Canon PowerShot A720 IS Troubleshooting

The Canon PowerShot A720 IS is a compact, lightweight digital camera used primarily for quick point and shoot photography with several photo features and options, such as video recording, red eye reduction, a 2.5 inch LCD screen, 8.0 megapixels and a flash memory slot.

Note: This troubleshooting guide covers general problems with the Canon PowerShot A720 IS so you can identify what is wrong before referring to the repair guide to fix it.

The Canon PowerShot A720 IS won't turn on or turns off on its own.

The first thing to check if your digital camera won't turn on is to press the on/off power button. The power button is located on the top surface of the camera and is the small button on left side of the mode dial. You should feel a slight difference in heights between the button and top surface of the camera when the button is pressed.

You may want to check your 2 AA batteries if your digital camera won't turn on or turns off on its own. They may be the wrong size or inserted incorrectly if the Canon PowerShot A720 IS won’t turn on. Make sure that they are size AA and that you have the positive terminal end of the battery facing out in the front slot and the negative terminal end facing out in the back slot.

Try replacing your batteries with new ones or with batteries that are fully charged for those that are rechargeable. Low battery power might be the reason why the Canon PowerShot A720 IS turns off on its own.

If you are using a flash memory card, make sure that the card is properly inserted into its slot in the battery compartment.

You may also want to check to see if the contacts on the battery compartment cover are in good condition and are touching the batteries by properly sliding and locking the battery compartment cover. If not, you may have to replace the contacts.

If none of the above troubleshooting techniques work, then there may be problems with the circuitry and/or wire connections of the motherboard. This may be caused by a factory defect, camera drop, uneven power distribution, etc. At this point, our advice is to try to replace the motherboard.

The Canon PowerShot A720 IS came into contact or was submerged into a liquid for a period of time.

If the Canon PowerShot A720 IS comes into contact with any type of liquid, you may have to the disassemble the camera into a few major components to let the parts dry in a safe and dry area or carefully place the major components in a bag of dry rice. When the components are completely dry, reassemble and try again.

If the digital camera still doesn't power on, consider replacing the batteries or the motherboard. The motherboard probably blew a circuit when the liquid came into contact with the motherboard.

The LCD screen on the Canon PowerShot A720 IS is blank, frozen, flickering, or damaged.

The screen does not display any images.

If LCD screen on the Canon PowerShot A720 IS displays a blank screen while the camera is powered on, you may want to press the Display button. The function of the Display button is to turn on and off the LCD screen. The button is located next to the LCD screen on the back of the camera and is labeled as DISP. Sometimes the display on the LCD screen shuts off when the camera enters its power saving mode or if the Display button was accidentally pressed.

If the LCD screen is still blank, then it may be due to low battery power. Replace both of the AA batteries with new or fully charged ones, turn the camera on, and press the Display Button.

After you have tried the previous troubleshooting steps and the problem persists, you may want consider the LCD screen repair guide to check for faulty internal wire connections that are connected to the power supply, LCD screen, and the motherboard. If you have replaced the LCD screen and the wires connections are intact after examination, then you may want to replace the motherboard.

The image on the LCD screen of the Canon PowerShot A720 IS will not change.

When the camera repeatedly becomes unresponsive to user input, wait a few minutes to allow the camera to finish any processes that it may have started. If a significant amount of time passes and the camera is still unresponsive, recycle power by using the on/off button and remove and reload the batteries into the camera. When the Canon PowerShot A720 IS is back on, check to see if the frozen image has been removed.

If the frozen image on the LCD screen is the most recent picture shot, toggle the camera and video recording mode switch up and down. The mode switch is located in the top left corner of the back panel of the camera.

After you have tried the previous troubleshooting steps and the problem persists, you may want consider the LCD screen repair guide to check for faulty internal wire connections that are connected to the power supply, LCD screen, and the motherboard. If you have replaced the LCD screen and the wires connections are intact after examination, then you may want to replace the motherboard.

Flashes of light appear on the LCD screen when taking pictures.

The lens usually causes flickering LCD screens when the lens focuses on light from a fluorescent light source. Simply turn away or move from the light source or reduce the lighting in the area stop the screen from flickering.

There are tiny black squares scattered across the screen.

There is a big, black blot on the LCD screen.

You may have one or many dead pixels if you notice an extremely small black square or many of them scattered across the LCD screen. If you see a large black blot, then your LCD screen is cracked and the liquid portion had spilled onto the glass screen. If either situation occurred, you have no other option than to replace the camera’s LCD screen.

The image is there, but it is dark.

If the Canon PowerShot A720 IS has a dark or faint screen but the digital camera is still operational, then the backlight may have burned out. Unfortunately, there are no LCD screen bright adjustment settings on the settings menu. You may want to verify this by taking the camera apart and replace the LCD screen. If the problem persists, there may be more significant damage to the Canon PowerShot A720 IS associated with the motherboard. Use the motherboard replacement guide to replace the motherboard.

A red-purplish straight line appears on the LCD screen.

Should a constant and straight bright red or purple line appear either across or vertically, refer to the LCD screen replacement guide to check the wires connections between the motherboard and the LCD and/or replace the LCD screen.

The Canon PowerShot A720 IS has no sound or the sound is distorted.

There is no sound.

Go to the back panel of the Canon PowerShot A720 IS and press the small button labeled MENU. Use the circular directional pad to navigate through the menu screen. Select settings tab and make sure that the camera is not on mute. If mute is on, turn it off and then on again. Power the digital camera down and restart. If you do not hear the chime or the chime is distorted, then the internal speaker may have some problems.

The sound is distorted.

If you checked the mute settings on the digital camera and still hear a distorted chime, then there may be a malfunction with the internal speaker. Refer to the internal replacement guide to examine wire connections to the internal speaker and/or replace the internal speaker. After you have checked the wires and/or replaced the speaker, reassemble the camera and turn it on to listen for the chime. If the problem persists, use the motherboard replacement guide and replace the motherboard.

The lens is stuck and will not retract.

The battery compartment cover may not be properly shut and locked while operating the camera. Just close the cover securely and restart the camera, and the lens should retract.

The lens housing unit could have some debris in it. You can clean the lens housing unit by first powering the camera off and pressing the plastic lens ring button located on the lower left side of the lens when the camera is facing you. Then carefully unscrew the ring to remove it. Next, carefully wipe the lens housing unit with a dry cloth when the lens is fully extended. Otherwise, the lens could be damaged. Then turn the camera back on and off to see if the lens will retract. If the lens housing unit still does not retract, follow the lens disassembly guide to take apart the lens and carefully wipe again before reassemble.

There’s a scratch or a crack on the lens of the Canon PowerShot A720 IS.

If the picture you took appears to have a stationary blur or light refraction, you may want to check the lens for scratches and cracks. First, gently wipe the lens with a dry cloth and take another picture to see if the image is clear. If you do notice a scratch or a crack, you may want to consider replacing the lens. Follow the lens disassembly guide for replacement.

The Button is Stuck or Loose.

Initially, use the tweezers to free the shutter button if it is stuck. Carefully apply the tip of one end of the tweezers in the space between the button and the panel and try to get just underneath the button to pop it back in place. Do not force or jam the tweezer if it does not fit in the space. If the button is unable to pop back into its position, replace the spring contact that is associated with that button with the shutter button replacement guide.

When buttons are loose, they may have somehow been disconnected from the their contact spring. Use the shutter button replacement guide to reattach or replace the spring and connect it to the shutter button.

The Dial is Tight or Loose.

If the mode dial is stuck, check and carefully remove any visible debris that may cause an obstruction to the mode dial. If there is no visible debris, proceed to the mode dial disassembly guide. Do not try to change the mode dial setting with force. This may cause more damage to the mode dial and its components.

If the mode dial is spinning freely, refer to the mode dial disassembly guide. There may be an internal problem with the components of the mode dial. These components may be damaged, loose, or worn out from mishandling and/or overuse.

The pictures are out of focus and blurry.

Blurry Pictures

The subject may be out of focal range, hard to focus on, or the camera may have the wrong focal settings if the images appear blurry and out of focus. You may want refer to the Canon PowerShot A720 IS user manual to learn about the different settings.

If you still receive blurry and out of focus images, make sure that you are using the correct zoom setting and allowing the camera to focus on the subject before taking a picture. To focus, press the shutter button only half way down. When you hear the camera finish focusing, you can then completely press down on the shutter button to take the picture.

If the above does not work, you may want to restore the camera back to factory settings and restart the camera and try taking a picture. Again, if the same problem occurs, you may want to check the shutter button and follow the unresponsive shutter button portion of the troubleshooting page. If it is not the button, you may want to replace the check the wires and/or replace the motherboard.