Face ID won't work if...

[acctman]

your hand is anywhere near your face. I had my chine resting in my palm of my hand... no luck with unlocking iPhone. Beard strokers may have a problem

 

[44267547]

your hand is anywhere near your face. I had my chine resting in my palm of my hand... no luck with unlocking iPhone. Beard strokers may have a problem

Naturally Face ID will not work if there is something obstructing your face where it interferes with the reading. A hand in front of your face will be problematic, because the sensors cannot detect your Face in its entirety.

 

[Costino1]

Been working like a charm all day for me today. Only hiccup was when I put on my Ray-Ban aviators which cover a good portion of my face. Maybe once it "learns" my face better it'll work.

Also, doesnt work on a flat surface. For example, phone is sitting flat on my desk. Wish I could just look at it and see my notifications. Will not unlock unless I lift it up. Only complaint.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I tried the kinds of things the OP noted and haven't had any problems unlocking.

 

[darkside flow]

Covered my entire chin and it worked. Put my hand over my lower face and it didn’t - as it shouldn’t.

 

[Avenger]

It also doesn't work if the phone is too close to your face. It has to be a foot or so away.

 

[DiveKitty]

Been working like a charm all day for me today. Only hiccup was when I put on my Ray-Ban aviators which cover a good portion of my face. Maybe once it "learns" my face better it'll work.

Also, doesnt work on a flat surface. For example, phone is sitting flat on my desk. Wish I could just look at it and see my notifications. Will not unlock unless I lift it up. Only complaint.

I got mine to work on a flat surface by making sure the second scan of my face got a wider area of my face (such as angled up under my chin). I still have to “look over it” but I don’t need to lift it up.

 

[Costino1]

I got mine to work on a flat surface by making sure the second scan of my face got a wider area of my face (such as angled up under my chin). I still have to “look over it” but I don’t need to lift it up.

Ahhh I see. Yeah I rushed thru setting up my phone and might not have done the best job ever scanning my face. Too excited to get it up and running.

Thanks

 

[SIVIOKY]

It also doesn’t work if your phone is super low battery. At 1% it did not work for me at all. Had to input password every time. Maybe it does this to save battery?

 

[DDustiNN]

your hand is anywhere near your face. I had my chine resting in my palm of my hand... no luck with unlocking iPhone. Beard strokers may have a problem

Weird... Mine unlocked while I was laying down in bed, with a portion of my face covered by pillow I’d assume.

 

[BFG86]

The phone is less than a foot away. Trying it for the first time in bed and I had to stretch my arm out in order for the face Id to work. It fails right in front of your face. Disappointing. It also fails quite a lot when it’s laying flat. Hope this can be improved via software update.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Hmmm....

Mine unlocks while sitting flat on back on desk. I’m standing at edge of desk and it’s maybe one foot forward of said edge. I don’t have to lean over it or anything. Just glance at it (while it’s awake obviously).

Also I have a goatee but I just covered my entire chin and mounth and it still unlocked for me. Honestly...that concerns me more than makes me happy.

 

[flat five]

for the record..
it works while you're picking your nose.