Q: Touch ID being Erratic

Video uploaded to YouTube.  I have a bad cold and sound like crap, but I think it's okay.

Could have done a better job centering the frame, but you'll get the idea.

Feedback welcomed, even from those who think Touch ID doesn't work 

Here's what I posted on YouTube in response to your work, Joe.

Beautiful job! Thanks for doing this, Joe.  I'm one of the people who requested that you make a video.  Before seeing this video, I did take a stab at following your written directions on the forum.  I did a half-assed job of it, not as systematic as you are showing here, but it seems to have worked.  At least for 2 days now!  Which at this point seems miraculous to me.  I think it worked well for me on 7.0 but broke during the upgrades.  Then I could just not get it to remember my thumb for more than a few hours.  I was very frustrated because the thumb is the only way to do it with one hand.  I even got the Apple Genius to give me a new phone and then it didn't work.  I'm still holding my breath to make sure it works for more days but, so far, this may be my best Christmas present this year!  I appreciate your systematic approach, too, of disproving the dry/wet hand hypotheses.  I'm guessing you must be a scientist or an engineer. :-)  I'm curious.  How in the world did you come up with this approach?

Thanks so much for your contribution, Joe!!!!

Very cool Joe.  Thanks for the video.  I just programmed my left thumb using your method.  I'll post back in a few days and give you a status update.  Maybe I won't have to drive to the Apple store now.

Steve

Really appreciate people trying to find solutions and posting videos but sadly i think you haven't got the same

Problem as many of us have, i tried the method u showed on your video twice exactly as on your

Video and my sensor never worked as bad as this *_*

I personally am convinced this is a software problem as they stole my 5s last week, bought a new one

And same problem, worked perfect for about a week and after was f* again.

Just want u to explain me this : if i do the finger setup and get 100% success rate for a week, and than gradually

Starts to go down, how can that possibly have something to do with the method of setting up your scans? Common people this is not rocket science and I'm tired getting 100 replies of how dumb we all are to not be able to decently setup our prints (sorry no pun intended) while I'm sure I'm doing it right as it works PERFECT for a while, am i the only one that doesn't see the logic here?

And if it was the other solution of sensor being dirty : why if u rescan them without cleaning sensor they work again for a while in a dirty state? Because it programs your "dirty finger" ? I don't think so..

The one and only answer to our problems is hidden in their "it gets better in time" slogan, that's my thought anyway..

Sorry being a bit harsh but i wasted so much time troubleshooting this frustrating problem it starts to p me off :(

Apple needs to address this in a software update and turn off that "learning over time" stuff , don't fix what isn't broken it reads fine when just programmed!

Thanks so much joe. It worked for me. Now even with damp hands I can scan my print and it works !!

ShrinkRap wrote:

 

Here's what I posted on YouTube in response to your work, Joe.

 

[snip]

I'm curious.  How in the world did you come up with this approach?

 

Thanks so much for your contribution, Joe!!!!

Thanks for the kind words. Glad it's working for open minded people

Gave some thought as to how I'd code the S/W, and what would happen with disjointed information (Garbage In, Garbage out) and decided to scan in as coherent a pattern as possible.  It worked, I shared.

I agree with djaysteven. I've got the same problem.

This has been my problem too, i.e. works great for a couple of days then seems to deteriorate.  But, I'm trying the scan methods shown by Joe and testing.

S

Thaks for the video, Joe. I would only take issue with your statement (I'm paraphrasing here)  that scanning the fingerprint as demonstrated works 100% of the time, forever because my own experience suggests otherwise. The fingerprint scan I had that worked flawlessly for about 3 weeks is now failing more often then working.

I'm just going to delete and rescan and hope for a SW upgrade that solves this issue.

smilleresq wrote:

 

Thaks for the video, Joe. I would only take issue with your statement (I'm paraphrasing here)  that scanning the fingerprint as demonstrated works 100% of the time, forever because my own experience suggests otherwise.

[snip]

 

Got it. Thanks.

I guess I was going on my own experience, and that of my wife.  For her so far after 2 months, and for me after installing 2 releases (and one or two restores due to botched upgrades, and one reset to reset the battery percent left metric) it appeared to me that, forever takes me to the next IOS release. After only having TID work at most 2 days after launch, 2 months seems like forever.

That, and the 100% to me meant not having to enter a passcode due to the sensor failing to read, and not that sometimes it fails on the first read attempt, requiring a reposition.  But, point taken.

Joe_Fo wrote:

 

That, and the 100% to me meant not having to enter a passcode due to the sensor failing to read, and not that sometimes it fails on the first read attempt, requiring a reposition.  But, point taken.

I can't dsagree with that, sometimes having to reposition a little is necessary. What seems to happen over time is that (as I mentioned in previous posts) greater precision in placing the figner on the sensor becomes necessary. I wonder if failure is not because of non-recognition but due to not finding the "sweet spot" on the fingerprint that the phone remembers that would let you in.

smilleresq wrote:

 

[snip]

I can't dsagree with that, sometimes having to reposition a little is necessary.

 

[snip]

What I find however is that I've landed outside of the area I've registered, usually too far towards the fingertip, and have to reposition.

If in doubt, there's always the TID "Add a Fingerprint" screen where you can check the boundaries. An added plus is, if something has gone wonky, this does add to the database as I've outlined earlier in this thread.  I don't believe it trumps a solid initial registration though,  Something to test...

One potential issue with Touch ID that isn't talked about much is dry, cold or staticky skin. I have made a detailed post with some potential solutions here: http://trialsandtribstech.blogspot.com/2013/12/strange-causes-for-touch-id-finge rprint.html. I hope it helps.

Griswaldo4g wrote:

 

One potential issue with Touch ID that isn't talked about much is dry, cold or staticky skin. I have made a detailed post with some potential solutions here: http://trialsandtribstech.blogspot.com/2013/12/strange-causes-for-touch-id-finge rprint.html. I hope it helps.

Read your blog; Very interesting, but that's not what I find.  Have you seen my YouTube video where I disprove the dry skin idea which has been brought up in this and other threads?  I've also put my phone in a 30 degree environment for 30 minutes, and TID worked fine after removing it, only tested as one person here posted going through extreme measures due to the cold in his location.

I've also risked frostbite with an ice cube in a plastic bag on a finger, and TID worked fine once removed.

I tried all this to figure out why I was having such a hard time with TID initially, only to figure out there was a simple fix, which worked for me as well as others.

Curious though on your point on static: Since the iPhone is in contact with your hand, wouldn't it be at the same potential as your body, hence there should be no EMF between it and you?

-Joe

having this issue also