Face ID - Move your iPhone a little lower

I have read it here 9 solutions to Fix Move iPhone a Little Lower/Higher Issue While Setting Up Face ID, that gently tap, smack or hit the notch with the palm of your hand and this might fix this issue, there are many other solution too but I have seen this solution is working for many people, so give it a try. 

I did not think this would work and honestly just did it out of frustration after trying everything else for hours and hours. Lo and behold, THIS FIXED MINE TOO! This is fricken hilarious. I don’t have to hit it too hard either. Just one solid slap of the front camera to the palm of my other hand about as hard as a polite clap and voila! Thank you for posting this.

This is hilarious! And it worked!!! I was struggling for days to figure this out and after reading your comment I smacked it on my leg and it worked! That’s a low tech, fabulous fix and thank you for sharing!

My 13 pro same issue after updating to iOS 17, tried removing screen protector, clean camera, reset settings and reset to factory. Began working after a simple smack. Not fixed permanently, acts up whenever it feels, could be 30 seconds, could be a hour. The problem always comes back. I don’t understand what’s taking Apple so long to fix what they broke. If an update broke it, shouldn’t there be an update to fix it?

I also have done every single thing multiple times and still doesn’t work. Btw you can’t set up alternate Face ID once you reset Face ID.

it just keeps saying lower phone.

OMG!!!! So funny coz that trick worked for me!!!!

I’m having this same issue out of the blue. I’ve tried everything suggested but still unsuccessful.

Easy fix - had my arms surgically lengthened by 2 inches and now I can move my phone low enough to get it to work

From my experience with this issue, I’m guessing there is a huge design flaw causing the True Depth sensor to fail. And giving it little tap gets it going. The best analogy I can come up with to think of the sensor like a filament bulb. The bulb stops working, and upon inspection it looks like it should work. Give the bulb a tap and it lights up. Take the bulb out and tilt it, only to discover that one end of the filament has become detached from its connection and by tapping it the filament makes a connection until it fails, again.

I’ve tried updating, rebooting… same problem as everyone else!

Same thing is happening to my iPhone 13 Pro. On a case and glass protector, never dropped in immaculate condition.

went to the Apple Store today and they told me it was out of warranty since November 30, and I had to pay $250. off course I couldn’t take it during the holiday season it is practically impossible.

told them if they could do something about it and was told, sure pay the $250 For your loyalty.

been a loyal customer forever since the original iPhone, and have every apple product imaginable.

Thanks apple

What worked

Same thing happened to me. I think it was the IOS16; took it to the store, they did a hard reset and it worked again. Unfortunately, it stoped working a few months after that and if you still have coverage you can demand a new phone. Otherwise changing the piece is like $800 which obviously isn't the problem since we´re all complaining about it.

Reseting everything (Face ID, factory reset, etc) did not work for mine. I had to take it to the apple store

I updated the software to 16.2 on 13 Pro and this problem happened to me as well. I’ve tried everything and can’t get the camera to stop reading move camera lower..et..to not prevail.

Mine was a hardware issue but hopefully yours isn’t.

Was having intermittent issues with FaceID (also started out of nowhere a few days ago). Luckily I live close to a few apple stores so brought it in - the tech ran a diagnostic and found an issue with the TrueDepth sensor on the front camera.

Was replaced within an hour with AppleCare for free, but it’ll set you back ~$250 without insurance.

For some reason knocking the phone on the front camera area on my palm wakes it up then works for a day or so then stops then i just knock it again and it works and so the cycle goes