Hi all,
I'm in the process of upgrading from an iPhone SE 2020 to an iPhone 16 Pro, and I'm having a really hard time using face ID. My sighted mother had to help me set it up because I couldn't get it to work, but I've tried to unlock the phone several times since getting it set up, and only somehow managed to get it to unlock once. Does anyone have any tips for getting the phone to unlock reliably using face ID?
By Bob Cavanaugh, 1 December, 2024
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Comments
Possibly
I have a friend who, like you, recently upgraded her iPhone from an iPhone 13 to an iPhone 16. Face ID, in my opinion, seems to be a little wonky with the iPhone 16 models. This is what she does, and maybe it will work for you. Whenever the phone is locked, she picks up her phone, which has the race to wait feature active, she points the screen at her face, and then presses the side button. Then, and only then, does Face ID kick in and unlock her phone.
HTH
try this and see if it helps
This tip comes from Stephen Giggar AKA DR. Phone some of you may remember him from the Talks days. I can say after following his instructions I have no trouble.
Myself, it took three scans to get it done. Basically if this is your first time! You need to hold the phone about arm length
away from your face with the front of the phone pointing at your face. Then start the scan. While the scan is running, move your
head in a circle taking about 5 seconds to do that. So another words! Tilt your head up, then slowly tilt your head and look to
the right, slowly lower your head and looking down towards the floor, Slowly raze your head and look towards the left and lastly
continue razing your head back up towards the ceiling. Like I said, make a complete circle with your face. Then there are some
other functions you can turn off. Like attention, Eyes must be open. Those suggestions will probably help you out a lot.
A Setting to Check
Hi Bob,
One setting to check is 'Require Attention.' When enabled, this setting requires that you actively be looking at your device in order for Face ID to unlock it. While 'Require Attention' is not enabled when you set up Face ID with VoiceOver on, if someone helped you set up Face ID and VoiceOver was not on at the time, it is possible that this got enabled. To check the Attention setting, go to Settings> Face ID and Passcode. When you open this window, the system will ask for your passcode. After entering it, scroll down to the 'Attention' heading and make sure 'Require Attention for Face ID' is disabled.
Thanks Brian
Brian,
Thanks for that tip. I do not have raise to wake turned on, but unlocking the phone with the side button instead of swiping up from the bottom does seem to help. I still had a few problems getting it unlocked, but I was able to get it unlocked with face ID with a lot less effort.
For me on an iPhone 15 Pro,…
For me on an iPhone 15 Pro, I have raise to wake off and tap to wake on, so I can usually unlock my phone by positioning it in front of my face and then tapping the screen once to wake it up and start the Face ID scan in one fell swoop.
J Mosen
Mr. Mosen did a good podcast about it. Mostly picture it as a clock. If you check his podcasts it will be there. Do not recall number or title but someone here will know it.
Face ID
For security issue face ID is a must. Anyone can you see you use your code and figure it out. Sad know wonderful lady who does not use it because she does not like it. She drives me nuts.
I agree it is a must
It is a must touch id is gone this is more secure. I have very little issue with it.
When setting it up it asks…
When setting it up it asks for two scans of your face. What I do is have the first scan be when I'm holding the phone close to my face. Then for the second scan I do it at arm's length. I figure there's more variation in the data it's getting, which hopefully helps.