Touch ID being Erratic

Having the same issue. 😟 It works perfectly during the first 1-2 hours. On the next day it does not work at all. I hope Apple will fix it with new update.

i2 wrote:

The plastic sandwich bag does have a different composition and thickness than a screen protector but more importantly it also cover's the entire screen and extends closely around the TID button. So there would be major differences unless you want to ignore the detail. Joe_Fo's purpose for using the sandwich bag in his video is to demonstrate that dry fingers shouldn't be a problem and it does that. Extending that to say screen protectors aren't a problem and will not cause TID to fail is perhaps a reasonable but not proven assumption. It may just be my engineering background but I like to see controlled experiments. I can understand the reluctance to remove the screen protector to see if it improves reliability for those with the less severe TID problems. So I haven't seen enough data to judge screen prtoectors as a cause for users experiencing the similar less severe errratic problems. My TID is working reasonably well with the screen protector and I am satisfied. The technique Joe_Fo developed for registering a print is great because it adds order to the procedure that is lacking in Apple's KB article HT5883. From my experience more complete contact with the ring provides better reliabiliy.

My screen protector surrounds but does not touch the TID ring. I still experience degradation of the capacity to read my fingerprint over time. Loss of capacity takes more time now usingJoe_Fo's scanning method but nonetheless it still eventually fails. Upon deleting and rescanning the phone opens no matter how my finger is placed on the scanner. a few days to a week or so later, nothing.

Adambellpt wrote:

My touch ID reads my prints fine when it works. The touch ID working is just inconsistent for me. I do not mean that it doesn't recognize my fingerprint and asks me to try again. When it isn't working it functions just like my iPhone 4S did. There is no response when my finger is on the touch ID and I am forced to input my PW. I have two fingerprints in my touch ID, but when the touch ID isn't responding the two prints do not even show up under my settings and the add fingerprint is gray and not functional. I have reset my phone and closed all apps, but it doesn't seem to work. The only way I have been able to get the touch ID to begin working again is to allow my battery to run completely out to the point my phone shuts down. When the phone is plugged in and comes back on the touch id works fine for several hours, both of my prints appear back under my touch ID and the add fingerprint link is functioning fine in my settings option. After a few hours the process starts over.

Your problem is different then what most of us here are experiencing. For us its nothing more then an eventual inability to recognize a scanned fingerprint. It seems that you have a deeper software issue than that.

Concerning having to let the phone battery run down, are you saying a soft reset (off + home until the apple screen comes on) does not work? The reasnwhy I ask is because I would think letting the phone shut offby running down the battery should be nothing more then a soft reset.

I had the problem but found that if I scan the middle of my finger (I use my thumb) instead of the top it seems to work. I have also set the same finger up a couple of times, instead of using different fingers I have scanned my thumb as different fingers.

smilleresq wrote:

Your problem is different then what most of us here are experiencing. For us its nothing more then an eventual inability to recognize a scanned fingerprint.

I wish that were the only problem. At least that has somewhat of a work-around. The other problem, which I am experiencing to no end, is that TID will intermittently (and seemingly randomly) go completely dead, unable to recognize any print. It will read "try again" for each scan, requring me to use the passcode to unlock. After a few minutes it will go back to normal and instantly unlock with my print. It's happening with such frequency now it has made TID completely useless. I've finally given up and just turned it off and gone to passcode unlock. I may have to try restoring my phone and setting up as new to see if I can pinpoint it.

But you know, that's not my job. I don't have endless time on my hand to mess with a phone that's supposed to "just work" as Apple is famous for saying. I really don't understand how the maps issue with iOS6 made national news and resulted in an apology from Tim Cook, but this--the main selling feature of this phone that is so unreliable as to be almost useless--barely garners any attention.

Forgive the rant.

mrsnork;

This is what I've been experiencing since I first bought my 5s on release date from ATT store. Apple gave me a new 5s yesterday and of course so far TID is working great. I will post my progress after a week or so. If it turns out that it's working much better then it would at least in my case prove that it's hardward related.

Too early to make any judgement now, but I'll keep everyone posted.

And yes, I agree that why should I (we) have to spend Sooo much time on this.

Steve

All I know is this issue has been happening for a month now. And apple didn't even consider to address it. Disappointed. Nothing to do with my fingers. Touch ID worked flawlessly for about 2 3 weeks. I'm pretty sure the sensor stops scanning after a while when the phone is locked (Sometimes). And if anyone is thinking that my home button is not clean and I have to clean it. That's not the case. When it doesn't work, unlock the phone with the stupid passcode that I never used until Touch ID. Then lock it again. It will work. I still don't have any clue if this is a hardware or software issue. And since I'm on 7.1 beta. And it still exists, I'm worried.. Tried EVERYTHING from restoring to deleting Twitter. I may have scanned my finger 50+ times. Don't show me a video how to scan my finger. I'm pretty sure I didn't make anything different first 3 weeks.

I agree, 2 iPhones and hours and hours reading and troubleshooting later the problem is still here,

I personally am convinced this is software related and gave up.. My passcode is now

Off and i have a gold iPhone 5 had exactly same problem with Apple TV, there was a problem

With their wifi ship on certain serial numbers, it was all over the internet but all stores acted like u were

The only one in the world a year!!! Later they admitted te problem and those series could get

a new unit even out of warranty..

Hate it when they play dumb I'm sure they are aware and with a statement I would be happy..

I have looked over your video. It is very methodical and I do feel that it will make a difference for most viewers. I am going to give it a try, as well as run some other additional tests, and update my blog soon.

Having said that, Apple's own documents mention the fact that cold fingers can cause an issue with TouchID. In addition, myself and others have long had issues with anything that uses capacitive technology due to static electricity caused by the issues I mentioned in my post. (Many people don't realize that a human can carry up to 50,000 V ofstatic charge on your skin at any time.)

The problem with static and TouchID is that both a dry finger and sapphire are an insulator. This means that, when you touch a staticky finger to the sapphire lens on TouchID, the voltage is not conducted away from your finger (grounded) and potential still exists between the surfaces of these two differing materials. (Ideally, this would be resolved by the steel ring surrounding the sensor but this may not be the case if your finger is carrying an unusually high voltage or the ring doesn't have a good ground.)

I will admit that there is some speculation here on my part but I believe my theory may also account for the issues some are experiencing with accuracy getting worse over time. I do plan to follow-up my blog post with some further experiments soon though.

I hope that is helpful for those of you that are finding this a tougher nut to crack.

Jon

One plausible explanation for the issue with the screen film is, as I have mentioned before in this thread (pg. 39), static electricity. Because a screen film is essentially a plastic insulator that collects static electricity, it may have unexpected effects on TouchID, which works with capacitive technology.

I would further speculate that the people who are experiencing this effect the worst, have a plastic, leather or wood case which is an electrical insulator and further prevents discharge of static electricity from their hands.

I gave up. Tried Joe's method, worked for a few days like a champ then started to taper off like before. I turned it off, screw it, apple wants to act like it doesnt exsit. I am very worried. it seems apple is going down hill since steve died, and things are getting worse instead of better. This isnt like apple to have an item like this. IOS on the new ipad air is sucking also, it crashes in safari, and just plain *****. Cmon apple you are better than this for gods sake pay fu%#ing attention!

mrsnork wrote:

Disappointingly, I'm still getting the total failure situations where it will fail 5 times, causing me to enter the pass code, then it starts working again perfectly. Nothing to do with degradation of the print. There is a documented conflict with Twitter, but I don't even have a Twitter installed so clearly some other app or process is causing a problem. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that iOS 7.1 will fix this.

Sadly it's not just Twitter, and even then it's not a total failure when Twitter is the active app when the screen locks. Points to a more random set of events. Documented in this as well as other threads, including what I believe is the first to mention the issue, and it has a numbered bug report assigned by Apple.

RE TID taking longer with multiple enrollments, I kind of remember that from day one. Could be mistaken though, but when I had early failures I researched everything I could find, and this I though was well documented, FWIW.

I think this has been a very valuable and instructive forum. I was totally at my wits end before Jo-Fo's method. I had tried 2 new iPhones and had the same problems that many others have reported, of my prints fading out of memory over time. Currently, I have right-thumb in two memory slots and have left the other slots empty. Jo's method has held up for me now for around 2 weeks or more.

I don't have Twitter on my phone, never did. Don't see how static electricity or some of the other factors such as humidity, etc. could be at work inasmuch as I had the problems for quite a while and they went away and have stayed away since applying Jo's method.

It's hard to figure why his method should work. I really only ever had a problem with my thumbs. So maybe the key, at least for me, wasn't so much following Jo's pattern as it was putting the thickest, fleshiest part of my thumb over the sensor. I think I was not doing that before. I wasn't using the tip but my thumb was definitely lower down in relation to the sensor. So my advice to others is definitely put the thickest, fleshiest part of your thumb over the sensor. I also thing keeping the other memory slots empty helps with responsiveness. And, I do agree that there is something here that Apple needs to fix.

i2 wrote:

The plastic sandwich bag does have a different composition and thickness than a screen protector but more importantly it also cover's the entire screen and extends closely around the TID button. So there would be major differences unless you want to ignore the detail. Joe_Fo's purpose for using the sandwich bag in his video is to demonstrate that dry fingers shouldn't be a problem and it does that. Extending that to say screen protectors aren't a problem and will not cause TID to fail is perhaps a reasonable but not proven assumption.

[snip]

I based my opinion on both my and my wife's experience. Both have Apple leather cases, only me wife's phone has a screen protector, which BTW almost touches the home ring, and neither of us have a problem with TID failing to unlock, aside from the well documented and reported to Apple S/W bug causing TID to not even sense a finger is on the button, as well as the well documented workaround for same. Her thumb was enrolled 2 months ago, and TID is flawless.

The registration method I now believe in more than ever is key to providing the system with ordered, easily assembled data, preventing corner case failures during future "learning as it goes" attempts from making poor attempts at modifications to the data.

However, there's enough anecdotal evidence now that enrolling multiple fingers, even with my method, corrupts the data over time, and more rapidly with data that was initially collected haphazardly.

One finger to rule them all 🙂 If this works then we have a better case to provide to Apple.

Pushlinks wrote:

All I know is this issue has been happening for a month now. And apple didn't even consider to address it. Disappointed. Nothing to do with my fingers. Touch ID worked flawlessly for about 2 3 weeks. I'm pretty sure the sensor stops scanning after a while when the phone is locked (Sometimes). And if anyone is thinking that my home button is not clean and I have to clean it. That's not the case. When it doesn't work, unlock the phone with the stupid passcode that I never used until Touch ID.

[snip]

Known S/W bug, ducumented here and other threads.

Pushlinks wrote:

[snip]

Tried EVERYTHING from restoring to deleting Twitter. I may have scanned my finger 50+ times. Don't show me a video how to scan my finger. I'm pretty sure I didn't make anything different first 3 weeks.

Sorry if the attempts by others to share what works causes you such angst. If you feel your methods work for you, which after 50 times with no difference in results is acceptable to you, keep up the good work. Maybe 100 times will be the charm.

Please keep us informed on your progress finding a solution that works for you.