Face ID no longer works and on being re-set only works for some minutes before failing again

Question

Face ID no longer works and on being re-set only works for some minutes before failing again

Summary: Face ID stopped working. I have reset Settings (twice) and Factory Rest (once). Each time Face ID can then be re-enabled and works for a short time, about 1 hour. Then it stops working, and on Face ID Reset, it is not possible to re-enrol a Face ID -- the special camera refuse to focus ("Move your iPhone a little lower" message).

Detail, including confirmation I upgrade to latest iOS, Reset Settings (twice) and Factory Reset:

Face ID stopped working on my phone around 19th Dec. I logged a support call and was advised by the agent to upgrade from 17.1 to 17.2. After doing that Face ID worked again, and I re-enrolled my ID. This worked for a short period. A day or so later, noticing it was not working, I called to a Genius bar at local Apple Store. I was advised to 'Reset Settings' and re-enrol Face ID. Returning home, I did that, Face ID re-enrolled and all seemed good. As that was just before Xmas break (in-store on 23/Dec), I was not using the phone much for next few days.

Around 28th Dec, becoming aware the Face ID again not working, I made an appointment at Genius Bar for 29th Dec. The specialist I saw confirmed the Face ID camera was working fine (according to diagnostics) and he checked as I re-enrolled Face ID. As I left the store about 1530, Face ID was working fine.

By the time I got home/next checked the phone Face ID no longer worked.

On 30th Dec, I Factory Reset the phone (a very painful procedure which I would not recommend undertaking lightly). On doing this, I was again able to use Face ID and could re-enrol my Face ID.

After about 1 hour, it stopped working; on reset it refuses to enrol a Face ID; the dialogue just goes round in a loop with 'Move your iPhone a little lower' message (or sometime 'higher') and refusing to lock-on.

Update: on the evening of the 30th after waiting a further ~2-3 hours, I can use the 'Add another appearance' and now the enrolment commences correctly and runs to a good outcome. So, for now, the Face ID is working.

iPhone SE, iOS 15

Posted on Dec 30, 2023 1:15 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jan 1, 2024 1:08 PM in response to Eoin Sharkey1

+2 days. Again Face ID more or less stopped working, but then weirdly did work on one of those 'Sign-in with a Passcode' dialogues. But for regular unlocking etc, the message 'Your passcode is required to enable Face ID' appears every time. On resetting Face ID, again, it will not allow a Face ID appearance to be enrolled (Move iPhone a little lower' message etc.

What it seems like:

Face ID fundamentally works as expected both for Face ID appearance enrolment and as a biometric means of unlocking the phone.
Some flaw in the the phone operation means it stops working soon after (>15 minutes < 1 hour).
Other aspects of phone operation means once it stops working (possibly intended, possibly for info-sec reasons), it cannot be re-set and re-enrolled for a period of time >15 < 24 hours.
Re-enrolment just starts the same cycle.

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Answer 2

Dec 30, 2023 2:15 PM in response to Eoin Sharkey1

I posted that at 21:15 local time, and by 22:05 Face ID just stopped working again. As I've now enrolled the max number of 'appearances' I cannot add another one.

However when I try 'Add Glasses' option I get the message 'Your face must match an existing Face ID appearance'.

This suggests

Face ID is correctly set up
But sometime in the space of ~40 minutes, it 'forgets' about my Face ID appearance.

Out of interest, I am now re-setting Face ID, and once again on doing this, I cannot re-enrol a Face ID appearance. Speculation on my part but maybe this is a silent security device - Apple doesn't allow an immediate re-enrolment to minimise fraudulent use (?). My expectation is in some hours (maybe tomorrow morning), I will once again be able to re-enrol an appearance, but likely it will not persist longer than a few minutes.

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Answer 3

Dec 31, 2023 11:58 AM in response to Eoin Sharkey1

+1 day. At ~1300 on following day I was not able to enroll Face ID.

Trying again about 19:30, I was able to enroll Face ID, however after twice getting as far as the scan 'with glasses', it didn't complete with the message 'Face ID is not available, please try again later'. I tried Face ID again. this time without the 'Face ID with a Mask option'. This only requires one scan and completed successfully.

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Face ID no longer works and on being re-set only works for some minutes before failing again

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