Wife and I got iPhone 5s units at the same time. She has had hit and miss success with touch ID. I am golden with mine, and also hers when I put a finger into her phone data. She is frustrated, and will delete fingerprints and resestablish on her phone. Her finger scan will work for a few times, and then it gets to be like it doesn't recognize her finger (left thumb or right thumb). Is anybody else having some issues like this?
iPhone 5s, iOS 7.0.2
I have ben reading all the chatter and wanted to jump in again and try to balance this out. As has been stated a few times, it is likely one size does not fit all. For me, there was definately an issue for my wife's iPhone 5s unit. My unit (purchased at the same time) did great at first, but then starting degrading to about a 30 percent success rate. We tried all the tips, and found some small margin of success. It wasn't until 7.0.3 deployed that both our phones became very responsive and had a 95 -100 percent success rate (been going great ever since). We registered our fingers the same way as before 7.0.3. Using the meat (pad part of the thumbs (left and right)), following the Apple strategy levied in their knowledge base, etc. It has been working great ever since. I also wondered about a screen protector. The wife and I have had, since day one, a fairly thick (comparitively speaking) one from Tricked Out Accessories. It doesn't seem to be a contributer, based upon the new iOS update. I am in the market for a new iPad, and will be purchasing the iPad Air in the coming week. I was actually disappointed that the rumor that it would have Touch ID was not realized. I have heard it is an inventory type issue, but I really wonder if Apple really wants to fine tune this puppy for the next generation devices. I am hopeful that they are listening and working in the background to get us folks a more reliable product via the software update arena.
FWIW, I think there are several different issues here:
1. Some people (I suspect very few overall) may have defecive hardware. For example if you cannot even register your prints then that suggests the hardware is defective and you need a replacement.
2. Some people are not registering their prints optimally. Things improved hugely for me when I changed the way I registered my prints as per advice on this forum and elsewhere.
3. Some people may not be ensuring they are making good contact with the metal ring around the home button when registering or, more likely, when unlocking. Good contact on the metal ring is essential.
4. The 7.0.3 update seems to have improved things considerably for many folk, for unknown reasons.
But having said all that, some people are still having issues. In my case things are pretty okay now but I do still see a degradation of recognition of the print I use most often to unlock. Interestingly i do not see a degradation in the other prints I have registered but which I hardly ever use. This leads me to consider a 5th factor:
Apple have stated in a few places that 'TouchID gets better the more you use it'. This suggests to me that it incldues some 'learning' algorithms that dynamically modify recognition as you use it more and more. I suspect that there is some flaw in this algorithm such that for some subset of users (myself included) rather than getting better with more use it actually gets worse. This would explain my experience where:
a) Prints that work perfectly across a wide range of angles/parts of the fingr tip immediately after registering become much less reliable over time (assuming they are being used a lot).
b) Prints that work fine after registering but which are then barely used continue to work just fine. Presumably if they were used a lot they too would degrade.
If this theory, and it is just a theory, is correct then this is a software issue and it is very likely that Apple will address it in an upcoming update. Especially if we all leave feedback regarding this issue.
I have to say that though I do still see some degradation in recognition reliability for my main print (right thumb) over time, TouchID is still very usable for me and I find it a great convenience. Even with this issue it is still far more reliable for me than any other fingerprint recognition technology I have used in the past and it is a safe bet that it will only get better as Apple refines it.
Very well said Chris J. I agree with all your points. Apple will get this right and it comes down to the patience factor for us. Hopefully, they are getting good pressure from this thread and others.
Good points RE "better over time". However, I've had little used prints using a fingertip fail, where my goto finger, registered far longer, works fine still. Without details from Apple (which we'll never get) how their algorithm works, it's daunting.
I just did a test where I know the position was correct, yet an initial home button push, leaving the finger rest to unlock, failed, requiring me to lift and replant it. So the test was, sleep mode, place the finger correctly, and hit wake/sleep. Results were instant unlock. I'm leaning more towards any slight finger movement during a scan can that scan to fail.
Where does one leave feedback? TIA
Add me to the list. Works great for about an hour, then only about 40% of the time after that. Deleted prints a few times, tried again. Same thing each time. For about an hour or so I can put my thumb or finger in most positions and it will work first time. After a while it stops working. Today, two days after the previous re-registration of prints, it's about 1 in 5 attempts.
Question for anyone that has taken their phone to the store and got it replaced for this issue (or anyone that knows the answer), did you get a brand new phone or do they give you a "re-manufactured" replacement phone?
I think it's impossible to tell, but they're essentially the same thing. FWIW, I would think that the chances of getting a new one this soon after release are quite good, because there are probably few refurbs.
ChrisJenkins wrote:
FWIW, I think there are several different issues here:
Apple have stated in a few places that 'TouchID gets better the more you use it'. This suggests to me that it incldues some 'learning' algorithms that dynamically modify recognition as you use it more and more. I suspect that there is some flaw in this algorithm such that for some subset of users (myself included) rather than getting better with more use it actually gets worse. This would explain my experience where:
Where did you read that? I don't see how that could be -- training occurs initially, and thereafter if recognition "works," there's nothing more to learn.
I think I found MY error. The "click" of the home button and the read of the fingerprint are TWO INDEPENDENT ACTIONS. I found that I get 100% success if I rest my finger lightly on the sensor AFTER the click that turns on the device. The fingerprint read takes a couple of seconds (or so it seems). Previously, I thought the "click" was the only significant action. The two step thinking seems to resolve my issue. So: CLICK, REST and wait.
slewis wrote:
I wiped the iPhone and tested a vanilla phone. It seemed to work better (and even unlocked reliably upside down).
I wiped the iPhone again and then instead of "Setting up a new Phone", I restored from my iPhone backup.
I re-enrolled two of my fingers in the newly restored iPhone, I've been locking/unlocking it repeatedly at various orientations and it has not failed yet.
The above process is the first thing they will ask you to do if you call up support - so far TouchID seems much more reliable than before (and I'm surprised a reinstall has been useful).
I'm ready to believe that wiping and setting up as a new phone solved the issue for you, but the fact that then wiping again and restoring from your backup also worked suggests that you did a better job with the fingerprint registration this time -- otherwise it makes no sense.
In my experience, Apple support will always tell customers to wipe and set their iPhones up as new phones -- regardless of whether it makes any sense 😟
I posted a few times previously in this thread. To sum up my experience, I registered my thumb without any issue a couple days after getting my phone on 9/25. I don't normally use password protection/security on my phone so I turned it off. However, I heard others were having issues so I turned Touch ID back on yesterday to see if mine still worked. It didn't.
I tried it probably 20 times yesterday and it only started to register once. I set up an appointment at the Apple Store and went there this evening. The guy that initially helped me and the technician both said this was a first for them. They said they hadn't seen a phone fail like this. They couldn't get it to work once, so they replaced it.
FYI: You do get a brand new phone, not a re-manufacted phone. He said the 5s is way too new for them to replace phones with re-manufactured phones.
I really like the Touch-ID on my 5S but lately I have found that it is not working reliably. It seems that I have to reprogram my Touch-ID prints about every 2 - 3 days. It'll work for about 1 -2 days then I have to reprogram 1 or both finger prints. Maybe while I'm at my Apple store on Friday to pickup the new iPad Air I'll mention this problem to the Geniuses.
I'm now on my 2nd iPhone 5S, and I just experienced something that happened with the first one: I had depressed the home button and then kept my finger on it to unlock the phone, and nothing happened. The lock screen simply showed "slide to unlock," not "try again." I again held my finger on the home button, and nothing happened. So it appeared that Touch ID wasn't working. On a whim, I depressed the home button, and I was taken instantly to the home screen, without any unlock being required.
So under certain circumstances, it appears that Touch ID recognition occurs, but there's no indication of it: the user is not taken directly to home screen.
Has anyone else experienced this?
My 5S Touch ID works for 1 day then I have to re-do it. What a pain. The entire reason for my purchase of the 5S was for the Touch ID. Wonder if it will ever work. Can it be returned for refund before 30 days. I would hate for it to be an hardware issue and I am stuck with a $659 5S than is no improvement over my 5. I will go to the Genius Bar tomorrow and see what they tell me.
Your phone unlocked when you touched the sensor and displayed the home screen. It was waiting for you to touch it as you got its attention on the first push, but didn't read the print correctly.
I tried it as your described it, and that's what I saw as well. It would have unlocked even if you had not depressed the button, assuming your print was finally read correctly.
Make sense?
Touch ID being Erratic
