Any guides for face ID?

By David Lai, 7 October, 2021

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi folks!

I just got my iPhone 13 Mini, and I will unbox it tomorrow as I purchase some accessories. But a lingering question still hovers around my mind: how can a completely blind person with no vision like me use face ID?

As a context, I'm upgrading from the 1st generation iPhone SE, which has touch ID. That 5-year-old phone is showing problems with battery, as well as the general age of the A9 chip -- I'm looking forward to features like live text on the new A15 chip.

But should I be in a room with the light switched on? How to enter my facial information so that it will easily recognize me when I turn my face towards it to unlock the phone?

I searched on this site, and there is a guide for touch ID, but so far, no guides for face ID. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone!!!

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Comments

By David Lai on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

Yes, this podcast is helpful. I now know what I might expect. Thank you!!!

By gailisaiah on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

I listened to the above mentioned podcast and was able to successfully set up face ID on my iPhone 12 mini. This can be done without sighted assistance.

By David Lai on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

I wonder if I need to turn my light in the room on when I set up face ID. Did any of you need to do that? Thanks!

By Cobbler on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

The TrueDepth camera used for Face ID recognises you by capturing depth data and an infrared image, so light level should not be a factor in its accuracy or general performance.

By Holger Fiallo on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

With the new cameras no issue. The new the iPhone the better. Specially with 13 and up. Also Johnathan Mosen did a podcast on setting face ID. He suggested when you move your head think of a clock.

By David Lai on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

Thanks for all your help! I'm confident that when I set up my new phone tomorrow I will have a smooth time with Face ID. Thanks everyone!!!

By David Lai on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

Hi friends. Today is a nice and sunny day, so I thought I'd set up face ID. But I can't seem to get past the "position your face within the frame" prompt. It kept saying that my face was out of view, when I know I've been holding the device at arms length. I'm now thinking of turning my passcode off, that way I could simply swipe up to unlock. A simple touch ID-like feature, not bad?

By Dennis Long on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

If you turn off the pass code you have no security what so ever.

By Dennis Long on Friday, November 5, 2021 - 15:18

How hard is it for someone who is totally blind to setup face id?

I think the frustration I was having with face ID was because I was holding the phone flat, with the screen on top, so the camera was facing the ceiling instead of my face. Just now a sighted friend adjusted my hand, and I felt the phone stood up, with the lightning port on bottom and the receiver on top, and then face ID worked very quickly. Now I know what's going on -- I need to get the angles just right for it to work. New things I learned this afternoon!