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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
Dreanmachine1 wrote:
Man, just washed my hands and they were still a bit damp. On my other unit, a semi damp hand would never work. This time, all three fingers rammed through the TID. WONDERFUL!! I know, I know, still too early to call the finish.
Good to hear! Your phone sounds like what I've seen with our 2 (so far, anyhow).
HOWEVER, there's a thread on TID failing with twitter active, and out or 20 or so attempts it DID fail to unlock once. I'm still running with 23 apps open, so I don't know what combo of which were open before it failed. So, I've _finally_ seen what others have been saying with random failures due to a S/W bug. This is different though with prints totally failing requiring a registration redo. IMHO, for some people (me included) it works 100% when done the way I;ve found works best for me.
The "clicky" home button was something I asked here, but got no responses, so I thought none had the problem.
Kind of troubling that your started to go bad with use though...
Just checked the date: week 37 on mine.
Ok thanks a lot. I'll report back when I get my new one. The clicky button thing deff sounds weird. But most of my apple buttons are clicky with a loud click and are very sturdy and stable.
I thing the clicky behavior is becoming more evident, but not too wide spread. Time will tell. Like most of us, we have been exercising the home button a bunch.
I thought I better share what I did with the new phone scenario. May not mean anything, but who knows. On my problem phone, I deleted all my prints and then did my iTunes MBP backup. Then replaced the phone, did a backup restore from iTunes, and registered prints for the first time on the new restored unit. I did not play with TID on the phone until I was back up running with my configurations. I felt I wanted to have the first prints on my system I will be using day to day.
Still blazing fast TID entry on all three fingers, and just after I wash my hands and somewhat damp, no impact at all. I am going to take my wife's phone back and do the same thing, I am convinced.
The clickyness is really a small first click before the main click. Almost gives the impression the button is loose a bit. Then when using it from there it firms up and is fine until you stop the activity. Then the cycle starts again. Almost like there is a glue problem. My wife's unit does not have this behavior yet.
HOWEVER, there's a thread on TID failing with twitter active, and out or 20 or so attempts it DID fail to unlock once. I'm still running with 23 apps open, so I don't know what combo of which were open before it failed. So, I've _finally_ seen what others have been saying with random failures due to a S/W bug. This is different though with prints totally failing requiring a registration redo. IMHO, for some people (me included) it works 100% when done the way I;ve found works best for me.
I am not so sure the number of apps open or what is running is an issue because my TID slides into failure without any other apps running at all. At least it isn't for me.
My guess is there is a bug with the post scanning "accuracy improvement" of TID; It certainly does not get more accurate over time.
It says my new device was made week 38 (September 2013). Made in China, Chengdu (DN factory). I no longer have my old unit, but my wife's unit was purchased at the exact same time (together as they both hit the local Sprint store). I assume it would be the same. Her data states made week 36 (September 2013). Made in China, Zhengzhou (F2 factory). Hope this helps and maybe means something. This morning my TID is blazing fast and is almost instantaneous on all three fingers again. If this keeps up for a couple days, I am back to the local Apple Store to do the same thing and get a replacement for my wife's 5s.
FWIW, my iphone has a week 42 (OCtober, 2013) production date, F2 factory.
smilleresq wrote:
[snip]
I am not so sure the number of apps open or what is running is an issue because my TID slides into failure without any other apps running at all. At least it isn't for me.
My guess is there is a bug with the post scanning "accuracy improvement" of TID; It certainly does not get more accurate over time.
And you've registered a failing finger based on my suggestion? Post a pic of the registeration screen with how you're placing your finger over the home button so we can see what if anything you should change to get more accuracy.
Other than the one failure I mentioned, I'm still at 100% with TID working.
"It just works" đ So much for that!
On a serious note, my thumb print that was not working 9 out of 10 times seems to have mysteriously gotten a little better today. I have no idea why, I didn't even change anything. The TID seems to have a mind of it's own. I fully expect it to stop working again soon. One thing I noticed this time is that if I keep the thumb pressed down a little harder than usual, but not to the point of pressing the button in, it seems to work a little better.
Joe_Fo wrote:
smilleresq wrote:
[snip]
I am not so sure the number of apps open or what is running is an issue because my TID slides into failure without any other apps running at all. At least it isn't for me.
My guess is there is a bug with the post scanning "accuracy improvement" of TID; It certainly does not get more accurate over time.
And you've registered a failing finger based on my suggestion? Post a pic of the registeration screen with how you're placing your finger over the home button so we can see what if anything you should change to get more accuracy.
Other than the one failure I mentioned, I'm still at 100% with TID working.
I can't post a picture right now, however I deleted and rescanned my thumb print this morning, not quite as far down the finger like in the photograph you posted, I scanned it closer to the thumbnail. I also followed scanning instructions I found here: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/14/iphone-5s-touch-id-problems-frustrate-he res-fix/
I'm still going to go to the apple store tomorrow.
My wife and I each have an iPhone 5S. The fingerprint sensors work for two or three days after a scan. They become less and less accurate as time goes by. Eventually they barely work at all. A rescan fixes everything for a couple of days. The entire fingerprint sensing system is totally useless and a huge problem. We have been through 10 cycles of re-scans and the same issue occurs every time. We need this fixed or new phones or an explanation best.
smilleresq wrote:
[snip]
thumbnail. I also followed scanning instructions I found here: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/14/iphone-5s-touch-id-problems-frustrate-he res-fix/
I'm still going to go to the apple store tomorrow.
Let us know how you make out with those tips. To me, IMHO, they're bogus, despite they are supposed to be from a genius bar employee, WADR to genius employees everywhere đ
Again, this is not the same as an ink and paper fingerprint. The "roll your finger" they quote is just plain dumb.
smilleresq wrote:
[snip]
I scanned it closer to the thumbnail. I also followed scanning instructions I found here: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/14/iphone-5s-touch-id-problems-frustrate-he res-fix/
I'm still going to go to the apple store tomorrow.
As a followup: That "solution" was posted by Dreanmachine1 in this thread on Oct 7, and worked well for a short time, then failed like other attempts. I too tried this early on, and it failed.
I'll stick with my method as it's the only thing that I found to be 100% after weeks of use...
Joe_Fo wrote:
smilleresq wrote:
[snip]
I scanned it closer to the thumbnail. I also followed scanning instructions I found here: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/14/iphone-5s-touch-id-problems-frustrate-he res-fix/
I'm still going to go to the apple store tomorrow.
As a followup: That "solution" was posted by Dreanmachine1 in this thread on Oct 7, and worked well for a short time, then failed like other attempts. I too tried this early on, and it failed.
I'll stick with my method as it's the only thing that I found to be 100% after weeks of use...
I knew it had been posted here but I couldnt find it after a short look. so I referenced the other site.
To recap, in essence your technique is to scan your finger further down the nail (not the fingertip) and reposition your finger with greater distance with each scan. Here is your orignal thread addressing this:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5446246
I'll try that.
Better yet, follow what I posted a few pages back, Nov 11 at 5:21 PM. More detailed and will give better results.
BTW, the link you posted got their info from this thread, including quoting the "fix". So this thread has come full circle.
D'Oh! I missed "Edit" in the corner of the screen... đ Thanks much for the additional info. I better stick my nose into the 5S manual I downloaded yesterday...
BTW, my wife reports much better results since she switched to fingers with clearer prints.
FWIW, I don't understand some of the angst expressed in this thread over Touch ID glitches. I consider the technology to be nascent even though it has been in development for years; it's apparently harder than we think to develop a reliable biometric device.
Frankly, I consider Apple's use of Touch ID in the 5S as being one step above a marketing gimmick. I'm amazed that it works as well as it does. Apple was smart to make it easy to bypass Touch ID and use the "old fashion" passcode. I expect that Touch ID will improve over time as Apple updates the software. If Touch ID remains problematic I'll simply switch back to the passcode method if I can't live with Touch ID idiosyncrasies.
If you purchased an iPhone 5S only because of Touch ID... well, I wouldn't upgrade for that feature alone. The 5S is a significant update of my iPhone 4S so I had a number of very good reasons to upgrade. (Not to mention that I can sell my unlocked iPhone and cover the cost of the upgrade. If I waited longer the resell value of my old iPhone would be significantly less than it is now.)
Touch ID being Erratic
