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Face ID and passcode missing

After upgrading and restoring from an iPhone 8 Plus to a new XR, the Face ID and passcode are not on the settings menu. Face ID and the passcode was set up on the install, but the settings to change either of them is not there.

iPhone XR, iOS 12.1

Posted on Nov 19, 2018 8:24 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 1, 2018 6:04 PM

I had the same issue when I was upgrading from iPhone 6s to iPhone XR (iOS 12.1). The menu Face ID & Passcode was missing from the Settings screen. I tried doing a hard reset on the phone but the menu is still missing. I tried a restore via iTunes (12.8, MacOS 10.13.6) on a computer and setup my phone as new (factory reset). As new, I was able to setup Face ID but, after i synced from the last backup, the menu Face ID & Passcode goes missing. Weird!


I finally got it to appear by changing Passcode Changes to Allow (in Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions). If it's already set to Allow (mine was set to Allow 😕), I had to toggle it to Don't Allow and back to Allow. And now Face ID & Passcode is showing! 😮

13 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 1, 2018 6:04 PM in response to johnnyb1258

I had the same issue when I was upgrading from iPhone 6s to iPhone XR (iOS 12.1). The menu Face ID & Passcode was missing from the Settings screen. I tried doing a hard reset on the phone but the menu is still missing. I tried a restore via iTunes (12.8, MacOS 10.13.6) on a computer and setup my phone as new (factory reset). As new, I was able to setup Face ID but, after i synced from the last backup, the menu Face ID & Passcode goes missing. Weird!


I finally got it to appear by changing Passcode Changes to Allow (in Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions). If it's already set to Allow (mine was set to Allow 😕), I had to toggle it to Don't Allow and back to Allow. And now Face ID & Passcode is showing! 😮

Nov 20, 2018 7:19 AM in response to johnnyb1258

Hey johnnyb1258,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. I understand that you're unable to use Face ID or a passcode on your new iPhone XR after restoring from a previous iPhone backup. I know how important it is to have secure measures setup on your device and I'd like to help. What happens if you force close the Settings app and restart your device? Are you able to see these settings then?
How to force an app to close on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Let me know the results.

Cheers.

Nov 20, 2018 10:25 AM in response to johnnyb1258

Thank you for answering. After forcing the settings app closed, the device still does not have the Face ID or passcode available. The Face ID and passcode was set up in the setup of the iPhone and both are functional. The way we found this was the settings were not accessible in trying to add an additional face to the iPhone. The face and the passcode that were set up are not changeable. So far, we have done a reset all settings which did not work and so I did a reset and erase everything. Once again, same issue. It is like the setting are locked out by another app. But I have not found that to be the case. Thanks for your help.

Nov 23, 2018 8:21 AM in response to johnnyb1258

Hey johnnyb1258,

Thanks for the update. You mentioned that you're still unable to change your Face ID and passcode after erasing everything and reseting. Just to be sure, when you restored, did you restore from a previous backup again? If so, we'd like to have you perform a restore via iTunes on a computer and set up as new. Performing a restore this way allows a "fresh" install of the iOS and should help with the issue you're experiencing. We do recommend performing a backup of your device before beginning and to make sure you're using the most current version of iTunes. Setting the iPhone as new will help us isolate the issue further. The articles below can guide you on this process.

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings
Update to the latest version of iTunes

Take care.

Dec 8, 2018 1:49 AM in response to angelus.appleseed

Angelus.appleseed you are a true genius. I’ve had this problem since launch. I called Apple 3xs and went to the Apple Store to no avail. I was told it was my backup file as I backed up from Mac. I upgraded from 7plus to XR. I was told that I’d have to live with a gimped phone.

If ur ever in the Fresno area, I’ll buy u a beer.


Thanks A Million My Friend


Jan 5, 2019 12:29 PM in response to angelus.appleseed

Hi! I tried all the tricks in the book but Face ID and passcode still missing from settings.. I turned off screen time and I did a total system reset. If I set it up as a new phone they reappear in menu, but when I restore from iTunes on Mac, they disappear again... Does that mean that I can no longer have the data on my phone??

Anybody who found a fix?

thanks

Darra

Apr 8, 2019 10:02 AM in response to johnnyb1258

I had the same issue. The screen time settings restriction was preventing this menu from showing. All of the apple documentation I found online never mentioned how to solve this. It would be nice to have a note or "caution" statement or something with indicators or tips of how to solve it. Thank you @angelus.appleseed for the answer! It was much appreciated!

Face ID and passcode missing

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