first few batches of iPhone 6 Plus had a spare part that may suddenly break and make your camera fail to focus. Remember that iPhone 6 Plus is the first iPhone with actual moving parts inside the camera. This is the reason why the iPhone 6 Plus camera is crisp and clear because this moving part helps with the camera's stabilization, lessening the blurriness in photos even when you have shaky hands, or making videos look smooth even when you're walking as you're shooting.

        I bought my 6 Plus right around November 2014. So I checked my phone's serial number and entered it on this page and BINGO! Eligible! This means Apple will replace my camera for FREE! I felt really glad that I saw this, otherwise I would have desperately looked for any other cellphone fixer and just pray to God they fix it properly. So I'm sharing this with you guys.

        So I went to PowerMac Greenbelt (because I was there for errands), but too bad they didn't have a Service Center there. But they gave me a list of PowerMac branches with Authorized Apple Service Centers. I was thrilled to see that there's one in SM Aura, which was closer to home. So I went there. (See the complete list of Apple Service centers at the end of this post). I took with me the box and the receipt of my phone just in case. But turns out they didn't need to see it. At least I had it with me just in case.

        The representative took my phone, asked me where I bought it, tested my camera to see if it really was blurred. She also checked some other things in there to make sure that there was no other issue that may have caused the camera to fail as well. I'm guessing they're making sure that I didn't purposely throw my phone or anything like that to avail of the free iSight camera or something. And they wanted to make sure the phone was in good condition (aside from the camera) before they fiddle with it. Thankfully I take care of my phone well and it passed all the tests. Then she took the phone inside, I guess she showed the technicians for one last check, and when she went out she happily told me my phone passed with flying colors, and they will replace the iSight cam for free. Yay! Like music to my ears! 

        She explained to me that before I check my phone in, I had to back up all the files and stuff, which I already did the night before. And I already brought with me a temporary phone. (Girl scout! Always ready;)

        She explained to me that it may take 2-3 weeks depending if there will be an available iSight camera on hand. I filled out the forms, left contact details where they can reach me for updates. 

        The following day I received an email saying my phone is being diagnosed. I guess this is a normal email template they send to customers once they start opening up your phone. And then the following day, they sent another email to say it's ready for pick up. Woooohooooo! That was quick!

So I rushed to SM Aura in a heartbeat to get it. And it's 100% fixed!

First photo I took after I got my phone back

A few things you need to know if you own an iPhone 6 Plus:

• I had my iPhone 6 Plus for 1 year and 3 months already when this happened. So if your phone is about the same batch as mine but your camera is still working fine, it could still happen in the near future. So just watch out for it. You can also check in the link below to see if your phone is among the eligible batch: https://www.apple.com/support/iphone6plus-isightcamera/

But....

• If your iSight camera is working fine, don't bother bringing it to Apple Service Center because they will not replace perfectly-working cameras. However the iSight Camera Replacement Program will be applicable to your phone 3 years after the first retail sale of your phone.
• Note: Wireless carrier partners are not participating in this program. So if you got yours from Globe or Smart, you can only bring it to an Authorized Apple Service Provider if this happens.

Here's the list of PowerMac Authorized Apple Service Provider in the Philippines:

Tel. no.: (02) 725-4PMC (4762)

Operating hours: 10am-8pm

Cut-off is 30 mins before closing

Northast Square

2/L Northeast Square 47 Connecticut St.

Northeast Greenhills, San Juan

Monday-Saturday

SM Megamall

4th floor Cyberzone Building B

Mandaluyong City

Monday-Sunday

SM Annex

4/L Cyberzone SM Annex

SM North EDSA Quezon City

Monday-Sunday

Abreeza Mall

2/L Abreeza Mall, Ayala Malls

J.P. Laurel Ave., Bajada, Davao City

Monday-Saturday

Tel. No.: (082) 259-3624

Mobile: (63)917 636-6280

SM Aura Premier

3rd floor, SM Aura Premier

McKinley Parkway and C5 Road 26th St.

Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Monday-Saturday

Festival Supermall

4th Floor Festival Supermall

Alabang Corp. Avenue Filinvest Corporate

Alabang Muntinlupa City

Mondat to Saturday

Glorietta 5

3/L Ayala Center

Ayala Ave., Makati City

Monday-Saturday

Cebu Business Park

Unit G-2 Ground Floor

Mercedez-Benz Tower, Mindanao Ave.,

Cebu Business Park, Cebu City

Monday-Saturday

Tel no.: (032) 316-6377 / (032) 266-1552

Second photo I took with my new iSight Camera 

 Thank you PowerMac Service Center SM Aura for the great service!