Touch ID being Erratic

Sounds good. I loaded 7.0.3 and on one finger used the tip to see if it

worked better than before. Worked well for a few hours, but overnight

it fails, so 7.0.3 does not change my observation on the issue.

Stay away from the tip of the finger, and it should work fine.

The interesting thing about TouchID is that it works fine for some, and horribly for others. I mainly use my thumb on the sensor, and I consistently (even under 7.0.3) see the problem where after initial training, everything is fine, but then a number of hours later, I see something like a 50% fail rate.

The only thing I can offer is, do not use the end of your finger, per

the pic I posted earlier in this thread.

I've tested it with dry hands, moist hands, even risked frostbite

with an icecube in a zip bag on my thumb, and could not

get it to fail.

Unless there's some combo of apps running that hoses

TID from working that I was not able to duplicate. I had 20 apps

open trying to cause TID to fail, and it still worked. Either

that, or there is H/W which fails intermittently, which is always

possible.

I'm also having intermittent problems with my touch id. My left thumb is the most stable, my index finger the least. Yesterday it seemed like trying to use it while plugged in would launch all to be unstable and I'd get a passcode screen saying I needed to enter the passcode in order to use touch id. I noticed more problems after the 0.2 update. I just did all my prints this morning (I upgraded to 0.3 the other day) and tried with and without the plug and it is noticeably quicker with no problems yet. It could be that I'm just getting better at the scanning phase. There was also a huge leap from my very first scans to the ones after I watched the video on Apple.com on how to do it properly.

Shawn

I have the exact same problem. When I delete and reset it is good for a day or so, then won't work again.

Wonder if anyone else is seeing this? When the touch ID does work, my screen momentarily turns black before opening.

Hopefully my Genius Bar appointment tomorrow will address this as well

Well, iOS 7.0.3 has done the trick for me. Touch ID now works beautifully. Each part of the finger works equally well, the tip as well as the center part. For fun I registered my big toe. It works just fine. 👿

As long as you make sure that the finger touches the button as well as the metal outer ring at the same time. This is absolutely crucial, because touching the ring is needed to close a circuit. If you touch the button with any part of the finger without touching the outer ring at the same time, it will not work, no matter what. I can now scan right side up, upside down, sideways, with any part of the finger, ... it all works beautifully.

FWIW, the iOS 7.0.3 update has also solved a number of other issues for me, that others may also have had problems with. The compass/level/accelerometer is now properly calibrated. The Voice Memos app no longer crashes each and every time at random times. The OS has not crashed and restarted on me yet since the update. Thrird party apps no longer start without me having tapped them.

7.0.3 is a good update as far as I am concerned

And how long have you had the tip of a finger registered and used for? If you can go

a few days, you have a winner. Personally, I doubt it, given the weeks of

frustration I had since the 5S launch, and based on my 7.0.3 overnight

failure.

For me, I still say stay away from the fingertip. Then again, I might

have a defective 5S, (maybe defective fingers too? 🙂 ) but as long as it works

staying away from fingertips, I'm happy.

Joe_Fo wrote:

And how long have you had the tip of a finger registered and used for?

Since October 22, when the update was published.

If you can go a few days, you have a winner.

So far so good. Hey, even my big toe works. 🙂

Personally, I doubt it, given the weeks of frustration I had since the 5S launch, and based on my 7.0.3 overnight failure.

I was frustrated too since I got the phone and was even working with a 'Senior Specialist' at Apple 'Corporate Executive Relations' to resolve this. I was ready to throw the ****** phone against the wall. In my case 7.0.3 seems to have done the trick. Finger tips and all.

Key Learnings: Scan the middle of your fingerprint and not the tip. Only use a single finger.

Take a close look at your fingerprint. Near the tip, there is only horizontal ridges, but further down there are swirls. For the best reliability, you want to scan the middle of the swirl. It may be a little less comfortable to unlock your phone, but you will get used to it. And it's a lot less frustrating that having to enter your passcode. Also, notice how the oils from your finger builds up on the button. Using the same finger all the time will leave the same impression all the time and not confuse the sensor.

I just got my 5s and it is doing the same thing. I have erased and rescanned my fingers numerous times. Mine does not work at all, not even hit or miss!

Okay, shows promise then. I registered a different fingertip and will see how it goes.

Oh, also the tip of my nose too. Will keep an eye on both over the next few days. ;)

Keep in mind if you have very dry fingers where it's always flaky and cracked, TID will have serious problems working for you.

The center of the swirl on my thumb lines up just below the bottom on my thumbnail. My best scan has been the top 1/3 of swirl to tip. The Scanner Image reflects a centered swirl, which may be misleading. For testing purposes, maybe only use the right or left thumb.

There are several issues, but these jump out:

1) Scanning. Line up the center of thumbnail with opposite-side center of scanner.

2) If it stops working after a day or so, ask yourself if it’s because you’re getting lazy about the process (no offense to anyone as I've made this error). Maybe you’re not mashing it in from sleep mode and gently keeping your finger in place afterwards? The conducive ring is important. I’ve noticed that the fail rate increases exponentially if you start from a live lock screen versus sleep mode.

3) Motion Off setting is brilliant with 7.0.3. Mash, then instant app access. As always, animations are an afterthought with Apple.

After a week failure rate will go up. Index finger will keep working. That's the last profile that eventually loses it's ability to be scanned.