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FaceID is pretty inconvenient

I

itsthetouch

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 20, 2008
85
25
Now i'm sure it's much more secure then touch id but for me, I see it as pretty inconvenient. How is angling your phone towards your face to unlock your phone easier to use?
I always have my phone laying on my desk next to my laptop when working. And without moving and without moving the phone i'd just reach and unlock with my finger and can check something. Now I have to lift it towards my face and swipe up or tap it to wake, swipe up, wait till "Face ID" disappears then enter my passcode.
Or like last night I was just hanging out, happen to be leaning my head on my hand(in front of my face) guess what! Have to adjust my position to unlock my phone.
I just don't see how they could keep this and not somehow add back touch ID later down the road. Not every situation we have with our phone is directly in front of our faces.

I love the phone overall but little inconveniences like these just make me really miss touch ID. Also is there any way to make entering your passcode quicker, i don't know why they need to show me "face id" first then let me enter it.
 
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I mean, I hear you. I use my phone on my desk at work, and I find myself either picking up the phone or having to lean over my desk so the phone can "see" me. It is a bit annoying, but like anything else, you just adjust and move on. Not a big deal.
 
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itsthetouch said:
Now i'm sure it's much more secure then touch id but for me, I see it as pretty inconvenient. How is angling your phone towards your face to unlock your phone easier to use?
I always have my phone laying on my desk next to my laptop when working. And without moving and without moving the phone i'd just reach and unlock with my finger and can check something. Now I have to lift it towards my face and swipe up or tap it to wake, swipe up, wait till "Face ID" disappears then enter my passcode.
Or like last night I was just hanging out, happen to be leaning my head on my hand(in front of my face) guess what! Have to adjust my position to unlock my phone.
I just don't see how they could keep this and not somehow add back touch ID later down the road. Not every situation we have with our phone is directly in front of our faces.

I love the phone overall but little inconveniences like these just make me really miss touch ID. Also is there any way to make entering your passcode quicker, i don't know why they need to show me "face id" first then let me enter it.
Click to expand...
Have you turned off the attention requirement? Does that improve from desk recognition?
 
Apple need to make it a choice or people will complain about not seeing notifications.
Noctilux.95 said:
How do you bypass flicking open the phone after facial ID? I would prefer the phone waking up after facial ID, bypassing the stupid thumb flick? Is this possible?
Click to expand...
 
01_119_76.jpg

I have one of these for my iPhone 7 on my desk. I assume I'll have no problem at all using it with my iPhone X once it's delivered.
 
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I haven't had any of these FaceID issues people keep mentioning. I've been burping my newborn and she's been right up against my face and no issues unlocking. I've been laying sideways on the couch and the phone has unlocked no issues. The attention requirement has been a moot point also - I typically look at the phone to check the time as I'm unlocking anyway and in that .5 second the phone will unlock. I definitely see the issue with it at work, but I'll just get a stand for it instead of laying it on the desk. Probably should've already had one to begin with.
 
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I can still unlock the phone while it is flat on my desk... I tap it, look down at it, and it unlocks. Just as convenient as TouchID was for me.

When I setup FaceID, I did the first round with the phone right in front of my face. For the second round, I moved the phone down below my face and looked down at it. I don't know if this helped, but I have never had FaceID not work on the first try.
 
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billycuth said:
I mean, I hear you. I use my phone on my desk at work, and I find myself either picking up the phone or having to lean over my desk so the phone can "see" me. It is a bit annoying, but like anything else, you just adjust and move on. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...

Just a shame we have to adjust to something that is a downgrade in a certain area imo. It's how you access your phone, pretty big deal.
[doublepost=1509984481][/doublepost]
DravenGSX said:
I can still unlock the phone while it is flat on my desk... I tap it, look down at it, and it unlocks. Just as convenient as TouchID was for me.

When I setup FaceID, I did the first round with the phone right in front of my face. For the second round, I moved the phone down below my face and looked down at it. I don't know if this helped, but I have never had FaceID not work on the first try.
Click to expand...

Guess i'll have to keep my phone under me instead of to the right me next to my mouse. Damn you apple.
 
itsthetouch said:
Guess i'll have to keep my phone under me instead of to the right me next to my mouse. Damn you apple.
Click to expand...

Just had my first FaceID fail.. tried it over there by the touchpad and it didn't work. I had to lean over to get it to go. I see where you are coming from now.

Oh well.. change is hard.
 
Noctilux.95 said:
How do you bypass flicking open the phone after facial ID? I would prefer the phone waking up after facial ID, bypassing the stupid thumb flick? Is this possible?
Click to expand...

Now that would be really nice except one thing. Anyone else looking at your phone or you accidentally leaned over where it layed, the phone will activate or it will ask you for your passcode. But you are onto something there that I wish Apple would look into
 
Now that I have one, I've had the chance to try it at work. Face ID does not work lying flat on my desk. Yet at the same time, it works just fine.

With my old phone, I'd push the button to see if I had any notifications. If I did, I'd pick the phone up to read / answer them. With my new phone, I tap the screen to see if I have any notifications. If I do, I pick the phone up (thus getting in range of Face ID) to read / answer them.

So while it can't unlock lying flat on my desk (not where I keep it), I don't find that to be a problem. Even with my old phone, I wouldn't have replied or even tried to read with the phone lying flat on my desk. I would have picked it up. So for my particular workflows, it's a complete non-issue. I don't need to unlock it to check the time or for notifications. So tapping it while lying there isn't a big deal and accomplishes the same thing I used to use the button for.
 
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I found using Apple Pay/Credit Card to be faster than with Touch ID, but with a caveat. With Touch ID you hold your phone to the receptor with your thumb on it and wait for it to first recognize your thumb then process. With Face ID, I've already unlocked use of my credit card by looking at it, and when I move my phone to the receptor it is almost instantaneously processed.
 
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itsthetouch said:
Just a shame we have to adjust to something that is a downgrade in a certain area imo. It's how you access your phone, pretty big deal.
[doublepost=1509984481][/doublepost]

Guess i'll have to keep my phone under me instead of to the right me next to my mouse. Damn you apple.
Click to expand...

Might as well get used to it as rumor has it that all of the iPhones will me migrating towards Face ID. I disliked at first but after using it the past few days, it has not missed a single time.
 
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Newtons Apple said:
Might as well get used to it as rumor has it that all of the iPhones will me migrating towards Face ID. I disliked at first but after using it the past few days, it has not missed a single time.
Click to expand...

I mean, I've even had my face resting in my palm and one finger over my upper lip and FaceID hasn't missed yet. It's surprisingly accurate and surprisingly fast. Do not miss TouchID at all.
 
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Noctilux.95 said:
How do you bypass flicking open the phone after facial ID? I would prefer the phone waking up after facial ID, bypassing the stupid thumb flick? Is this possible?
Click to expand...
I ave found just flicking it open works quite well. The Face ID seems to take care of itself. Don’t wait to see it unlock just raise flick up and boom it’s Unlocked.
[doublepost=1510008258][/doublepost]
itsthetouch said:
I have tried, yes. It's not in front of me though, how would that have helped?
Click to expand...
You don’t have to stare at it. Off angle recognition seems better. Be aware that the Face ID works in portrait mode only. So if phone is on desk oriented other than portrait to your face it will not unlock.

You can set the lock up to never leaving screen live while on desk. That’s only a flick and a click away if you are with the phone and want it staying unlocked. If you get up and leave it just hit power button and just one unlock when you get back.
 
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I agree that it can be pretty inconvenient.

The hidden previews (I've since turned it off) make it inconvenient when the phone is in a car dock.

Wearing a surgical mask as work is hugely inconvenient. I've never had to enter my password more.
 
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