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Face ID and lying in bed

I also can't get mine to unlock for me when laying very horizontally (on my side facing a wall) in bed. I hold the phone horizontally (landscape) and I'm laying horizontally, so in theory, the phone should see this as vertical (portrait)?

Also curious though, what color are your sheets etc? Mine are very deep blue jersey cotton.
 
klitburger said:
I couldn’t get mine to work this morning at all. As I type it still isn’t working. Even when I got up it had issues. Then I just tried emoji and it said low light!?!? How is this possible if it uses ir?

X
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No, Face ID uses infrared, Animoji uses the TrueDepth front camera, which is part of the Face ID system, but not all of it.

Animoji uses the facial mesh calculations that Apple doesn't keep in the Secure Enclave, the same part that it allows 3rd party apps like Snapchat, for example. It still needs light, whereas Face ID works just fine in complete darkness.
 
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Do you routinely try and use your phone while covering your face with a blanket? Seems like an interesting/awkward way to use a phone.

In all seriousness though, I’ve unlocked my phone with FaceID in bed, on my side, laying down, etc and haven’t had any problem.

The only issue I can find with FaceID is while the phone is sitting on a table you either need to lean toward/over the phone or pick it up to unlock. Minor inconvenience for a few times when using it laying down on a table.
 
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JPack said:
It doesn't unlock in landscape orientation.
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Hadn’t thought of that, and that’s definitely something I’d like it to do.
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jedgar said:
I also can't get mine to unlock for me when laying very horizontally (on my side facing a wall) in bed. I hold the phone horizontally (landscape) and I'm laying horizontally, so in theory, the phone should see this as vertical (portrait)?

Also curious though, what color are your sheets etc? Mine are very deep blue jersey cotton.
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It’d be nice to be able to load different orientations and variations of your face, similar to how you could load different fingers on TouchID. Maybe you can? I don’t think so though.
 
Worked for me in the dark with reading glasses on at 4:15 am.

Never buying a non Face ID -hone ever again.

They have a game changer here
 
QCassidy352 said:
(Sounds like not everyone has the issue, but for those who do...) that’s not really a good response when that first gen product is a) being sold as a flagship feature, b) the phone costs $1k+, and c) they billed the feature as an unequivocal improvement on a proven tech that they replaced.
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saltd said:
My experience with FaceID so far has been flawless. I’m not sure they need to improve anything for a second generation, unlike TouchID.
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Well, Face ID only works in portrait orientation, so that’s the issue.
 
I totally understand what you mean. In order to properly use it I have to grab it and turn on my back. Then it unlocks. It doesn’t work when laying on your side. But there is a quick fix. You can turn off the preview notifications so that they just show up even when the screen is locked. Go into Settings, Notifications, Show Preivews. Then switch it to Never.
 
This morning it worked perfectly for me.

I didn’t have my glasses on (I’m short sighted) and held it at a reasonable distance and it unlocked.

I used to have it very close to my face because of my short sightedness but realised it was too close for the true depth camera.
 
Boardiesboi said:
This morning it worked perfectly for me.

I didn’t have my glasses on (I’m short sighted) and held it at a reasonable distance and it unlocked.

I used to have it very close to my face because of my short sightedness but realised it was too close for the true depth camera.
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This is the same for me. If I'm not wearing my glasses, I have to hold the phone about 12" away to unlock then bring it closer. I tried messing with the face Id configuration software to deal with a face closer to the phone but couldn't get it to work.
 
D.T. said:
I had my phone on my nightstand last night, woke up, still dark, wanted to check the time (had an early dance practice for the little G).
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So tap the screen and view the time. Why do you need to unlock it?
 
Add me to the list of people having difficulty getting Face ID working while lying in bed. (I lie on my side, with my phone about eight inches from my face.)

I reset Face ID while lying on my back, and authentication has become more reliable.
 
Gryzor said:
So tap the screen and view the time. Why do you need to unlock it?
Click to expand...

I was just checking the time like I do often from my phone. Then I wanted to check the email from the studio and confirm the time ... and I was also a little nerd-curious about it working from that position (a number of times I’ve done a garage door check half asleep from my phone).
 
to define this

lying in bed on your back, face ID is ok
lying in bed on your side using face ID, doesn't work.

I know the internets will say 'i'm lying down wrong' but it's really not as good as touch ID in this respect. You can't get comfy as you have to adjust your position to face ID unlock your phone.
 
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TwoBytes said:
to define this

lying in bed on your back, face ID is ok
lying in bed on your side using face ID, doesn't work.

I know the internets will say 'i'm lying down wrong' but it's really not as good as touch ID in this respect. You can't get comfy as you have to adjust your position to face ID unlock your phone.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%.
 
FaceID has worked great for me no matter if I’m laying down on my side, in a dark room, or standing over a counter when looking at phone.

My tip for those having issues is to redo faceID but hold it out in front of you (preferably on a table arms extended with slight bend at elbows) so that the camera is at an angle where it can get the underside of your face. Then move your head slowly around the circle. I took about 5-7 seconds to rotate my face around for each scan.

Hope this helps.
 
I was having the same problem. This morning I redid faceid in the dark while lying down and it works perfectly.
 
You guys should try entering the passcode right away when FaceID fails. I've read that it is supposed to flag the last failed face scan as "this is you" and adapt your FaceID data accordingly. Kind of like you can train your TouchID by slowly moving your finger around.

I did a re-scan today: one standing (normal scan) and one on my back with my "chin on my chest, pillow behind head" like I usually watch movies before bedtime, FaceID is now pretty much 100% accurate when I'm on my back in bed. Damned be my bed double chin I guess?
 
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jedgar said:
For what it's worth, I just went into setting and re-set up faceID in my bedroom laying in bed and it opens perfectly now.
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Yup! I did the same thing, it unlocks every time now. Even when I’m up.

During setup, it was totally dark and the setup screen is dark too, so I had trouble knowing where exactly where to hold the phone when I couldn’t see myself. I just grabbed my old iPhone 7 Plus, lit up my face with its bright screen and as soon as I saw myself in the frame it setup perfectly. The light wasn’t needed for actual setup though, just for me to position the iPhone X to see myself in the setup window.
 
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