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Apple Readying Fix for Issues with Touch ID Fading

I'm sort of glad that I have skipped the last release of the iPhone. I went through this with the Antenna issue on the iPhone 4.

Software tweaks can only fix so much. I'm guessing some of the sensors are probably more sensitive or the sapphire glass over the button is dirty or similar. I know the Samsung technique is different with a swipe, but I wonder if they too will have issues?

The new iPhone will probably have better sensors/engineering if this is a phone related issue.
 
I haven't had to re-scan in months. Then again, I save the same prints to multiple slots (two for each thumb, one for right index) Works great for me
 
jrswizzle said:
Either that or you don't have fingerprints.
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Man you're right. That's it.


jrswizzle said:
Unless of course you work at a construction site and are the jackhammerer....that is to say, there may be extenuating circumstances that cause less than ideal experiences with these features for you that have little to nothing to do with how well the features work under normal conditions.
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This is actually the biggest problem with Siri. It doesn't compensate for ambient noise which really makes no sense, well because its a mobile device. You use it anywhere. Now i'm not talking about jackhammering. That of course makes sense but I am talking about normal ambient noise that one would expect in times and places that you would use Siri.
 
mashinhead said:
Man you're right. That's it.




This is actually the biggest problem with Siri. It doesn't compensate for ambient noise which really makes no sense, well because its a mobile device. You use it anywhere. Now i'm not talking about jackhammering. That of course makes sense but I am talking about normal ambient noise that one would expect in times and places that you would use Siri.
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Normal levels of ambient noise don't seem to phase Siri - at least in my recent experiences. But perhaps my views on what "normal ambient noise" means are different from yours.

As for the fingerprint comment, I'm actually being serious. Working 1 out of 10 times is not normal with a properly working device or with a device with the "fade" bug. You either have abnormal fingertips, or your device is faulty. I phrase it this way to make it obvious, you have a faulty device. A simple swap at an Apple store would rectify this situation, instead of complaining about how it doesn't work.

The general consensus is the sensor works at LEAST 80% of the time. For me its more like 95%+. This technology isn't in an infant state - it works well right now. If you aren't experiencing that, its on you to have Apple switch the device. Because working devices are the norm, not the exception.

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Nahaz said:
I'm sort of glad that I have skipped the last release of the iPhone. I went through this with the Antenna issue on the iPhone 4.

Software tweaks can only fix so much. I'm guessing some of the sensors are probably more sensitive or the sapphire glass over the button is dirty or similar. I know the Samsung technique is different with a swipe, but I wonder if they too will have issues?

The new iPhone will probably have better sensors/engineering if this is a phone related issue.
Click to expand...

Actually, it seems to have to do with the learning algorithm and a bug in it. A software fix should take care of the relative few affected.
 
jeff1977 said:
Haha Such hyperbole!
Not a mistake at all and not even close to the worst mistake they've made. Letting Bill Gates see Macintosh code comes to mind (if I'm right on how that went down), and of far less impact- MobileMe. Not to mention all the mistakes during the non-Jobs years.
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The Ping Network has to be the biggest mistake of the modern era.
 
Very nice, this issue has been a thorn in my side. Touch ID would work perfectly for a few hours, then it would degrade working sometimes, then it would only work 1/10 times I pressed my finger, sometimes not at all. Re-register and it works perfectly, until couple hours later and then the cycle starts all over again.

Hopefully it doesn't take too long for this fix to get out, will be nice to finally have a usable touch ID.

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jrswizzle said:
Working 1 out of 10 times is not normal with a properly working device or with a device with the "fade" bug.

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Any idea why you can have a fingerprint that works perfectly when you first register it, easily 10/10 times accuracy. But then after hours or days you are at 1/10. You re-register then immediately you are at 10/10 again, only to degrade to 1/10 within hours or days? It just seems weird and I would think if it was hardware it would consistently be inaccurate.
 
WilliamG said:
Yep. I find this hard to believe, quite honestly. I think a lot of it is the weather changing to cold right after the 5s came out. I personally need a set of summer prints and winter prints. No issues.

Anything's possible, though. I'm just full of dubiousness...
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Just because you aren't experiencing it doesn't mean no one is. Mine has been worse in winter but is still something I pretty much need to re-train every day or two, and it seems to be especially bad after I take a shower and sometimes even after I just wash my hands.

That being said, I figured it was just having problems recognizing my usually-dry hands, which might flake skin away faster or in more awkward patterns than Normal People Hands™. Until I started seeing stories about this, I thought I was the only one.
 
tbrinkma said:
Technically, you shouldn't be *USING YOUR PHONE WITH YOUR HANDS AT ALL* when you're driving.

FTFY. :(
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Yes, my point exactly - hence why Voice Biometrics would be great for the iPhone or any phone.

mashinhead said:
This is actually the biggest problem with Siri. It doesn't compensate for ambient noise which really makes no sense, well because its a mobile device.
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There are technologies on the network side that could filter background noise, but ultimately, noise reduction should be implemented in hardware to get the cleanest possible recording prior to transmission. Such technology would help speaker phone functionality too - so it would be worth Apple's while to implement better noise cancellation.
 
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street.cory said:
One problem I am having is Touch ID not activating at all.

I have to use my passcode probably 2/10 times due to Touch ID not activating.
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Do you use twitter? Every time my phone sleeps while in the twitter app this happens. Have have twitter in a folder but I don't know if that makes a difference.

This is the issue that concerns me more. Third party app interfering with touch id.

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socbrian said:
Are they ever going to fix the Twitter bug?
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Do you have twitter in a folder? Some people who have twitter don't have the problem and I was wondering if this could be the difference.
 
My finger prints usually fade within 12-24 hours. Makes Touch ID rather worthless. The hack to register the same finger several times do help, but this only works if my thumb is touching the whole surface of the home button, wish is a rather abnormal way of pushing the home button.

Huge fail that Apple has not fixed this issue considering how long time it is since 5s was launched.

Apple is nowadays — releasing on beta product after another.
 
Did The Same

Rettun1 said:
I haven't had to re-scan in months. Then again, I save the same prints to multiple slots (two for each thumb, one for right index) Works great for me
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I did the same thing - I think I have 3 scans for my right thumb, two for the left, and one for each index finger. Works about 90% of the time on the first try, 95% on the second. Still better - and more accurate - than typing in the passcode by hand.
 
Dontazemebro said:
Glad to see that Apple has finally recognized that Touch ID has a problem. That's more than I can say for some of the blind loyalist here.
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It's possible that touch ID simply hasn't been an issue for them. Me personally, I admit I had a problem a few weeks after getting my 5s. Reseted my iphone, rescanned my fingerprints, and it hasn't given me any issues thereafter. Maybe the infrequent failed scan, but nothing that suggests a major malfunction of any sort.
 
RMo said:
Just because you aren't experiencing it doesn't mean no one is. Mine has been worse in winter but is still something I pretty much need to re-train every day or two, and it seems to be especially bad after I take a shower and sometimes even after I just wash my hands.

That being said, I figured it was just having problems recognizing my usually-dry hands, which might flake skin away faster or in more awkward patterns than Normal People Hands™. Until I started seeing stories about this, I thought I was the only one.
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I'm not saying people don't have problems with their hands. I just maintain there is no issue with the sensors. e.g. A good friend of mine tell me his prints don't work after about 24-48 hours. I set up my prints in his phone, and months later my prints work just fine. He just has trouble, be it the lotion, dryness - whatever. It's nothing to do with "fade" or whatever else people are calling it.

My wife has issues with TouchID but that's because she barely has finger prints so she has to use the very edge of her thumb to make it work. Still, no "fade."

I've never seen any proof of this, and I'll continue to think it's just the fingers being the issue. Hands just aren't consistent things. You could, of course, blame Apple for going with a tech that relies on reasonably consistent prints!
 
At this point, I've nearly forgotten the feature is even there. It failed so often that I got tired of trying it thrice and then having to enter a password anyway. Now, I just go straight for the password.
 
I see "Try Again" FAR more than I see an unlocked phone when I use the sensor. I have both thumbs scanned twice to help with accuracy, which helped at first but we all know about the fade. Hate the fade.


I've seen people defending the issues with Touch ID by saying that it's the fault of wet or sweaty fingers but I would think that a good sensor/software combination would be able to account for that. It's a common enough issue that it's not unreasonable to still expect Touch ID to work.
 
Apple Readying Fix for Issues with Touch ID Fading

distemp said:
I see "Try Again" FAR more than I see an unlocked phone when I use the sensor. I have both thumbs scanned twice to help with accuracy, which helped at first but we all know about the fade. Hate the fade.


I've seen people defending the issues with Touch ID by saying that it's the fault of wet or sweaty fingers but I would think that a good sensor/software combination would be able to account for that. It's a common enough issue that it's not unreasonable to still expect Touch ID to work.
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Exactly my issue as well, and it fades on me in whatever condition my hands are in. I'm just happy that Apple has recognized the issue and not downplayed it like they've done with various other issues in the past. I actually like touch ID, when it works, but what good is a tool if it's barely even functional.

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Abazigal said:
It's possible that touch ID simply hasn't been an issue for them. Me personally, I admit I had a problem a few weeks after getting my 5s. Reseted my iphone, rescanned my fingerprints, and it hasn't given me any issues thereafter. Maybe the infrequent failed scan, but nothing that suggests a major malfunction of any sort.
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That's understandable but just because some aren't experiencing it doesn't mean others are not. And if there's even just a slight percentage of people experiencing it, then it's a problem. I'm just tired of people trying to tell me that touch ID should work flawless for me because it's flawless for them.
 
I'm still hoping that they are readying a fix for the crashing and page reloading in iOS 7.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
I'm still hoping that they are readying a fix for the crashing and page reloading in iOS 7.
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No of course they're not. You have to live with it forever.

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Abazigal said:
It's possible that touch ID simply hasn't been an issue for them. Me personally, I admit I had a problem a few weeks after getting my 5s. Reseted my iphone, rescanned my fingerprints, and it hasn't given me any issues thereafter. Maybe the infrequent failed scan, but nothing that suggests a major malfunction of any sort.
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This is me. Just the occasional "try again" otherwise works great. Knock on wood it stays that way.
 
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