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Resolved Face ID not recognising me in low light conditions/at night

InAustralia

InAustralia

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 7, 2013
313
114
Sydney, Australia
Picked up my iPhone X yesterday, and have found that Face ID does not unlock my iPhone in low light conditions.

I have my iPhone by my bed charging at night, and I went to pick it up, and Face ID would not unlock my iPhone. I had to enter the passcode. I thought it might be a one off, and tried it 5 or 6 times and each time it failed to unlock my iPhone.

Is there any ‘trick’ to getting Face ID to work in the dark?
 
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InAustralia said:
Picked up my iPhone X yesterday, and have found that Face ID does not unlock my iPhone in low light conditions.

I have my iPhone by my bed charging at night, and I went to pick it up, and Face ID would not unlock my iPhone. I had to enter the passcode. I thought it might bea one off, and tried it 5 or 6 times and each time it failed to unlock my iPhone.

Is there any ‘trick’ to getting Face ID to work in the dark?
Click to expand...
I'm having similar issues. I have tried to use Face ID to unlock my X in the mornings right when I wake up for the past two days and it keeps failing. At first I thought it was maybe because I wasn't wearing my glasses (had my glasses on when I did the calibration), but it failed even after I put my glasses on. I later tried to unlock without glasses in my office with good lighting and it worked perfectly, so glasses/no glasses isn't the issue.

I've inputted my passcode after each failure in the hopes that maybe it's just something weird going on with my face in the morning and maybe Face ID can learn and adapt to my "weirdness"...
 
FaceID uses infrared, so light shouldn't be an issue. It also learns a different view of your face when you input the PIN. maybe delete your profile and retry setting it up?
 
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PeLaNo said:
Maybe a hardware defect.
[doublepost=1510724590][/doublepost]
Is it faster or more reliable ?
Click to expand...

Yeah, mine started to not work at night now it doesn't work at all. Reset FaceID and setup doesn't work. I'm going in for a replacement phone tomorrow.
 
PeLaNo said:
Maybe a hardware defect.
[doublepost=1510724590][/doublepost]
Is it faster or more reliable ?
Click to expand...

Not the guy you asked, but for me speed is the same but it’s way more reliable now. By that I mean it basically never fails to authenticate me regardless of the current environment I’m in (bright sunlight outdoors, pitch black in a room, etc).
 
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Try turning off the eye detection. Maybe that part uses the regular camera.

Just a theory-I haven’t tested it. But my wife has been complaining about the reliability of FaceID since Day 1. Today I turned off eye detection on her phone and she’s MUCH happier. I may do so myself. I’m not sure I need the added security.
 
I have ‘blackout’ curtains in my bedroom so it’s completely black during the night, but I’ve been impressed with how Face ID works at night for me while i’m in bed.

Also, I wear glasses during the day, (I registered Face ID while wearing them) but don’t wear them in bed. Face ID still has no problem recognising me in the dark, without my glasses. It’s FAB!
 
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InAustralia said:
I'll give it another go tonight to see if Face ID improves. It was day one, so I am prepared to cut it some slack.
Click to expand...
So I went back to my hotel room and when I first walked in, the room was pitch black (black out curtains were closed). Tried Face ID with and without glasses and both times it worked perfectly, unlocking on the first try.

Afterwards, I went to the washroom and afterwards kept the lights on for the washroom only. Walked back out into the room and tried to unlock my phone again and... it failed. Extremely odd that having essentially no light in the room seemed to make Face ID work better than having minimal lighting from several feet away...
 
Face ID module shoots IR dots to measure depth so the less light the better for it. Less interference.
 
It should work in the dark, since the IR does not need light, but it may be related to your initial set up. When you set up, did you make sure to not be too close to the camera, and to really get a wide range of your face (full rotation that gets under chin a bit, etc)? Also, try turning off the “attention required” feature.

If that is done, it may just need some time and it may have just been the angle you were at; it will learn as you use it so if it fails to unlock and gives you passcode, use the passcode (don’t cancel and try again).
 
SR71 said:
Not the guy you asked, but for me speed is the same but it’s way more reliable now. By that I mean it basically never fails to authenticate me regardless of the current environment I’m in (bright sunlight outdoors, pitch black in a room, etc).
Click to expand...
Thanks for your answer.
 
Problem solved!

I tested unlocking my iPhone again last night and it unlocked.

I worked out what the initial problem was. Face ID fails if the iPhone is too close to my face. I wear glasses, and whilst trying to unlock the iPhone late at night when it was on my bedside table, I was not wearing my glasses and so held the iPhone close to my face to see things clearly. The iPhone was too close to my face and so failed. I tested this theory again in normal conditions with the iPhone close to my face (20 cms or so) and it would not unlock.

My iPhone successfully unlocks when the iPhone is held in my normal position.
 
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InAustralia said:
Proem solved!

I tested unlocking my iPhone again last night and it unlocked.

I worked out what the initial problem was. Face ID fails if the iPhone is too close to my face. I wear glasses, and whilst trying to unlock the iPhone late at night when it was on my bedside table, I was not wearing my glasses and so held the iPhone close to my face to see things clearly. The iPhone was too close to my face and so failed. I tested this theory again in normal conditions with the iPhone close to my face (20 cms or so) and it would not unlock.

My iPhone successfully unlocks when the iPhone is held in my normal position.
Click to expand...
Haha, kind of had this same revelation this morning. I also wear glasses and felt I was holding the phone closer than usual, so I moved it back a bit and it unlocked fine. I also didn't have my iPad's screen on giving off ambient light, which may or may not play a role in all this, but I'm hoping that means the issue is solved.

I mean, entering the passcode once a day when I use the phone in the morning isn't the end of the world, but I also wouldn't complain if there's a way for me to avoid having to do so. :p
 
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