Camera Smudges but Lens is Clean

[gc]

Hi everyone,
Recently I noticed some smudges in all of my photos (see attached pictures). I thought it was just a dirty lens but I took the lens cover off and cleaned the lens thoroughly. It's not the lens cover either because even with the cover off the smudges are still there. The lens itself seems pretty sealed with no easy way to open it up, plus it's a bit too risky for me to attempt since I don't want to break anything. I bought the phone in another country so taking it back to get it fixed is not an option. I looked back at all the pictures I've taken and it seems to show up all of a sudden. I don't think it's software related because it shows up in the stock camera app as well as 3rd party apps.
Does anyone know what it could be or have any suggestions on how to fix it?
Also, sometimes I get horizontal lines in my photos especially if there is a lot of white background (see pic#2). I'm not as concerned about that though.

P.S. I have a Galaxy S2 from T-Mobile.

 

[zkSharks]

I've had my fair share of experience with cameras of all sorts, and the first thing that comes to mind when looking at those photos is very small pieces of dust or fibers on the lens or, frustratingly, on the sensor itself. The only thing I can suggest is getting one of those compressed air dusters from an office supplies store. Remove any exterior housing around the camera hardware that you feel comfortable removing (the iFixit teardown guide for your device may be of help here), and use the air duster around the camera hardware and housing.

Dust, fibers, and other small debris can appear like smudges because they are well out of focus when sitting on the lens or sensor itself.

 

[gc]

Thanks for the tip! I think you're probably right. I'll give that a try.
I didn't have any compressed air in the house so I tried blowing on it, but that didn't help. I'll have to go to the store and buy some compressed air. I'll report back if it works.

 

[gc]

I took your advice and bought some compressed air and sprayed it as thoroughly as I can and now it is looking better! There are still 1 or 2 smudges left, so I'll try again to remove them.
I hope this helps anyone else having the same problem.

 

[iNeedICS]

I had the same issue, with the same phone! And I just unscrewed the back, grabbed a cotton swab swiped it and I was good to go!

Sent from Squishy's N⁴

 

[gc]

Well, it's better but I still have one very stubborn smudge that just won't go away. I practically disassembled the phone, sprayed it with a ton of compressed air and tried to clean it as much as possible. Still, I'm happy that it's at least usable now. Oh, and I got rid of those annoying lines by flashing a custom ROM.
Here's the new picture:

 

[iNeedICS]

Well, it's better but I still have one very stubborn smudge that just won't go away. I practically disassembled the phone, sprayed it with a ton of compressed air and tried to clean it as much as possible. Still, I'm happy that it's at least usable now. Oh, and I got rid of those annoying lines by flashing a custom ROM.
Here's the new picture:
http://s23.postimg.org/tv1apbucb/IMG_20130406_105414.jpg

Try Windex??

Sent from Squishy's N⁴