Frustration with iPhone X

[arina83]

I was very excited to get my first iPhone X, but I've been monumentally disappointed with it so far. I have some health issues which can cause my face to change quite a bit, so I didn't set up FaceID. My passcode worked most of the time. Occasionally it'd go to a black screen with a revolving wheel then went to sleep. Normally, I could get it to work on the second attempt. Then I had a very strange battery problem.

It was at 40% charge and sat idle on my desk for an hour. I went to use it and it was suddenly dead. I charged it for 4 hours, and it was still completely dead. I tried a hard reset, and nothing happened. I tried to call Apple Support, and they couldn't figure out what was going on. I left it on the table, unplugged, planning to bring it to an Apple Store the next day.

The next morning, I tried another hard reset, and somehow that worked. I still took it to the Apple Store, and they replaced it.

My second iPhone X was behaving fairly well, until now. It just did the same weird thing when trying to enter my passcode, but it took 6 attempts before it actually unlocked my iPhone. I'm more than a little frustrated right now. I just got this one the other day, and it's already acting up. It wasn't updated to iOS 11.1.2, so I just did that.

If the phone was stable, I'd love it. It's not fun having to worry about a new iPhone breaking down.

Is this kind of experience common with the iPhone X? I'm not sure right now if this is a hardware or software problem.

 

[thadoggfather]

Do you get a spinning wheel and black screen even with replacement and trying everything?

That happened to me when I tried passcode only with Face ID disabled

Must be a general 11.1.x bug

 

[myscrnnm]

Let us now how it works after the update. My iPhone X hasn't had these problems on anything past 11.1, which I had to immediately update to upon restoring the phone from a backup.

 

[Pravda]

I was very excited to get my first iPhone X, but I've been monumentally disappointed with it so far. I have some health issues which can cause my face to change quite a bit, so I didn't set up FaceID. My passcode worked most of the time. Occasionally it'd go to a black screen with a revolving wheel then went to sleep. Normally, I could get it to work on the second attempt. Then I had a very strange battery problem.

It was at 40% charge and sat idle on my desk for an hour. I went to use it and it was suddenly dead. I charged it for 4 hours, and it was still completely dead. I tried a hard reset, and nothing happened. I tried to call Apple Support, and they couldn't figure out what was going on. I left it on the table, unplugged, planning to bring it to an Apple Store the next day.

The next morning, I tried another hard reset, and somehow that worked. I still took it to the Apple Store, and they replaced it.

My second iPhone X was behaving fairly well, until now. It just did the same weird thing when trying to enter my passcode, but it took 6 attempts before it actually unlocked my iPhone. I'm more than a little frustrated right now. I just got this one the other day, and it's already acting up. It wasn't updated to iOS 11.1.2, so I just did that.

If the phone was stable, I'd love it. It's not fun having to worry about a new iPhone breaking down.

Is this kind of experience common with the iPhone X? I'm not sure right now if this is a hardware or software problem.

Sorry you are having these issues, I bet it’s very frustrating.

Try the Apple Support App or give Apple a call, I’ve had very good experience with their support team for the past few years.

 

[Jjayf]

Sorry to hear you are having this experience. My X is performing flawlessly. It’s a pleasure to use, but I use Face ID. Are you sure you can’t setup and use the Face ID feature? Mine works in the morning, laying down, with a hood, with or without glasses, etc. and, if yours happens to not work from time to time it defaults to the passcode without having to rely on the passcode all the time. Try it out..

 

[DiveKitty]

Sounds like a bug maybe with Face ID being disabled?

Face ID does adapt to facial changes and it “learns”, so if it fails and you put in passcode it decides if the face meets threshold of the Face ID data already stored, and adds to it. This is why it can work with sunglasses, hats, scarves, hands on parts of face, etc. It might be worth trying to set it up and letting Face ID learn from failures (by typing in passcode).

 

[Pravda]

Sounds like a bug maybe with Face ID being disabled?

Face ID does adapt to facial changes and it “learns”, so if it fails and you put in passcode it decides if the face meets threshold of the Face ID data already stored, and adds to it. This is why it can work with sunglasses, hats, scarves, hands on parts of face, etc. It might be worth trying to set it up and letting Face ID learn from failures (by typing in passcode).

Thanks for the post, I wasn’t aware of all that. Good stuff.

 

[oplix]

I understand your frustrations but given your condition did you not already assume there might be complications with using the device? If so, I’m curious what led you to complain about an issue that was seemingly in plain sight from the start?

 

[arina83]

Unfortunately, updating hasn't fixed the issue. It will periodically refuse to unlock with my passcode. Both the first one and now the replacement have done this. I've been reluctant to set up FaceID since I've heard it's extremely buggy & hasn't been working well. If I have a severe flare, my skin gets bright red & one side sags.

I understand your frustrations but given your condition did you not already assume there might be complications with using the device? If so, I’m curious what led you to complain about an issue that was seemingly in plain sight from the start?

How could I have possibly known that this kind of bug would occur? I've come to expect that Apple devices allow for customization and are user friendly, thus my disappointment. I expect that Apple will put out high quality products & choosing not to use a feature won't break the device. I've never used every single feature on an iPhone, so I didn't expect that choosing not to use FaceID would kinda break it. My main reason for wanting an iPhone X was the camera it comes with, since I do a lot of photography for work.

 

[mcarthon]

Just try Face ID and see if it fixes it. If face id doesn’t work it goes straight to your passcode so no big deal.

 

[inkahauts]

Unfortunately, updating hasn't fixed the issue. It will periodically refuse to unlock with my passcode. Both the first one and now the replacement have done this. I've been reluctant to set up FaceID since I've heard it's extremely buggy & hasn't been working well. If I have a severe flare, my skin gets bright red & one side sags.



How could I have possibly known that this kind of bug would occur? I've come to expect that Apple devices allow for customization and are user friendly, thus my disappointment. I expect that Apple will put out high quality products & choosing not to use a feature won't break the device. I've never used every single feature on an iPhone, so I didn't expect that choosing not to use FaceID would kinda break it. My main reason for wanting an iPhone X was the camera it comes with, since I do a lot of photography for work.

Yeah I’d still give Face ID a shot. Color changes will have zero affect on it. And if one side sages, it will just ask for your passcode and learn that and next time it might just work anyway...

I have zero issues with Face ID except in bright sun with my good sunglasses on.

Heck, my mom got one a few weeks ago and it works flawlessly for her, after touchid failed 60% of the time for her, so give Face ID a shot.

Odd it’s having such a hard time with your passcode though.

 

[Gryzor]

Yeah I’d still give Face ID a shot. Color changes will have zero affect on it. And if one side sages, it will just ask for your passcode and learn that and next time it might just work anyway...

I have zero issues with Face ID except in bright sun with my good sunglasses on.

Heck, my mom got one a few weeks ago and it works flawlessly for her, after touchid failed 60% of the time for her, so give Face ID a shot.

Odd it’s having such a hard time with your passcode though.

60% You measure that did you?

It's not odd, it was a bug in iOS that has since been resolved.

As for the OP, you can't complain about a phone feature not working when you just "assume" that FaceID won't be able to handle your face variation without even giving it a try.

 

[nieks]

Unfortunately, updating hasn't fixed the issue. It will periodically refuse to unlock with my passcode. Both the first one and now the replacement have done this. I've been reluctant to set up FaceID since I've heard it's extremely buggy & hasn't been working well. If I have a severe flare, my skin gets bright red & one side sags.



How could I have possibly known that this kind of bug would occur? I've come to expect that Apple devices allow for customization and are user friendly, thus my disappointment. I expect that Apple will put out high quality products & choosing not to use a feature won't break the device. I've never used every single feature on an iPhone, so I didn't expect that choosing not to use FaceID would kinda break it. My main reason for wanting an iPhone X was the camera it comes with, since I do a lot of photography for work.

Just try it. It might work, even if one side sags. The bright red skin won't matter anyway.
On an other note: you are the first case of passcode refusing I've come across. It might be a redundant question and I'm not trying to be an *ssh*l* here, but: you are 100% sure you gave the right code?

 

[Mechalol]

I understand your frustration but I don't see why you're so reluctant to testing FaceID to see if it works.

You said you've heard FaceID being buggy along with believing your health condition will prevent it from working properly and adapting, but if you have the phone in your possession, why not just try it?

 

[inkahauts]

60% You measure that did you?

It's not odd, it was a bug in iOS that has since been resolved.

As for the OP, you can't complain about a phone feature not working when you just "assume" that FaceID won't be able to handle your face variation without even giving it a try.

No it wasn’t. She has skin that gets very dry as does a friend of hers who has similar issues to this day with her iPhone 6s, and when their fingers where/are to dry, they just didn’t work. They both had/have to redo finger prints all the time. so this was not a bug that was ever fixed.. not a lot of people had that problem but there s a couple for sure.

 

[theluggage]

why not just try it?

...because whatever someone's reason for not using FaceID, the phone should still work properly without it.

 

[nieks]

...because whatever someone's reason for not using FaceID, the phone should still work properly without it.

No, you are partially wrong. It's about what the intentions are. The OP wants:
- a phone.
- security, which means a lock and an unlock method.

Apple provides:
- a phone.
- security, in the form of unlocking by FaceID.

So, Apple gives what OP wants, but OP refuses to use it, and wants the secondary login by passcode and apparently can't always get it to work. Why the F not try the primary method provided?

 

[theluggage]

It's about what the intentions are.

No, its about Apple's responsibility to ship a phone in which all the features work. If password login is unreliable when FaceID is disabled then it is a fault. Stop trying to make excuses for Apple producing a faulty product.

Unless you can find somewhere in the advertising material that says "* Note - FaceID must be enabled to allow reliable password operation"...?

As with any unproven ID verification system, if you don't trust FaceID to provide the level of security you require, you should be free to disable it and rely on a strong passcode.

Also, if the OP has a medical condition that affects their face then maybe, just maybe they're a bit sensitive about it and don't want the experience of having their phone fail to recognise them? Plus, it isn't rocket science to work out that the more tolerant you train FaceID to be about the shape of your face, the greater the potential for false positives.

 

[nieks]

No, its about Apple's responsibility to ship a phone in which all the features work. If password login is unreliable when FaceID is disabled then it is a fault. Stop trying to make excuses for Apple producing a faulty product.

Not saying that, if a password login is indeed faulty, then you've got to go back to the store and demand a working phone. Which is why I said: partially wrong. My point being: yes the phone is faulty if he/she can't get a successful login by passcode, but why still refuse to use FaceID? If he/she did not try it, why bother complaining?

 

[robbietop]

It's iOS11. Since 11.1, my X battery life has gone from 2 hours more than the 7 Plus to 2 hours less than the 7 PLUS

I don't know what Apple did this year to anger the software gods, but they apparently did something. Or rushed.

 

[iPhone •••]

Sucks for you. Mine is working flawlessly

 

[arina83]

No, its about Apple's responsibility to ship a phone in which all the features work. If password login is unreliable when FaceID is disabled then it is a fault. Stop trying to make excuses for Apple producing a faulty product.

Unless you can find somewhere in the advertising material that says "* Note - FaceID must be enabled to allow reliable password operation"...?

As with any unproven ID verification system, if you don't trust FaceID to provide the level of security you require, you should be free to disable it and rely on a strong passcode.

Also, if the OP has a medical condition that affects their face then maybe, just maybe they're a bit sensitive about it and don't want the experience of having their phone fail to recognise them? Plus, it isn't rocket science to work out that the more tolerant you train FaceID to be about the shape of your face, the greater the potential for false positives.

Bingo. Healthy people might not understand the daily life of someone like myself with a chronic health issue. Normal things a healthy person takes for granted can be extremely difficult for someone in my position. And I really don't need buggy tech in addition to everything else. Also, I did a little reading and there are also some serious legal grey areas with FaceID that don't exist with a passcode. I'd rather wait until I get my medical issues ironed out & possible legal issues are determined before venturing into FaceID.

My second iPhone X has charged reliably & hasn't completely died from 40% battery like the first one did. Unfortunately, it's still doing the same refusal to unlock with my passcode periodically. Its been an intermittent issue, so I've been willing to work around it.

Tonight, its now refusing to open web pages. Yes, it's been updated to iOS 11.2. Tap a website, the screen flashes & a haptick happens. And this will happen for any website that comes up in Safari. Doesn't matter what wifi network I'm on...VPN or no VPN. It won't open any websites. It really breaks my heart to be at this point, since I love the phone itself. No home button. Swiping. Etc. But an iPhone that cost over $1,000 really needs to be stable. I set this one up as a new iPhone, like I did with the first one...and I'm kinda glad I did. I would've been willing to put up with the unlocking issue....but I really need Safari functional. Yes, I've tried other web browsers, and I prefer Safari above the others I've tried.

 

[Allyance]

I have not had issues with Face ID, no known "bugs". My works at arms length, on a desk and a little off to the sides. Only time it doesn't work is when I have my full face helmet on!! You need to give it a chance to learn all your features. Remember to use your password after each fail with Face ID. This is normal, it is call machine learning. Also, I have found that it is very easy to hit the key to the right of the one you want due to the curvature of your fingers and the angle that you approach the keys. Try overshooting the key to the left a little to insure you hit it correctly. This is a problem I had on all my iPhones, my fault entirely. If you are having battery/charging issues, go back to store and explain your problem. Make an appointment for the Genius desk to have someone go through all your issues. Not normal. As a stock holder it saddens me to hear about your problems, you shouldn't have to "put up" with anything.