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Face ID With a Mask: How It Works and What You Need to Know

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Apr 12, 2001
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For many people, Face ID has been frustrating to use for the past two years because it doesn't work with a face mask, but that's changing in iOS 15.4, an update that's currently available to developers and public beta testers.

MAsk-On-Face-ID-iOS-15.4.jpg

iOS 15.4 adds Face ID with a Mask, letting you unlock your iPhone with Face ID even when your face is covered, so Face ID is as convenient with a mask as it is without one.

How Face ID With a Mask Works

With the lower half of your face covered by a mask, Face ID scans your eye area to authenticate your identity. According to Apple, Face ID with a mask recognizes the "unique features" around the eye area rather than looking at the entire face when you're wearing a mask.


Face ID when wearing a mask works just like Face ID without a mask. You swipe up on the iPhone's display and it unlocks with a Face ID scan. Face ID with a mask also works interchangeably with standard Face ID, so your phone works in the same way when you're wearing a mask and when you're not.

Face ID with a mask is identical to standard Face ID in almost every way, but there are a few additional setup steps to go through, and it does not work with sunglasses. There are also a few more limitations with unlocking angles because Face ID with a Mask needs to clearly see your eyes before it will unlock.

Face ID with a Mask Setup

When you update to iOS 15.4, there's a built-in Face ID with a Mask setup process that you'll be prompted to complete. It's identical to the original Face ID setup process, and you'll be asked to complete a 3D facial scan.

face-id-add-glasses.jpg

If you skip this process, you can also toggle it on later. Open up the Settings app, tap on Face ID & Passcode, authenticate with a passcode, and toggle on the "Use Face ID With a Mask" option.

If you wear glasses, you'll need to go through a secondary setup process.

Adding Glasses

Because Face ID with a Mask uses a scan of the eye area, glasses that you wear need to be added on an individual basis. If you wear multiple pairs of glasses, you'll need to do a scan for each one.

To go through the process of adding your glasses, Open up the Settings app, tap on Face ID & Passcode, authenticate with a passcode, and tap "Add Glasses."

From there, you'll need to put on your glasses and complete an additional Face ID scan, which is identical to any other Face ID scan where you rotate your head in a circle to scan from multiple angles.

No Sunglasses Support

While standard Face ID works when you're wearing most sunglasses, that's not the case with Face ID with a Mask. Face ID with a Mask requires direct eye contact to work, and sunglasses obscure the eyes.

If you are wearing a mask and sunglasses at the same time, you can still unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch using the Apple Watch unlocking feature. You will need to remove either the mask or the sunglasses to authenticate Apple Pay purchases and log in to apps that use Face ID.

Face ID with a Mask Authentication

When wearing a mask, Face ID works the same as Face ID without a mask. You can unlock your iPhone, authenticate Apple Pay purchases, and use Face ID in lieu of a passcode for third-party apps. This is in stark contrast to the "Unlock With Apple Watch" feature that Apple added to iOS 14.5 last year and cannot authenticate transactions.

Device Limitations

Face ID with a Mask is only available on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models. It's compatible with the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

It does not work with earlier iPhones and it does not work with the iPad. Apple has not made it clear if there is a hardware limitation preventing the Face ID mask unlock from working with earlier versions of the iPhone.

Security Implications

Apple says that Face ID is "most accurate" when it's set up for full-face recognition only, but it is not clear if there are security implications with a partial facial analysis.

In testing, we have not been able to get an iPhone to unlock by someone else wearing a mask, but that doesn't mean that it can't happen, especially in families where there may be similarities between the area around the eyes.

Apple has not provided in-depth information on just how the Face ID with a Mask feature works in comparison to regular Face ID, but Apple has not explicitly said that it's less secure.

Face ID Apple Watch... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Face ID With a Mask: How It Works and What You Need to Know
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/mask-face-id/
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Can it work with apple watch and mask turned on? Currently if you have apple watch unlocking turned on it will unlock to any face. I'd like it to check half my face AND apple watch to unlock for higher security.
 
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Apple keeps adding increasingly hacky workarounds for this problem, all of which could have been solved if they had just done the obviously-correct solution of bringing back Touch ID.

This is like the butterfly keyboard all over again -- "we totally promise that we really fixed it this time!".
 
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canadianreader said:
They could have added this feature to iPhone 12 or 13 but Tim Apple wants you to justify your upgrade each year.

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I agree. This is a on a wish list. It makes no sense how Touch ID made its way on an iPad Air (4TH generation) model but It didn't make it on the iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max line up. Somethings not right and doesn't add up.
 
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MacRumors said:
In testing, we have not been able to get an iPhone to unlock by someone else wearing a mask, but that doesn't mean that it can't happen, especially in families where there may be similarities between the area around the eyes.
Click to expand...
Or worse, similar to the facial recognition and image AI fiascos at Google and Facebook. Apple will have a huge problem on its hands if Mask Face ID was not trained and tested on a sufficiently diverse set of people.

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On a less serious note, I propose calling the new feature Masky McMaskFace ID.
 
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just bring back Touch ID already - it's faster anyway since it doesn't require a swipe up of the screen (can unlock the phone while pulling out of pocket, and be at the homescreen already by the time you look at it), and can work from any angle...
 
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Not having this feature available on iPhone 11 is highly suspect, as the hardware are seemingly the same with the 12 and 13 series.
 
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Jeff321 said:
Why not iPhone 11, Apple? :( I was excited about the feature but now I am disappointed.
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My best guess would be that perhaps the neural engine of the iPhone 11 can't run enough operations per second to run FaceID with Masks quickly enough to deliver a decent user experience, or there's a difference in security capabilities. But I'm just guessing.
 
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obamtl said:
My best guess would be that perhaps the neural engine of the iPhone 11 can't run enough operations per second to run FaceID with Masks quickly enough to deliver a decent user experience, or there's a difference in security capabilities. But I'm just guessing.
Click to expand...
This is a really good educated guess, and I suspect there’s probably some accuracy to what you said.

Good post.
 
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