Live Photos not recording or not playing on iPhone
Live Photos is a setting in the Camera app that captures a short video clip with each photo. If the button is greyed out, you either do not have space on your iPhone or the setting is turned off. If photos are not playing as live, they were not recorded properly. Check your storage space first, then turn on Live Photos in settings.
Live Photos records a 3-second video clip along with each photo you take, creating a moving memory rather than a still image. When Live Photos does not work, it is because storage is running low, the feature is disabled, or motion detection failed during capture. We will check your storage and settings to get it working again.
- ✓Check that the Live Photos button is available in Camera - swipe to find it or tap the yellow circle icon at the top
- ✓Check your iPhone storage - go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage and see how much space is available
- ✓Check that Live Photos are not globally disabled - go to Settings → Camera and look for Live Photo toggle
- ✓Check that you are not in Low Power Mode, which can disable Live Photos
Fix-IT-Bot will walk you through each step, just tap, no typing needed.
Skip, I just want a technicianCommon mistakes to avoid
- Thinking Live Photos is broken when the phone just moved too much during capture — hold very still when taking the photo
- Not realizing Live Photos takes up twice the storage space because it saves both a photo and a video
Signs you need professional help
- If you have enabled Live Photos, freed up storage, and taken test photos but the motion clip is still not recording or playing, there is a deeper software or hardware issue. Give us a call and we will check it.
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