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Face ID Failing After Installing iOS 16.3.1

About 36 hrs after upgrading my iPhone 11 to iOS 16.3.1 Face ID stopped working. Until then Face ID had always worked flawlessly. It refused to unlock the phone and forced me to enter the passcode to unlock it. I tried cleaning the notch, retrying unlock, nothing helped. After several failed unlock attempts I got a message saying "Face ID unavailable, try again later".

Eventually I tried resetting Face ID and tried to set it up again, but during the face scan process I got the Face ID not available, try again later message. I then tried restarting the phone and went back into Face ID setup and it failed again, but on the second or third attempt it suddenly worked and I could complete the Face ID setup process. From then on Face ID was working again. For about 24 hrs. Then it just stopped working again (this time I didn't get the unavailable, try again later message, it just wouldn't unlock).

This time I powered the iPhone off and on again and it still failed to unlock without the passcode a few times, but then suddenly started working again for no obvious reason.

I guess it could be an intermittent h/w issue, but I'm suspicious that iOS 16.3.1 may be causing the problem, has anyone else encountered issues with Face ID after updating to 16.3.1?

I'm also curious about the meaning of the message "Face ID unavailable, try again later" and what sort of issue(s) would trigger that? What sort of problem would cause Face ID to fail temporarily and waiting a while might resolve? Temperature or something?

iPhone 11

Posted on Feb 16, 2023 2:48 AM

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David Shanahan Author

Level 4

1,094 points

Posted on Mar 17, 2023 3:25 AM

Ok, took the phone into Apple today and they ran a swag of tests on it and finally declared the issue with Face ID was due to faulty Face ID sensors. The battery passed testing and the recommended action was to replace the Face ID sensor module. As this was going to cost more than A$300 I decided not to proceed.

So in the end this problem turned out to not be related to iOS 16.3.1 (coincidences do happen) nor was it caused by a flakey battery, it was a Face ID sensor hardware fault. ☹️

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90 replies

Mar 13, 2023 8:38 AM in response to David Shanahan

YES, I'VE TWICE TO APPLE ON THE SAME PLACE IN TWO DIFFERENT STORES AND BOTH OF THEM TOLD ME AFTER TESTING THAT I NEED TO REPLACE THE FACE ID AND SINCE I'M OUT OF WARRANTY OF MY IPHONE 13 PRO MAX I MUST PAY APPROX. €350+(DON'T RECALL THE ACTUAL AMOUNT) TO APPLE. OR I CAN ASK THE RETAILERS WHERE I BOUGHT THE DEVICE FOR THE HELP TO SOLVE OR REPLACEMENT OF FACEID. I'VE RUN LIKE CRAZY FOR THESE LAST TWO DAYS TO THE RETAILER BUT IT SEEMS, IN THE END OF THE DAY I CAME TO THIS CONCLUSION EITHER APPLE GIVES A SOFTWARE UPDATE TO SOLVE IT OR IF REPLACING IS THE ONLY OPTION LEFT THEN WE'RE SCAMMED....

David Shanahan Author

Level 4

1,094 points

Mar 18, 2023 1:36 PM in response to Amy_applefan

Do yourself a favour and take the phone into Apple and have them test it, you may find, as I did, that it is in fact a hardware fault. I thought at first that it might be a software bug in 16.3.1, then I thought maybe a battery issue, but hardware tests proved that these assumptions were incorrect.

Apr 2, 2023 6:42 AM in response to David Shanahan

This is happening to me too on my iPhone 13 mini. Face ID worked flawlessly for a year and then immediately after allowing it to install the update to 16.3.1 it suddenly started only recognizing my face about 10% of the time I wanted it to. The rest of the time I now I have to enter my passcode.

I have found that it sometimes recognizes me if I bring the phone very, very close to my face - six inches or less - and far closer than I ever had to before. It used to work with the phone just in a comfortable position in my hands while I sit with my arms on my lap, and now I have to lift the phone way closer to my face than ever before to get it to recognize me at all and even then it is marginal. Resetting Face ID and adding an alternative appearance have given no improvement and as others noted often the reset process fails and tells me to move my face even when it is perfectly framed.

It’s clear that this issue is a software bug. Spontaneous, coincidental hardware issues absolutely did not happen to this many users simultaneously on the very same time they got this software update. This needs a bug fix in another iOS update, urgently. Is there a better way than this forum to get that message sent to the Apple developers?

jptrek77

Level 1

13 points

Feb 24, 2023 11:06 AM in response to David Shanahan

Exact same issue on an iPhone13 Pro. Zero issues with FaceID, within a day of installing 16.3.1, it stopped recognizing my face. Restarted and reset Face ID, can't even create a new FaceID, it just keeps telling me to move my camera up and down even though my face is in the box - it never starts scanning.

No damage to the phone, nothing covering the cameras, the front is pristine.

Alancito

Level 7

29,952 points

Mar 12, 2023 5:26 AM in response to David Shanahan

David Shanahan wrote: "I had the battery replaced by Apple a bit over a year ago, it's currently at around 83%."

83% is close to Apple's 80% for replacing the battery. If everything was functioning normally, you wouldn't replace the battery at this point. But since there's the Face ID problem, consider taking the iPhone to Apple to test the battery.

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jptrek77

Level 1

13 points

Mar 15, 2023 8:56 AM in response to David Shanahan

Again, the battery argument makes no sense, as your FaceID worked prior to the 16.3.1 update even when it only had 10% charge left; now it doesn’t work even when 100% charged.

This feels a lot like someone messed up Apple’s normal strategy of bricking older phones, especially since mine is a 13Pro.

I was told by the Geniuses at the bar that my hardware failed and I need to pay for a refurbished phone.

Before you take your phone in: try doing a complete restore and report back? Of the 4 people I know that have had this problem, it appears to have fixed one of them.

Apr 26, 2023 5:58 PM in response to Jazza1811

My son had the same issue and with the most recent phone update the Face ID issue fixed but mine did not. It worked fine until 16.3.1 was installed. The new update didn’t fix the problem. Went to Apple Store and the guy ran diagnostics and said it’s a hardware problem and since my phone is over a year it’s not covered and it would cost $250ish to fix. He said “I should have come in sooner” but the update didn’t even come out till after my phone was over a year old and it was just fine until then. I didn’t get it fixed. It’s ridiculous. It’s def an apple issue not a phone issue.

Nelson28

Level 1

0 points

Apr 28, 2023 7:29 AM in response to Jazza1811

This is surpricing to me, how discussion of FaceID problems is constantly directed elsewhere. For me problems started IMMEDIATELY after 16.3.1 update. The 16.4.1 improved situation a bit, but problem is still there. So to me this shows as a software problem, maybe it is hard to admit at Apple that this update makes lots of certain iPhones FaceID unusable. Maybe the new software does is not compatible with some of the hardware… Discussions about battery capacities sounds ridiculous at this point.

Katana-San

Level 10

80,965 points

Feb 23, 2023 3:53 AM in response to magnum273

Hello ~ Take your iPhone in to be checked as *ProustGiulio* suggests.

~Katana-San~

David Shanahan Author

Level 4

1,094 points

Mar 18, 2023 1:42 PM in response to dlward317

Remove your tinfoil hat, then take the phone to Apple and get it tested.

Alancito

Level 7

29,952 points

Apr 2, 2023 6:46 AM in response to MtnManMike828

MtnManMike828 wrote: "...Is there a better way than this forum to get that message sent to the Apple developers?"

Yes, here:

iPhone Feedback

õ¿õ¬

Feb 23, 2023 3:48 AM in response to David Shanahan

I have 2 iPhones 11 pro max and Face ID stopped working on both of them now. I tried all the solutions with no success . I am certain that the latest iOS update 16.3.1 is the cause .

I also have a few friends with the same phones that just mentioned to me that they have the same issue .

I hope a new update is released soon to fix this important issue

Katana-San

Level 10

80,965 points

Feb 24, 2023 4:39 PM in response to jptrek77

Hello ~ Perhaps you can find an Apple Authorized Service Provider that is closer to you by clicking on below…

Find Locations - Apple

Repair Provider Verification - Official Apple Support

If you need to use your Face ID you’re going to have to have it checked out …no joke. I hope this helps.

~Katana-San~

David Shanahan Author

Level 4

1,094 points

Mar 12, 2023 5:45 AM in response to David Shanahan

Hmm, I set the iPhone 11 up as a new phone and trying to configure Face ID during the setup failed with the message "Face ID is not available." Once I finished setting up the phone I went into Settings and tried to set up Face ID again, it failed when trying to scan my face a couple of times with the same message, but on about the third attempt it worked and I got Face ID set up ok. Brief testing of Face ID seemed to work ok, but from previous experience it will likely fail again after a while (anywhere from an hour to several hours).

Apr 9, 2023 5:35 PM in response to Amy_applefan

16.4.1

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Face ID Failing After Installing iOS 16.3.1