Hi VH,
This is a complex question to answer.
Until about a year ago, I was using an old iPhone 4 to shoot my coin photos. It was actually my niece's old iPhone. She gave me her old iPhone 4 when the iPhone 6 was first released. That's how old it is. For the entire time I
had it, it was never connected to a service or a network. I couldn't use it as a phone. I could only use it as a camera. Obviously, this proves that old iPhones can be used to shoot photos if not connected to a service or network.
My old iPhone 4 broke about a year ago. Completely by coincidence, at that time, I transitioned to a new cell phone. It is a Moto G Android phone. For the past year or so, I have been using this cell phone both as a phone and to shoot my coin photos. However, like you, I have
had numerous "issues" with it. On at least 4 different occasions during the past year, I
had a serious problem with it (and it's only a year old).
Two of those times, the phone completely shut down. It was "
stone dead" for several days. It wouldn't even turn on. Both times, it happened when it was charging. I was told by my network provider that it was a "
software issue" both times. Apparently, there was some sort of "bug" in a
software update that was installed in my Android phone while it was charging. Obviously, I couldn't use it as a camera since it refused to turn on. I
had to do a "hard reboot" or "hard restart" (by following instructions I found online) both times to get it to
work again. The second time this happened was just 2 weeks ago. My Android phone was "
stone dead" for 3 days (and it's only a year old).
Therefore, based on my own personal experiences, Smartphones (including Android phones) cannot be used as a camera if the phone is not connected to a service or network. This appears to be the opposite of what is true for old iPhones (see above).
Meepzorp
