iPhone 16e Face ID kinda sucks for me

[fatTribble]

Now you got me. Sarcasm well played. 👍

I wish he had slapped his knee or something so I didn’t choke on my coffee 😳

 

[GuruZac]

I love FaceID. I have mine set with admittedly less secure seatings, but I use mine set to mask on and attention off. Still won’t unlock for any of my family including my dad and brother, most similar to my face. Works like a charm every time.

 

[Apple2501]

Buy a case and pick up will be easier. It’s different and you have to adjust or trade it in for a se.

 

[eyoungren]

Even using Apple Pay was faster with Touch ID. Just put your finger on the button and that's it but with Face ID you have to double press, it has to scan your face (if it doesn't lock by itself in pants/bag) and then you're able to pay. Obviously that doesn't make a huge difference but still... it was more "comfortable" to use.

As an owner of an iPhone 6+ and 6s+, I recall having to double press to activate Apple Pay on the lockscreen, THEN put my finger on TouchID, THEN put the phone near the reader.

For FaceID, all I need to do is double press and move the phone to the reader. My face has already unlocked the device.

Unless there is some setting that eliminates the double press on iOS 12 and iOS 15 that I'm unaware of?

 

[TgeekB]

I would never want to back to Touch ID. Face ID is just to good and simple. Works every time.

 

[CharlesShaw]

I would never want to back to Touch ID. Face ID is just to good and simple. Works every time.

Same. And having become a homebody and iPad fanatic as a result of the pandemic, I got Face ID on my iPad Pro two years ago and would never go back to Touch ID. The iPad in the Smart Folio, usually propped up on my desk, combined with the Apple Watch on wrist mean that I need to store my iPhone in the same spot lest I forget where it is, as I rarely ever need it.

 

[mrochester]

That's precisely the thinking of Tim Cook. Steve Jobs was different. Jobs prioritized customers over shareholders. Shareholders still made profits under Jobs, but shareholders made much larger profits under Cook.

I understand that Cook has corporate greed and thus prioritizes shareholders over customers. But I don't understand why so many people on this forum, who I'm guessing are customers, support Cook's prioritizing shareholders over customers.

Maybe we just accept that that’s the reality of every company in the planet?

I see no point denying why these companies exist.

 

[motrek]

That's precisely the thinking of Tim Cook. Steve Jobs was different. Jobs prioritized customers over shareholders. Shareholders still made profits under Jobs, but shareholders made much larger profits under Cook.

I understand that Cook has corporate greed and thus prioritizes shareholders over customers. But I don't understand why so many people on this forum, who I'm guessing are customers, support Cook's prioritizing shareholders over customers.

Disagree.

Jobs, more than anybody else, was always in favor of forcing users to do things the way he thought was best for them.

If he thought Face ID was best, then there's no way he would also include Touch ID with a phone.

Not having both is an extremely Apple thing to do, regardless of how much money it might save the company.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Recently upgraded from an SE to a 16e. All my friends with newer iPhones assured me that I would love Face ID.

Me: What if I want to unlock my phone and my face isn't in front of it?
Friends: When are you trying to use your phone without looking at it? That obviously never happens.

Turns out, it happens several times per day for me.

There are multiple times per day when I have my phone set on my desk, or on a restaurant table, or on my bed, and the phone is pointed up and I'm using it from an angle. So my face isn't directly in front of the phone, but the phone is still perfectly usable.

Touch ID worked fine in those scenarios (obviously) and Face ID doesn't (obviously).

So I have to lean over the phone like an idiot so the camera can see me and the phone unlocks. Alternatively, I could pick up the phone for a second and point it at my face, but now that the sides of the phone are squared off instead of rounded, the phone is fairly difficult to pick up. It's easier to lean over like an idiot.

Remind me, why is this better?

I would rather lean over my phone, like an idiot, than have to insert a passcode 50 times a day! Face ID rules!

 

[motrek]

I would rather lean over my phone, like an idiot, than have to insert a passcode 50 times a day! Face ID rules!

You didn't have to enter your passcode 50 times a day with Touch ID.

 

[Moonjumper]

You can set your notifications to show even when locked, much like TouchID did.

When working, I don't look at notiifcations until I finish what I am doing. There might be multiple notifications by then that are overlapped.

 

[Foxglove9]

I agree, I cannot stand Face ID. It's so much slower than Touch ID ever was for me, and it only works maybe 70% of the time, I have to enter my password anyway. On my iPad I had to disable Face ID because it never works right and just enter my password since that is much quicker.

 

[537635]

I just don't understand how FaceID is not working for you. Maybe try to setup it again. Different eyeglasses, lots of makeup, non-chemical sunblock (it reflects IR light)...?


For me it's like 99%. I'd guess it happens once a week, usually when sun is behind be and shining directly on the screen.

 

[windrider42]

Face ID for me, and I have never had issues with it. Works very fast , same on the Ipad.

 

[DrWojtek]

Absolutely hate FaceID. They always say, ”You don’t use your phone without looking at it anyway”. Untrue.

Paying for stuff. Have to hold phone up to my face and try FaceID 3 times before inputting my code

Switching song while walking. I don’t want to hold up my phone, Im good glancing down while walking. Can’t do that. Have to hold phone up like I have **** eye sight to unlock, which probably won’t work, so have to input code anyway.

Swear to god I have 2x more failures than successes on FaceID.

Lying in bed with face squashed against mattress. Will it unlock? No.

Driving, want to unlock while glancing from the side. Can I do that? No.

Utter piece of **** is what it is, makes me angry just talking about it.

 

[d4zza]

I understand this. I regularly have my iPhone 16 sitting flat on a surface. I also don’t like the lack of a physical button for closing or switching apps. Just personal choice I preferred the TI system.

 

[TgeekB]

Absolutely hate FaceID. They always say, ”You don’t use your phone without looking at it anyway”. Untrue.

Paying for stuff. Have to hold phone up to my face and try FaceID 3 times before inputting my code

Switching song while walking. I don’t want to hold up my phone, Im good glancing down while walking. Can’t do that. Have to hold phone up like I have **** eye sight to unlock, which probably won’t work, so have to input code anyway.

Swear to god I have 2x more failures than successes on FaceID.

Lying in bed with face squashed against mattress. Will it unlock? No.

Driving, want to unlock while glancing from the side. Can I do that? No.

Utter piece of **** is what it is, makes me angry just talking about it.

First, you don’t have to hold your phone up to your face. It works at arms length. If it is not working properly I would suggest setting it up again. I never have failures. It works instantly and every time. I hope it works out for you also.
Second, it’s not ****** because it works for most people. It works for me in the dark, while walking, sitting, standing, anywhere.
Third, Face ID rocks! 😉

 

[motrek]

First, you don’t have to hold your phone up to your face. It works at arms length. If it is not working properly I would suggest setting it up again. I never have failures. It works instantly and every time. I hope it works out for you also.
Second, it’s not ****** because it works for most people. It works for me in the dark, while walking, sitting, standing, anywhere.
Third, Face ID rocks! 😉

Okay. I just measured. Try this.

Set your phone flat on a table so that the Face ID camera is about 18 inches away from your face "horizontally" (on the axis parallel to the ground) and about 18 inches away from your face vertically.

In other words, at a distance and angle where the phone is perfectly usable but the Face ID camera is not pointing at your face.

Let me know if Face ID works instantly and every time for you without you having to pick up the phone and point it at your face. And without you having to lean over such that your face is in front of the phone.

 

[eyoungren]

Okay. I just measured. Try this.

Set your phone flat on a table so that the Face ID camera is about 18 inches away from your face "horizontally" (on the axis parallel to the ground) and about 18 inches away from your face vertically.

In other words, at a distance and angle where the phone is perfectly usable but the Face ID camera is not pointing at your face.

Let me know if Face ID works instantly and every time for you without you having to pick up the phone and point it at your face. And without you having to lean over such that your face is in front of the phone.

IDK. I mean, if I intend to use my phone, say if a message comes in, or I want to browse something, I'm going to pick it up and hold it in front of me. I'm not going to stare at it from a foot and a half away, manipulating the screen with one outstretched hand.

But maybe that's because I'm near-sighted and I wear glasses.

 

[motrek]

IDK. I mean, if I intend to use my phone, say if a message comes in, or I want to browse something, I'm going to pick it up and hold it in front of me. I'm not going to stare at it from a foot and a half away, manipulating the screen with one outstretched hand.

But maybe that's because I'm near-sighted and I wear glasses.

Okay, that's nice for you, I guess?

Not sure why you're posting to this thread if you don't do the thing that I said I did in the very post of the thread.

 

[eyoungren]

Okay, that's nice for you, I guess?

Yes, we do things differently. As I said in post #2.

Not sure why you're posting to this thread if you don't do the thing that I said I did in the very post of the thread.

Not sure why it's just me you're calling out instead of all of us together who have stated we don't do things the way you do and disagree with you.

Perhaps you were searching only for people to post who actually agreed with you?

 

[motrek]

... Not sure why it's just me you're calling out instead of all of us together who have stated we don't do things the way you do and disagree with you.

Perhaps you were searching only for people to post who actually agreed with you?

I'm not sure exactly what it is that you think you're agreeing or disagreeing with.

Note that the title of my post is "... sucks for me".

Meaning that I'm just stating my own experience, not saying that anybody should necessarily have the same experience or "agree" or "disagree" with me.

(I mean, what does it mean for you to disagree with me, when my point is to explain my personal experience and opinion? Are you saying that my experience is wrong?)

I'm fully aware that most people don't use the phone the way I use it, otherwise Apple would have never released the feature. So, you post that you aren't using your phone the way I described. Great for you. I would have already guessed that. But thanks for posting I guess.

 

[fatTribble]

Okay, that's nice for you, I guess?

Not sure why you're posting to this thread if you don't do the thing that I said I did in the very post of the thread.

I didn’t realize you only wanted to hear from people who agree with you. Most posts I see like this are an exchange of ideas.

 

[motrek]

I didn’t realize you only wanted to hear from people who agree with you. Most posts I see like this are an exchange of ideas.

I don't even necessarily know that I wanted to hear from anybody.

Don't you ever just feel like complaining about something you don't like for the sake of complaining about it?

And, again, what does it mean for somebody to "disagree" with me?

"That thing you don't like, no, you're wrong, you actually do like it."?

 

[FeliApple]

Yeah, I guess it’s just a rare usage pattern. I use my phone by looking at it, I don’t use my iPhone for rhythmic gymnastics whilst unlocking it.

Jokes aside, yeah, I reckon an extreme minority of people use their iPhones with Face ID set flat on a table like that enough times so as to call this an inconvenience.