iPhone SE Touch ID not working, unable to reset

frankandbb wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion about remotely resetting the phone. I tried this, but not with the side button held down.

Remotely resetting an iPhone is unrelated to a forced restart.

A forced restart might clear a transient problem with biometrics, but a forced restart won’t clear a hardware problem with biometrics, and won’t clear stolen device protection, and won’t clear Activation Lock.

Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad - Apple Support

Not doing that results in a need to use the biometrics on the phone. I hope it works with the button down!

Thanks, frank

Stolen device protection mandates use of biometrics. The passcode will either be limited, or won’t work, depending on settings and timing.

About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone - Apple Support

The bypass for stolen device protection is a remote reset using the Apple Account:

How to remove Stolen Device Protection af… - Apple Community

Stolen Device Protection requires the matching biometrics, disallowing the passcode either entirely or disallowing it while away from familiar places.

If the home button is clean and still not working, try re-training it, then it’ll need diagnostics, and quite possibly a repair. If you retrain it and it is still unreliable, you’re headed for a discussion with Apple Support.

If Stolen Device Protection is enabled for everywhere, and if biometrics have failed, then you’ll need to remotely reset the device.

it needs to be returned to its owner

The iPhone SE was discontinued in Sept. 2016, almost 8 years ago. It is anything but new.

I'm guessing you have a 2nd or 3rd generation SE since your information says your running iOS 26.