Video only recording sound, black picture

[Thumper427]

Hoping someone can help me here. My M4 is only a month old and today while recording 4 videos they have all come out as a black screen with only the sound recorded, no picture at all. Absolutely fuming as it was a really important moment I was capturing and this £300 piece of junk has ruined that!

I reset the phone, took the sim card out, did a factory reset and it still doesnt record any visual, just sound with a black screen.

A 26 second video is showing as 1.26MB's. When uploaded to the PC it's still a black 'video' with just the sound.

This is not the first Sony I have had problems with, I gave them a second chance and now I feel that was a complete and utter waste of time. Any ideas?

[Uliwooly]

@DisappointedCustomer

Are you using a third party camera ? 

Where are you saving the videos, internal storage on an SD card? 

Any call recording apps?

[Rickard]

I'm very sorry to hear that 

If the phone is not updated with the latest software version there may in some cases be issues with playback of video. But if there's an issue with the recording itself and it's black also when you play it in for example a PC i recommend that you contact a service location for assistance. For more information about how to submit your phone for repair and where, please contact your local support team.

[DisappointedCus]

>> Are you using a third party camera ? 

No, stock Sony camera.

>> Where are you saving the videos, internal storage on an SD card? 

32gb sandisk SD card

>> Any call recording apps?

No

[DisappointedCus]

Both phones are updated to the latest software version via the PC Companion.

With all due respect, its pointless sending the phone for repair.  Since this is a software fault affecting many users now (scan the forums to see), and Sony has not released any new software patches - there's little that a repair center can do but run the PC Companion repair, or do a factory reset.  And then the problem will just come back again in time.

Sony: Any news on a patch to fix this bug?

[Rickard]

There's no known issue with video recording and playback with the latest version of our software so i'm afraid i suspect a hardware issue if your phone has been updated.

Can you please clarify if you see this issue also when you play the video in other devices and which build number you have?

[DisappointedCus]

Thanks, yes let me clarify:

When I transfer the mp4 to my PC and analyse the movie in something like VLC there is no video stream..  Empty, just audio.

You say this is a hardware issue.. Let me link to another recent thread on the subject.  Do you suppose these people also all have the same HW issue.. and can we therefore summarise that there is a serious HW problem with these phones?

http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-8482-M4-Aqua/Video-only-recording-sound-black-picture/m-p/10251...

Will Sony admit to the hardware problem and initiate a device recall - or perhaps its a software issue after all?

[DisappointedCus]

Restarting your phone frequently is not the answer to this problem.  It will come back.

Are you really going to restart your phone every time you whip your phone out to capture an inpromptu video?

There is some response being given in this thread:

http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/forums/replypage/board-id/xperiaM4aqua/message-id/1972

possible HW problem with these phones, but stay tuned.

[Uliwooly]

@DisappointedCustomer

Stop by your local Xperia Care to get your phone inspected if you think it's a hardware issue. 

http://support.sonymobile.com/global-en/contactUs/

[DisappointedCus]

FFS it is not a hardware issue  (read the thread before posting).

A lot of people are having this, and the only advice which can be given is "duh must be a hardware issue, go repair your phone".

It is most likely a SW bug, probably with the camera app.

[Frippe75]

Hello,

My sons phone is behaving the exact same way. Black video recording, with sound.

Restart does not help. Not sure if I can upgrade it futher.

Time for an official Sony solution....

We bought this phone as a replacement for the Sony z1 compact which.... was acting strangely....
Hmm....  1 Sony mobile + 1 Sony mobile = 2 broken Sony mobiles...

Can't believe I went that route....