Although the Pixel 6 lineup has received rave reviews, the latest flagships from Google are far from perfect. Over the last few months, we've seen several reports of Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro users facing various issues, ranging from poor fingerprint scanner performance to sub-par network connectivity. While Google has addressed some of these issues via software updates, the company is yet to fix an annoying issue with the default camera app on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro that makes the device unusable.

We've come across various reports on Google's support website and Reddit claiming that the default camera app on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro crashes frequently and makes the device unusable. Whenever this issue pops up, users are left with no choice but to hard reboot their device, making the entire ordeal rather annoying.

Some users report that factory resetting the phone doesn't seem to help either, and the issue persists even after installing the February 2022 update, which included a fix for the "issue causing device reboot when using camera in certain conditions." Fed up with the issue, a Pixel 6 Pro user has released a modded version of the Open Camera app that offers disgruntled users temporary relief.

As mentioned in several reports, the issue seems to be limited to the default camera app on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Third-party camera apps, like Open Camera, seem to work as intended. However, since Open Camera doesn't support the Pixel 6 Pro's ultra-wide camera and has a tricky zoom slider, it isn't an ideal alternative to the stock camera app. Thankfully, the modded Open Camera build from Cameron Kaiser offers a relatively better solution.

The modded Open Camera app for the Pixel 6 Pro adds a button on the screen that makes the zoom a bit easier to control. Although it still doesn't include support for the ultra-wide camera, it's better than using the stock camera app for one simple reason -- it doesn't crash. So, if you've been facing this camera crashing issue on your Pixel 6 Pro, you should give it a go.

You can download the modded Open Camera app for the Pixel 6 Pro from the project's GitHub repository. Note that the modded app only supports the Pixel 6 Pro, and it won't work on the regular Pixel 6. As the developer notes, the modded Open Camera app isn't as capable as the stock camera app on the Pixel 6 Pro. But, at least, it works.