Google addresses Android 4.4.2 camera bug, says fix arriving in a future update
There’s a nasty little bug some users have been experiencing since updating their Nexus 5’s (and other devices) to Android 4.4.2. The big involves the camera application in Android 4.4.2 that when either opened by the user or triggered in the background from another app (Skype for instance), causes the device’s CPU to max out, resulting in abnormally high battery drain.
It’s not a good time for anyone, but try not to worry too much because Google is hot on the case. They’ve officially acknowledged the issue in their bug tracking forum and have promised to address this issues (and others) in a future maintenance update (likely Android 4.4.3).
Keep in mind that Google was only able to verify this issue on the Nexus 5 and recommends that Android users with other devices report the bug to their respective manufacturers. This has to due to with custom Android software (Sense, TouchWiz) that could also be triggering the camera bug, and will need to be addressed separately.
To find out if you have the bug, you’ll need to jump into your Settings > Battery and check to see if “mm-qcamera-daemon” is consuming a good chuck of your battery percentage. If it is, a reboot is said to help but it’s only a temporary fix. Also, uninstalling apps like Skype, Tango, etc. that use the camera may also help. It’s not the best solution, but it might be your only option until Android 4.4.3 is pushed out sometime in the future.
Anyone notice camera hijinks affecting their device after updating to Android 4.4.2?