Autofocus not working. (18-55mm lens)

[marcosochoa]

Hello,

The autofocus on my Canon 18-55mm is malfunctioning and I'm afraid it may be broken.

All the internet research I've done points to issues electronic, but I believe this to be mechanical simply because of the noise it makes. With the lens set to AF, it does nothing, but makes a slight whirring sounds as if the camera is trying to, but can't focus the lens. In MF, turning the focus ring makes soft clicking sounds.

The autofocus works fine on the other lens I have.

The lens has not been dropped. I take really, REALY good care of my stuff!  Any other recommendations or bits of advice are much appreciated!

[Waddizzle]

Whatever the exact issue might be, it seems that your T2i is at the center of it.  Look for wear and tear on the surfaces of the contacts on the camera and the lens.  Do not touch the contacts with your fingers, as that can leave potentially harmful body oils behind.

The contacts in the camera should be slightly springy, so make none of them is stuck or has sticky action when depressed.

One way to test the AF with the lens is to put the camera on a tripod, and set it to One Shot mode, the mode that beeps.  Set the camera to manually select the center AF point, and switch the lens to MF mode.  

Manually focus the lens on something about 50x the focal length distance from the camera using Live View.  If memeory serves, that model has LIve View.  If not, do the best job that you can do through the viewfinder.

Once focused, take a couple of test shots to confirm the quality of your focus.  With the camera in One Shot mode, and the lens in MF mode, you should still get a focus confirmation beep when you take a picture.  

Try it with other lenses, to make sure that you can get a confirmation beep while the lens is still in MF mode.  If you lack a tripod, find a good spot on a backyard table, or another location with a low risk of being bumped and falling.

[dry]

I experienced the same problem with the AF not working. I tried the careful fixes like cleaning and the multiple steps Julius suggested. None worked, so I decided to try Crystal's "pop" method. It worked! What did I have to lose? I did lose a day at Mackinaw, but making up for it today!

[Beetlemike]

Hi,

I have read through this thread and the fix worked for me. Excellent solution and a real relief.  I had a partial AF fault and was frequently switching to MF mode to try to reset the AF but getting some out of focus pics.

Just a thought,  I use a EW-60C lens hood which I often  move between lenses.  I suspect that if I detach the lens hood when the lens is set to AF mode it will be similar to manually focusing in AF mode. 

I think I'll buy a lens hood for each lens and leave it attached in future.

Many thanks,

Beetlemike

[Waddizzle]

---

@Beetlemike wrote:

Hi,

I have read through this thread and the fix worked for me. Excellent solution and a real relief.  I had a partial AF fault and was frequently switching to MF mode to try to reset the AF but getting some out of focus pics.

Just a thought,  I use a EW-60C lens hood which I often  move between lenses.  I suspect that if I detach the lens hood when the lens is set to AF mode it will be similar to manually focusing in AF mode. 

I think I'll buy a lens hood for each lens and leave it attached in future.

Many thanks,

Beetlemike

---

No, just learn to be more careful.  Did you know that you can remove the hood, and mount it in aa reversed orientation for storage?

[Beetlemike]

Thank you. Will try that. Have set lenses to MF as the default now when in the camera bag.

[Justina93]

Thank you thank you!!!
I tried this and it SOLVED the problem!!!
Thank you so so much!!!!

[uberthin]

Crystal's advice (page 1 of this thread) to "just pull" worked perfectly.  Thank you!

I have the IS II version of this lens.

I didn't pull hard enough the first time.  It took a solidly "medium" amount of force.

In retrospect, I believe that before the lens's "chiropractic adjustment" the lens didn't track right with manual focus slew.  By that I mean that in manual focus mode, when twisting from focus extent to extent the lens simply racked in one direction.  After the adjustment I was reminded how the lens normally works - at one extent of focus ring travel the lens is out a bit, as you focus it retracts, then at about mid-focus-adjustment it starts racking out again, finishing the focus travel sticking out again.

So if your lens is having trouble, and doesn't do the out-in-out behavior, this "pull on the end" technique may be just the trick.

[jgepson]

Like others, my AF does not work. I tried all the fixes but nothing helps. It will AF when in the "Live View" mode but it is so slow so not really useful for my type of photography. Bummer!

[Waddizzle]

---

@jgepson wrote:

Like others, my AF does not work. I tried all the fixes but nothing helps. It will AF when in the "Live View" mode but it is so slow so not really useful for my type of photography. Bummer!

---

If the lens can autofocus in LIve View, then there is nothing wrong with the lens.  The advice on this thread apply to situations where the lens does not focus, at all.  It seems dead in the water, because it is.

What are you trying to photograph?  What camera body are you using?  Is your lens and “STM” lens?  What position is the shooting mode dial in?

Live View mode uses an entirely separate focusing system from viewfinder focusing.  Be aware that you can encounter low light situations where the camera will not focus.  If you are too close to the subject, the camera will not focus.  If there is insufficient contrasting lines under the active AF point, then the camera will not focus.

If you using One Shot mode, then the camera must acquire a focus lock before it will take a picture.  Switch the camera to “P” mode, and then change the AF mode to “Ai Servo”.  The camera should now take a picture whenever you press the shutter, assuming the camera is operating with the factory default behaviors.  The camera can be reset to factory defaults in the menus.

[Demara]

Hi! I had the same problem with my autofocus when i click it produces some noise, it seems it is trying to focus thats why it created the noise. Anyways, I followed what you said, your instructions rather. And boop! It is working again! Thanks for saving my camera and lens. Sooooo much thank you. Its back. 😆💪