Touch ID being Erratic

You don't know how many people are using Touch ID. You sound like an apologist and a pseudo expert. It doesn't work reliably period. I don't need you to guide me, I know how to use TID as per instruction from Apple and various sites. TID is a great idea but needs further refinement. Just because you have a perfect 100% TID experience doesn't make you an expert or give you authority to disprove a real iOS-Hardware issue at play here.

Let's keep this positive, folks. A Youtube video could be useful. I'd be curious how fast someone can scan a print. But also, let's assume for now that there are several factors involved, and different people may be experiencing different versions of the same problem.

Mine's very erractic now. I can barely get it to start a scan. Most of the time it doesn't do anything.

When I first got the phone and scanned my fingerprint, it worked flawlessly. That was about a month ago. I heard people talking about having issues, so I turned mine back on to find out mine wasn't working at all.

Question.....my phone has a screen protector and obvioiusly it has a circular cutout for the home button. It's on pretty **** straight, but could that have any effect...if it's touching any part of the metal circular ring?

I don't think so. Mine has been working well with Rhino Shield MK2. It's finicky sometimes from the live lock screen, but 90% + success rate from sleep mode. I did email the manufacturer Evolutive though about tappering the edge of the screen protector around then button area.

Sorry if you perceived it that way. I'm merely suggesting that if it works for some, reliably, it should work for many. Reliably. I wasn't offering to guide you personally. I'm sure you're more than capable of figuring it out. At over 7K views, this thread is an indication of interest. Usually many just lurk and try to figure out what they're doing wrong that they can't get something to work. I'm just stating what I found to work without failing. I doubt that makes me an expert, just a typical user who figured it out. And as always, YMMV.

After almost 40 years in the computer business, I know enough to know I'm not an expert, nor an apologist. Peace.

Good point. I don't have a screen protector, my wife does, her experience is good from day one, with only having to use a passcode once every 50 or so unlocks. I've watched her, and she's impatient, not leaving her finger rest long enough to scan, and has to try 2-3 times before it registers. My experience is about a 95% hit ratio the first time after hitting the home button and resting there. Recently, the only time I've had to use the passcode is when I had test fingerprints registered, and was trying them first.

It would be helpful for many I'm sure if someone who just can't get it to work posted a YouTube showing how they're registering their prints.

Agreed. I'm still hung up on the fact that the sensor, which shows a centered print, will work even if you scan the bottom fifth of your noseprint.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometrics#Performance

false rejection rate or false non-match rate (FRR or FNMR): the probability that the system fails to detect a match between the input pattern and a matching template in the database. It measures the percent of valid inputs which are incorrectly rejected.

I'd try starting from scratch.

This is for 7.0.3. For 7.0.2 or earlier, the screens read Fingerprint instead of Touch ID

From the general->Touch ID & Passcode screen, turn Passcode Off, then turn Passcode back on. You'll get a prompt to Delete Saved Fingerprints. Select Delete. This should remove them from hardware and give you a fresh start.

Finish entering your passcode, then move on to register a fingerprint. I'd suggest doing 2 different fingers. See the picture I posted a few pages back here for what area of the finger to avoid. After registering them, if you place your finger on the home button as if scanning, the selected fingerprint name in the registration screen (Finger 1, Finger 2 etc) will briefly turn gray. This means that that finger is still being recognized properly.

If the above doesn't work as described, you might have a hardware issue with the sensor, and should take it to an Apple store to have them check it.

-Joe

By "the sensor, which shows a centered print" do you mean the depiction of a fingerprint on the "Add a Fingerprint" screen during registering? If so, this same "print" is just a static example which doesn't seem to change regardless of what is being scanned, as far as I can tell?

That is what I meant. It's a static depiction and works in a myriad of ways. From a software POV, it was built to accommodate different input methods. Let’s iron out the best methods. Mine was thumb flesh opposite center thumbnail, as that’s the most used section of most used print.

The sapphire crystal holds fingerprints like no tomorrow. I wonder if that has anything to do with it...

That's pretty much where I scanned. Maybe a little closer to the base to the thumbnail in my case. I also moved both horizontal and vertically as well as rotated a few degrees, in order to give it some diversity, the thought being it would yield a better scan.

Just did a test moving ever so slightly trying to unlock, more of a minor wiggle, and it failed. Will investigate further tomorrow.

I can't imagine my sensor has gone bad in a month. It registered my thumb print easily the first time I tried it. Apple has pushed 2-3 small iOS updates since I got the phone and I didn't try to use the Touch ID after the first two. I just tried today.

I think too much is being made of people "not doing it right." It's hard to mess up registering your print if your sensor is working correctly. The issue I'm having is the sensor is not reading my print at all. I've tried it probably 20 times today and it only started to register my print once.

I wasn't using this feature before so I've got to decide whether it's worth a trip to the Apple Store or not. Even though I'm not using it, I'd still like it to work. I've got a screen protector on and everything the way I want it. I don't know if I want to get a new phone and get everything back up to speed again.

There have been at least 2 people stating it stopped working after they dropped their phone, perhaps knocking something loose.

If you first registered it using the tip of your finger, it will only work for a short time, and then fail.

Did you try what I suggested, and check out the pic I posted that shows what part of your finger to avoid? If not, I don't know what else to advise.

I have a new iPhone 5s with newest iOS. I too have major problems with fingerprint. I have recorded my thumb print several times. It only works about 1 out if 10 tries. I am at a loss.