Touch ID being Erratic

Griswaldo4g

No screen protector, never did have, though I had an Apple case, since removed. No case since rescanning fingers 72 hours ago now. The Joe Fo fingers are a day fresher than the original ones. All are working though don't always unlock first time after a few hours break.

I can't tell you how appreciative I am to have found this thread. I upgraded from the 5 to the 5s SPECIFICALLY for the Touch ID feature, only to find it useless for the reasons mentioned by so many others. VERY frustrating. Thankfully, this thread saved me hours of wasted time on what would have been pointless trips to the Apple Store.

Tried the Joe_Fo method (thank you, Joe, for your efforts!) and it worked pretty well for about a week before I had to re-register again. But at this point, I'll take a week of use vs. what had been mere hours of use before "fingerprint dementia" set in. This time with the Joe_Fo method, I only registered two fingers instead of three, so I'll see if that makes a difference in longevity. FWIW, I'm using a Vaja Nuova Pelle case (which I recommend very highly) with no screen protector.

I've read a couple of posts that referred to a "Calculator Trick," but have been unable to find out what it is after searching. If someone could tell me, I'd really appreciate it!

The Calculator trick is pulling up the Control Panel, opening the Calculator, closing out of it (by pressing the home button) and scanning your fingerprint again.

Tried scanning prints 180 degrees? Still worked as long as the finger was precisely on the scanner. Apple case is back on. First few attempts failed. Adjusted my grip the case has a raised rim. Now working. As I have said before it seems to be a bit sleepy when first used after a break but then gets faster and faster. Is there a reason for this behaviour?

About it being sleepy after the break, Joe_Fo has mentioned before that he thinks that background processes, open apps, and push notifications may be causing this... I would tend to agree because, if you haven't used your phone in awhile and you try to unlock it, your phone will start refreshing apps, checking email and so forth... iOS 7 does this strategically to save battery life and this is why you will often get a flood of emails, for example, when you unlock your phone.

I will have to look up the Joe_Fo method as I am new to these pages, but the gentleman who suggested that static electricity is part of the problem seems to be Bang On! I am into the 3rd day of my i phone 5s touch id working (for the first time), with a Spigen Armour Case which is a type of immitation metal on the outside case. When I ground my left index Finger on it Before touching the Home Button - the phone Touch ID is working a lot better so this Static Stuff seems to make sense and we have a lot of Carpets in our house!! Could someone please let me know what post the Joe Fo method is in? Thanks a lot for the help.

See this post, including the YouTube video Lin a few posts from the start:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5608670?tstart=0

hi Joe, i was following your step but it only perfect work for me for 3 days, after that it become failing also

Thanks a lot Joe excellent instructions and your You Tube Video is extremely well done - excellent work.

Three days without any case and now three with the Apple case back on. My Joe-Fo thumb working still but only if I get it spot on. My Apple thumb exactly the same. Both still working after six days. Both work in any orientation but only if I get them spot on the centre whorl ( presumably the most distinctive part of my fingerprint ) it's annoying the edges seem to fade.

Does the scanner update each time it is used as it seems to learn after a few false starts each morning?

Both work in any orientation but only if I get them spot on the centre whorl ( presumably the most distinctive part of my fingerprint ) it's annoying the edges seem to fade.

I wonder if this has to do more with getting contact with the steel ring surrounding TID, as well as scanning enough points of reference on your finger at the same time to make a positive id.

Does the scanner update each time it is used as it seems to learn after a few false starts each morning?

Apple has given every indication that TID does continue to learn but it is hard to say for sure if it stops as some point.

As far as the false starts in the morning go, I really think it has to do with your phone starting to refresh all of your data for your background apps and push notifications... For example, when talking about the M7 co-processor, Apple says that when the phone hasn't been moved in awhile (like when you are sleeping) it reduces network connectivity.. When you get up in the morning, start moving your phone and try to login, I think it begins running all of these background processes.

I think this is going to require software tweaking on Apple's end but if you really want to minimize this you can try turning off Background App Refresh, minimizing the number of notifications you get, and setting your email to Fetch, as described here http://trialsandtribstech.blogspot.com/2013/10/14-steps-to-getting-great-battery -life.html.

Griswaldo4g wrote:

Apple has given every indication that TID does continue to learn but it is hard to say for sure if it stops as some point. As far as the false starts in the morning go, I really think it has to do with your phone starting to refresh all of your data for your background apps and push notifications... For example, when talking about the M7 co-processor, Apple says that when the phone hasn't been moved in awhile (like when you are sleeping) it reduces network connectivity.. When you get up in the morning, start moving your phone and try to login, I think it begins running all of these background processes.

I think this is going to require software tweaking on Apple's end but if you really want to minimize this you can try turning off Background App Refresh, minimizing the number of notifications you get, and setting your email to Fetch, as described here http://trialsandtribstech.blogspot.com/2013/10/14-steps-to-getting-great-battery -life.html.

I think there maybe something to both these points (or maybe something else, who the **** [he double hockey sticks] knows) because I performed a little experiment with my phone because I am again having TID failure within 24 hours after scanning a fingerprint irrespective of the methond in which I scan the print (sorry, Joe_Fo).

Anyhow, I scanned my thumbprint and then did not use TID whatsoever after then except to check to see if my print was registered and working. 24 hours later, initially my phone did not open up with TID and only recognized my print once out of multiple tries in the settings screen. A short while later it began to better recognize my print which ultimately improved until it opened essentially normally.

That would indicate to me that because TID was not given the opportunity to see my print over the course of the day, it was unable to corrupt my fingerprint with more data.

So, TID is a great function that works if you don't use it...

Smileresq wrote

I scanned my thumbprint and then did not use TID whatsoever after then except to check to see if my print was registered and working. 24 hours later, initially my phone did not open up with TID and only recognized my print once out of multiple tries in the settings screen. A short while later it began to better recognize my print which ultimately improved until it opened essentially normally.

That is exactly what I meant by it being sleepy in the morning. I have to get it going. usually three or four attempts after which it works perfectly.

It's 2 weeks now since I registered my thumb as per Jo Fo method. I have a leather case on the phone & a screen protector cut just above the home (sensor) button.

It's only failed to work completely twice & that was outside & my hands were cold. It doesn't always work first time but usually works after two/three tries.

I turn my phone off over night & when turned on in morning after initially putting in password the touch ID nearly always works first time. During the day it reverts to one to three tries to enter phone.

From my experience I would say the positioning of my thumb has to be exact or it won't work.

It definitely works better when indoors with my hands warm.

Frankswan wrote:

From my experience I would say the positioning of my thumb has to be exact or it won't work.

It definitely works better when indoors with my hands warm.

However, sometimes finding the sweet spot is close to impossible such that it might appear that TID completely failed. Also, the fact that more precision with finger placement is required over time for TID to work contradicts having TID scan the "edges" when initially setting it up, which is supposed to allow for less precise placement.