Q: Touch ID being Erratic

I can't. Never said it did

The only thing I can think of is it diffuses fine details, relying on more prominent features.  Small details would tend to change over time with specks of debris on the sensor, like some "stone washed" jeans can have almost talc like debris years later in pockets.  Or, the tape surface is slicker than the sensor, so oils and latent prints wipe off more easily without even thinking about it.  Don't know: The tape idea failed for me.

Having said that, I don't see how many of the failures some see over time is a hardware issue.  Hardware problems would not degrade over time as you suggested, only to fix itself with a rescan, IMHO.  While some no doubt do have real H/W problems, they're hard errors, fixed by replacing the phone. Think row/column driver failures, or loose cable, or a cold solder joint, none of which are fixed with a rescan...

It is good to hear that this method is working for you, but one concern I have about this is that scotch tape can really collect both dust and damage. Have you had many problems with this?

I agree that the issue is not strictly hardware, but I would add that I do think it has to do with the interaction of the hardware with the software...

It is easy to forget that the TID's biggest strength - its high resolution - is also its biggest weakness. We are talking about a 500 ppi sensor with 10s of thousands of "pixels" and any small variations between scans could potentially cause an issue because of this.

Pairing this sensitive sensor with software that liberally updates the "image" database of your scanned in finger(s), it is easy to see how this could be a problem.

One reason I think using scotch tape might actually work (even though I am not sure it is a solution), is using the tape might lower the resolution of a scan enough that the update mechanism in the TID software is disengaged.

Having said that, I do have concerns about the long-term reliability of using tape, especially in light of my theory about static electricity and TID (which others have tested with success).

Griswaldo4g,

My single thumb enrolled without a case (since replaced) on Dec3rd is still working 98%. It nearly failed yesterday but cleaning the TID scanner cured that.

My zone of success is quite a small area around the whorl.

What I have noticed is a slight tingle when I touch the ring. Could this be some form of static or just the temperature or texture difference from the rest of the phone?

Dup;icate post - deleted

Well, here we are... 56 pages and counting, with no true remedy in sight. I continue to use the Joe_Fo registration method for just one thumb, which still fails eventually, but not nearly as often as the Apple method.

The third beta of iOS 7.1 was just released to developers and, unfortunately, there's no mention of this Touch ID problem on the published list of issues that 7.1 addresses. That doesn't necessarily mean that it will not be addressed, but it's certainly not encouraging.

It is possible that when you are touching the ring your finger is discharging static which you might be able to feel.

Having said that, you are the first person who I have ever heard mention this... Though from what I have heard the steel ring is conductive sensor, you should not be able to feel a tingle from it.

I would make sure your fingers aren't wet and you don't have any other substances on them. If you still feel this, you might want to take your phone in because you might have a hardware issue or water damage.

Hi All,

First of all thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thead, much appreciated.

I've been reading as much of this thread as I can and thought I'd chip in what I've noticed. I've been having the same issues as everyone else so when I found this thread yesterday I re-registered a single thumb (right) as I only ever use that one. It worked OK for an hour or two and then started failing so I registered it again. I did this 2 more times with the last time being an hour ago.

I went to the last page (56) of the thread and found the link to the troubleshooting page where Joe_Fo tells us how to register the finger correctly. So I thought I'd simply delete all 4 previous prints and start fresh. Now when I try to register the thumb it starts OK, scans and vibrates maybe 6 or 7 times then a message pops up saying 'Try using a different finger, this fingerprint cannot be read'. I work in an office so don't have rough hands or prints and my hands are clean, certainly in a very similar state of cleanliness and dryness when I registered the print yesterday :-).

I have an appointment on Saturday at the Apple store in Glasgow (the only one in Scotland) so I want to make sure I've done everything they may ask me to try before I get there as I am in Edinburgh. I was very hopeful last night that this may have been fixed as I had a very high success rate but this morning the failures were back with avengance so thats why I decided to delete all and start again. I was going to cancel my Apple store visit but am definately going now as this is really annoying.

ally0000 wrote:

 

[snip]

Now when I try to register the thumb it starts OK, scans and vibrates maybe 6 or 7 times then a message pops up saying 'Try using a different finger, this fingerprint cannot be read'. I work in an office so don't have rough hands or prints and my hands are clean, certainly in a very similar state of cleanliness and dryness when I registered the print yesterday :-).

 

[snip]

Odd. So assuming no prints are enrolled now if I understand your post, I'd try the following in order. I'm also assuming you found my post with the YouTube link, as well as have IOS 7.0.4 installed. Also make sure TID sensor is clean.

  Close open apps and stale Safari pages.

  Turn passcode off, restart phone.

  Turn passcode back on and if it states fingerprint data was found, opt to delete and not save them.

  Turn passcode on and try to register a finger. If not working, and if no finger will register, I'd do the following:

    Backup phone if you don't have a recent backup.

    Restore IOS and test. If TID works, restore data from backup and test TID again.

If TID still fails, it's road trip time.

Griswaldo4g wrote:

 

[snip]

 

Pairing this sensitive sensor with software that liberally updates the "image" database of your scanned in finger(s), it is easy to see how this could be a problem.

 

One reason I think using scotch tape might actually work (even though I am not sure it is a solution), is using the tape might lower the resolution of a scan enough that the update mechanism in the TID software is disengaged.

 

Agreed: Apple needs to improve, or from observed TID actions, add, a liberal amount of hysteresis WRT updating the model. But I still believe there's a bug where using more than one of the five slots causes a slow corruption of all prints.  At least that's how it's been for me, and why I only use one thumb.

I did some testing last night with adding tape, but not a cutout circle. Didn't want to have to risk scratching the sapphire removing it later.  Conclusions to date: The matte finish tape (all I had at hand) is less prone to oil and dust collection, possibly why RodneyEvangeliosaw better results, even if he was trying to reduce failures due to sweat.

Also tested: The tape does not disable database updating as the scanned area can be expanded after initial registration.

Yeah, no print registered but eventually got end registered later in the afternoon, during the time no print was registered I just used the passcode and boy was it a pleasure to just get into the phone with no faffing abut.

Joe_Fo, I appreciate your long answer but I am not going to back up and restore the phone just on the off change It may fix Apples' mess, as a Dad and a worker my spare time is limited enough without having to resort to this level of hassle just to get something to work. The fact it wouldn't even recognise the thumb today is enough for me.

Have my doubts that Apple will swap the hardware as its a 64gb model and I would imagine their business model would be to not hand out new phones unless they really had to, time will tell though, stranger things have happened.:-)

Actually may not have to go that far if the earlier steps worked

Backing up is part of prudent use anyhow. Things can and do happen when you least expect. S/W components, even IOS, can become corrupt. Restoring the phone can fix a multitude of problems.

Also, was just trying to save you a long trip if there was an easy fix. On the bright side, I'm sure there's enough pubs along the way, provided you are not driving

Its an hour in the train but this will be my second attempt at a visit to the Glasgow Apple store, I had an early December appointment but cancelled it as a) It was crazy Christmas shopping and b) The touch ID was OK for a while.

Pubs...yes, defo, but will be taking my 5 year old so need to find a kid friendly pub.

I back up every week so I am covered....thanks again.

Been following these forums aswel as doing some research on the web myself about this Touch ID malfunction.

I bought mine about a month ago and made sure I washed my hands before setting up touch ID with the precfectly clean screen/homebutton right out of the package. After the initial scans (I believe I put in both thumbs and index fingers) I put on a screenprotector and the overpriced leather casings apple sells for the 5s. I'm a high frequency user of my device and had no problems at all during the first 2weeks of usage. Oily screen or not, dirt/dust or skin residue whatever, it didn't matter, I had 100% succes rates on first or second try. I really never bothered to try cleaning the touch ID scanner as it simply didn't look very dirty or atleast not more than you would expect.

Somewhere in the third week I would try to unlock my phone while on a train to Brussels to check a message and all of a sudden I started to get these try "again messages" 100% of the time. I used my 4 digit pin for the rest of the day thinking I had somehow managed to dammage one of the main assets of this 800€ phone...

Back at home I took the time to do some research on this and found lots or articles including this one. Some stating that 20% of the userbase had these kind of problems and noticed deterioration of the accuracy over time. and some with instructions to rescan etc

I cleaned my homebutton and rescanned my prints. sometimes this works, sometimes the setup would give me the"your fingerprint is unusable" on every finger and sometimes it would just work perfectly.

I managed to get a good print on my thumb and been using that the last 10 days since new year with 100% accuracy the first couple times I would check if it worked. the same day it would degrade again to 0-50% on 3 tries when It has been laying on the table next to me or been in my pockets. when I clean the home button I get back in instantly on 100% It seems to me that the home button picks up on dirt and oil way more easy now compared to when I first had it. 

I was so accustomed to the easy use of touch ID that I regret not beeing able to use it now. I just use the pin most of the times now because I can't be bothered wiping my home button all of the time. I even activated assistive touch to safe the tear and wear of the homebutton as I noticed some cheap sounding crispy plastic noise when I press it just lightly without clicking it in sometimes.

Knowing that apple implemented some kind of software to update your prints everytime you unlock, it makes me wonder if it isn't indeed just faulty software like someone mentioned before with the image of the print getting updated so often it becomes unreadable or maybe too detailed so every dust or stain gives a failing match.

Would be nice if Apple actually aknowledged the problem and let it's customers know they are working on a fix so not every single iphone 5s owner at some point in time thinks about rushing back to the stores again to get a replacement only to notice that it has the same problems.

My old gsm died so I bought this overpriced iphone 5s as my first ever iphone because I always liked the build quality and operating system of my 3rd gen ipod touch.

I didn't even complain about the extra 100€ Apple charges for the 16+16GB model or the 200€ for the 16+48GB model in times where data storage is so cheap you can buy 2TB for the same price.

Some might regard the touch ID problem as nitpicking since you can just use the pin to get in like before, but is it so unfair to expect a device that works like it was promised for that price?

Praying for a softwarefix on touch ID's accuracy and use with 7.1 update but I'm not very hopeful

Cleaning the finger scanner seems to be the thing that works best for me so I suppose I should get a wallet type case.