iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro still requires being right in front of camera for FaceID

[talkin73]

The new phones are supposed to allow better angle for Face ID to unlock, correct? So you don't have to pick it up and hold it right in front of your face to do so. My 11 Pro requires that my face is right in front of it to unlock. I have "Attention Aware" turned off in the Face ID and Passcode settings so I'm confident that's not the issue.

Are others able to open their phone if, for instance, it's laying on a table without actually leaning their face right over it?

 

[eyeseeyou]

I swear "team notch" claimed you don't have to be in front of Face ID for it to work therefore it's easier than putting your finger on the home button as you grab it to unlock it.

 

[talkin73]

I swear "team notch" claimed you don't have to be in front of Face ID for it to work therefore it's easier than putting your finger on the home button as you grab it to unlock it.

That's what I thought as well. But 11 Pro is no different than my XS or X before it. Still require face directly in front of it (not necessarily super close, but in direct line of site and not at any angle) in order to unlock.

I'm gonna call it "Angle-gate", and see if we can fire up the angry masses... unless, of course, it's just my phone... 🧐

 

[eoblaed]

I swear "team notch" claimed you don't have to be in front of Face ID for it to work therefore it's easier than putting your finger on the home button as you grab it to unlock it.

You have to look at your phone to use it anyway. I did enjoy TouchID when it was a thing; I enjoy FaceID more. I suffer no loss in functionality and having it be able to authenticate me (eg. logging in to websites, banking apps, etc) while I'm using the phone without having to adjust my grip to get my thumb on the TouchID sensor provides for a very smooth experience.

That's what I thought as well. But 11 Pro is no different than my XS or X before it. Still require face directly in front of it (not necessarily super close, but in direct line of site and not at any angle) in order to unlock.

I'm gonna call it "Angle-gate", and see if we can fire up the angry masses... unless, of course, it's just my phone... 🧐

Testing just now, my phone will unlock when I hold it at about a 45 degree angle away from my face and down a bit (I have attention awareness on). In no way do I have to have it directly in front of my face.

 

[ToddH]

Mine works from 2.5 to 3 feet away.. when you set up Face ID, hold your iPhone further away so you’ll have some range to work with. In bright sunlight, it doesn’t work as well but indoors, no issues here

 

[Strelok]

45 degree angle works for me, after that it generally doesn’t.

 

[eyeseeyou]

You have to look at your phone to use it anyway.

Nobody is saying you don't. You definitely have to grab your phone before lifting it in front of your face to unlock before you do anything useful with it though.

 

[talkin73]

Nobody is saying you don't. You definitely have to grab your phone before lifting it in front of your face to unlock before you do anything useful with it though.

I don't have to grab my phone to unlock. I can tap the screen with it anywhere and once Face ID sees my face it will unlock. No hands required.
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You have to look at your phone to use it anyway. I did enjoy TouchID when it was a thing; I enjoy FaceID more. I suffer no loss in functionality and having it be able to authenticate me (eg. logging in to websites, banking apps, etc) while I'm using the phone without having to adjust my grip to get my thumb on the TouchID sensor provides for a very smooth experience.

Testing just now, my phone will unlock when I hold it at about a 45 degree angle away from my face and down a bit (I have attention awareness on). In no way do I have to have it directly in front of my face.

Thanks to all for feedback. Interestingly, I just finished doing a "Restore" through iTunes from iOS 13 to 13.1, rather than a simple upgrade. My 11 Pro has felt glitchy as heck in several areas from day one... Face ID issue noted, occasional stuttering music in CarPlay, screen freezing when making various selections or toggling a setting on or off. I find that Restore through iTunes seems to smooth out my phone periodically when it starts getting laggy or glitchy.

After the restore, I was taken through the process of setting up Face ID again. I didn't see these replies until just now so I set it up as I always do, holding the phone a foot or so from my face. Following setup of Face ID, the phone now unlocks at around 45 degrees, rather than requiring me to be directly in front of it as was the case prior to the restore. No other modifications to phone settings were made. Definitely more convenient.

 

[Nacho98]

Did we ever get confirmation of gen 2 FaceID hardware? Obviously we got software updates to increase speed, but is the hardware still gen 1 or did it actually get tweaked?

 

[Freakonomics101]

Did we ever get confirmation of gen 2 FaceID hardware? Obviously we got software updates to increase speed, but is the hardware still gen 1 or did it actually get tweaked?

AFAIK, there’s no changes in hardware. On iOS 13.0 beta 1, there was a noticeable increase in speed when unlocking the iPhone so it was definitely tweaked. Same result on my iPhone X that I used for the betas.

 

[AJAAY]

Face ID on my XS Max just has a mind of it's own. Sometimes it just doesn't work when I'm staring right at the sensor at arms length. But in the car when I have it clipped to the air vent, it'll unlock without any issues with me sitting all the way back in my seat.

I just ordered a Pro Max, so hopefully the Face ID on this one is much more consistent.

 

[Packers1958]

Mine works from 2.5 to 3 feet away.. when you set up Face ID, hold your iPhone further away so you’ll have some range to work with. In bright sunlight, it doesn’t work as well but indoors, no issues here

Exactly. That's what I did. I held the phone at arm's length and set it up that way. I can be 45 degrees off axis and it still unlocks. i also set up an alternative appearance by laying phone flat on table and then stared down on it to set that up. Now i can leave it flat on my desk, and open it by looking at it without lifting it up.

 

[talkin73]

Did we ever get confirmation of gen 2 FaceID hardware? Obviously we got software updates to increase speed, but is the hardware still gen 1 or did it actually get tweaked?

Apple indicated Face ID uses the Tru Depth camera which, on the new phones, is 30% faster (as you note) and now allows for use at greater angles. Makes sense given the Tru Depth camera on the new phones has a wider angle of view that this would enhance Face ID functionality. So, from what I'm reading I'd guess Face ID functionality in the new phones is the result of both hardware and software enhancements.

 

[eyeseeyou]

I don't have to grab my phone to unlock. I can tap the screen with it anywhere and once Face ID sees my face it will unlock. No hands required.

Thats technically true although you still need to swipe up into the homepage although I guess you don’t HAVE to use your hand to do that.

 

[NBAasDOGG]

The new phones are supposed to allow better angle for Face ID to unlock, correct? So you don't have to pick it up and hold it right in front of your face to do so. My 11 Pro requires that my face is right in front of it to unlock. I have "Attention Aware" turned off in the Face ID and Passcode settings so I'm confident that's not the issue.

Are others able to open their phone if, for instance, it's laying on a table without actually leaning their face right over it?

For the record, the new iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro MAX does not have a new Face ID module. The 30% faster Face ID from more angles is due to IOS13 update and account all iPhone using the Face ID technology!

 

[Steve686]

Every time I set up a new Face ID, it definitely takes a week or two to work how I like using it, especially when I have sunglasses on.

Try setting up an alternate appearance in settings to see if that helps with the angle or speeds things up, too.

Edit: The camera seems to pick up badly side to side, but pretty good when angled with the bottom closer to your face than the top of the phone.

 

[Bethanie21]

I’m also having issues with FaceID on my Pro. It doesn’t work in the dark (yes, I know it should, as it has infrared), doesn’t work unless I’m directly over the phone. I’m new to FaceID, coming from an iPhone 8. When it works it’s great, but it often doesn’t work for me.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

Even with my iPhone X, I don't have to hold it "right in front of my face".
Maybe your FaceID setup was crappy?

 

[killhippie]

For the record, the new iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro MAX does not have a new Face ID module. The 30% faster Face ID from more angles is due to IOS13 update and account all iPhone using the Face ID technology!

"The front-facing TrueDepth Camera system has been updated with a new 12-megapixel camera, and making Face ID up to 30 percent faster and able to work from more angles"

iPhone 11: Complete Guide to Apple's Newest iPhone

Apple unveiled the iPhone 11 on September 10 with new colors, a dual-lens camera, improved durability, and a faster A13 chip. Pricing starts at...

www.macrumors.com

You cant change the angle without a camera change really.

 

[NBAasDOGG]

"The front-facing TrueDepth Camera system has been updated with a new 12-megapixel camera, and making Face ID up to 30 percent faster and able to work from more angles"

iPhone 11: Complete Guide to Apple's Newest iPhone

Apple unveiled the iPhone 11 on September 10 with new colors, a dual-lens camera, improved durability, and a faster A13 chip. Pricing starts at...

www.macrumors.com

You cant change the angle without a camera change really.

12MP is the front selfie camera, not the FACE ID dot projector or IR-camera!
I own both Xs and the 11 (non pro) and there is no difference in IOS13!

 

[chrono1081]

The angle of view is definitely MUCH wider on the 11 Pro than the XS. I think you just didn't test enough. While my methods aren't scientific I can say now that when it's sitting on my desk I barely have to lean in to unlock it, where as before I needed to lean over the thing to unlock it.

This is a huge deal for me because I'm an iOS dev and constantly having to unlock my phone to test.

 

[talkin73]

Thats technically true although you still need to swipe up into the homepage although I guess you don’t HAVE to use your hand to do that.

Your post said you need to grab your phone to unlock it and hold it up before doing anything useful. I don’t find that to be the case. Now that Face ID is working at a 45 degree angle, I can unlock simply by being near it and flick up to access the phone. Then use whatever apps I want with the phone flat on a table, propped on a charger or case stand or anything else. No holding and bringing to my face required in order to get useful things done.

 

[talkin73]

The angle of view is definitely MUCH wider on the 11 Pro than the XS. I think you just didn't test enough. While my methods aren't scientific I can say now that when it's sitting on my desk I barely have to lean in to unlock it, where as before I needed to lean over the thing to unlock it.

This is a huge deal for me because I'm an iOS dev and constantly having to unlock my phone to test.

It wasn’t lack of testing, it was lack of working properly. A restore, unlike an update, forces new preferences files to be written and Face ID is one of them. Not surprising that system glitches are corrected by wiping out and recreating various system files. I had several issues that were corrected with the restore from iOS 13 to 13.1, including problems with the screen registering touch input properly. After the restore it works perfectly as with previous devices and how one would expect. So Face ID wasn’t the only thing corrected.

 

[tps3443]

I used FaveID today in a totally dark room. It worked perfect.

 

[archer75]

I don't even have to be right on with my Xs Max. I can use it and pretty decent angles. Used it this morning with half my face buried in the pillow. Works great.