fix(ios): prevent crash when capturePhoto has no active video connection

[Jeremy-Kr]

What

This PR fixes a crash on iOS devices where calling AVCapturePhotoOutput.capturePhoto(with:delegate:) could throw:

*** -[AVCapturePhotoOutput capturePhotoWithSettings:delegate:] No active and enabled video connection

The crash was caused by attempting to capture a photo when the AVCaptureSession was running but the video connection was not yet active (e.g., right after camera switch, format change, or session interruption).

Changes

• Added a readiness check before capture:
  • Ensure AVCaptureSession.isRunning == true
  • Ensure video connection is both enabled and active
• Added an auto-repair path:
  • Re-add AVCapturePhotoOutput inside beginConfiguration/commitConfiguration
  • Reset session preset to .photo if available
  • Restart the session if necessary
• Added a short polling window (default 0.5s, every 50ms) to handle timing races after reconfiguration
• Preserved existing logging (VisionLogger.log) and behavior for resolution, flash, red-eye reduction, depth data, portrait effects matte, and distortion correction.

Tested on

• iPhone 17 Pro (iOS 18 beta) – verified crash no longer occurs when switching cameras rapidly and capturing immediately.
• iPhone 16 Pro (iOS 26.0) - regression check, normal behavior.
• iPhone 16 Pro (iOS 18.6) - regression check, normal behavior.
• iPhone 16 (iOS 26.0) - regression check, normal behavior.
• iPhone 12 Pro (iOS 16.x) – regression check, normal behavior.

Related issues

• Closes #3633
• Related discussions:
  • https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78212727
  • https://stackoverflow.com/questions/67804126

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Project	Deployment	Preview	Comments	Updated (UTC)
react-native-vision-camera	Ready	Preview	Comment	Sep 26, 2025 9:03am

[Tebrynn]

Could you please approve this update? i cannot take photo on iphone17 pro

[FaggioniHQ]

Hello There,

Same here...we are getting reports about this... thanks in advance

[isinuyk]

+1

When can we expect it to be merged and released?

We need to know whether to patch it or wait for the official fix

[sgiroux]

Running into multiple instances of this as well. Do we have an ETA or is it worth patching ourselves?

[FelipeSchiavini]

I created a patch using this code. The camera on the iPhone 17 Pro now works, but the preview appears significantly darker than usual before capturing the photo. with this error:

session/camera-not-ready: The Camera is not ready yet! Wait for the onInitialized() callback!
    at construct (native)
    at apply (native)
    at _construct (app:///main.jsbundle:1:255616)
    at Wrapper (app:///main.jsbundle:1:255268)
    at construct (native)
    at _callSuper (app:///main.jsbundle:1:3318079)
    at CameraError (app:///main.jsbundle:1:3318524)
    at construct (native)
    at _callSuper (app:///main.jsbundle:1:3318079)
    at CameraRuntimeError (app:///main.jsbundle:1:3318975)
    at tryParseNativeCameraError (app:///main.jsbundle:1:3319280)
    at ?anon_0_ (app:///main.jsbundle:1:3314080)
    at throw (native)
    at asyncGeneratorStep (app:///main.jsbundle:1:727134)
    at _throw (app:///main.jsbundle:1:727438)
    at tryCallOne (app:///main.jsbundle:1:1181)
    at anonymous (app:///main.jsbundle:1:1875)

[Tebrynn]

Camera is not darker on my iphone 17 pro but foggy and desaturated.

[jeemercado]

@mrousavy is there an upcoming fix for this? it's crashing for ios 17 pros

[mrousavy]

..did you read my review comments?

[jeemercado]

..did you read my review comments?

I did but I'm not the original author. That's why I was wondering if this would be officially fixed.