Turn off Volume of LG Lucid Android Camera Shutter Sound

The LG Lucid cell phone, like all Android smart phones that I know of, comes with a stock camera app that allows you to take some pretty good pictures on the go. The LG Lucid gives you a couple different sound options to choose from when selecting the tone your cell phone camera makes when you take a picture. The one option I struggled to find was a “silent” or “mute” option. In other words, if I want to shut off the sound, I couldn't. Whenever I take a picture camera phone makes a pretty loud shutter sound. This can be annoying in quiet environments. So, where is there an option to turn off the camera volume on an LG Lucid wireless phone?

I have the answer. Before we start….

I can’t say that I know definitively why LG Lucid (Android) phones make it difficult to turn down the shutter noise. There is some speculation on the Internet that the loud camera app was designed to prevent covert picture taking. Hear a camera click in a locker room, fitting area, sensitive corporate area, government agencies, or any anywhere that forbids pictures, etc and it will draw attention fast. That is at least what the rumor-mill out there speculates.

The reality is that there are legitimate, non-sicko folks out there (like me) that simply don’t want to announce to the world that I’m taking a photo. A museum would be a great example. These environments are very quiet. Even a whisper can draw negative attention let alone the noise made when taking a picture.

There is a fountain of misinformation out there regarding turning off your LG phone shutter noise. Not that it is intentionally wrong. Some people are testing different LG phones models and various Android powered cell phones and each version has a little different way of doing things. What seems to be a common denominator though is that just about everyone is struggling to mute the noise when taking picture.

I method I tried was putting the phone into camera-mode, pressing the gear (settings) key on touch pad, the, going into “Shutter Sound” or “Shutter Settings” and trying to disable the volume from there. The problem is, once I got into the shutter sound mode, it only lets you change the tone style. It doesn't let you mute the noise it makes when you snap a photo.

I tried muting the camera in the app manager (no luck), the sound controls in the master settings from the home screen (again, no luck) as well as searching for apps that make the phone quiet (some luck there but not good enough…more on that later).

The solution to shutting off the sound when taking a picture on LG Lucid phones is really simple. The problem is, it isn't as logical as you might think. Nevertheless muting the camera noise is easy.

Step 1

Get OUT of the camera mode. Go back to your home screen.

Step 2

Press the rocker button that controls the volume on the left side of your phone until the ringer (yes, ringer) volume goes all the way down to vibrate or mute.

(Important thought to keep in mind: If try the rocker button in camera-mode you’ll just be zooming the photo view in and out. It won’t work for shutting off the tone. Be sure you are out of camera / picture mode and back to your home screen then press the rocker arm on the side.)

Step 3

With your phone ringer now set to mute or vibrate, go back into camera mode. You can now take pictures without making any sound.

The most obvious problem with this method is that your ringer will not go off if you get a call. You’ll need to adjust the volume up again after you are finished taking pics in order to hear incoming calls on your wireless phone. Then, of course, you’ll risk forgetting to turn your shutter sound back off the next time you take a photo.

Good question! The answer is, I think so. Remember above when I mentioned I had mixed results looking for applications to turn off the sound? Let’s look at that briefly.

There are a number of applications out there that will make your cell phone quiet when taking pictures. The problem is, I haven’t tried any of them. Why? Well, there are a couple reasons:

I haven’t found any that are free. There’s an app out there that some people like called Mobile Hidden Camera, but I couldn't find a free version. There are lots of others. All have varying complexity so read about them carefully first before downloading (especially if you have to pay for it)

I did find free apps but their focus wasn't shutting off the tone on your ‘stock’ LG camera app. These apps are for entirely new cameras that make no sound. I wasn't in the mood to try a totally new app for taking pics so I didn't try these.

I was content with the simple explanation of turning off the shutter sound via the rocker button in spite of the drawbacks of having to reset the ringer tone.

I hope that helps you to turn off the volume of LG Lucid Android camera shutter sound

If you want to keep your shutter sound turned on, you don't have to be limited by just the default tone your hear when you shoot photos. There are a couple other options on this phone that will give you a little different sound. I posted an article on how to choose a different shutter sound on LG phone. Check it out.