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Touch ID sucks

Maybe you got a defective one. Mine works about 99% of the time. And I know when I put my finger on there weird and it's not going to work. My phone is always awake before it's out of my pocket.
 
Touch ID definitely doesn't replace the passcode(as I hoped it would), as I find I still need it a lot.
I guess they're taking initial baby steps with the functionality, before adding more and more later on.
 
A couple things OP:

(1) When you go through the setup, lay your thumb flat through the first round of scans. Move it around, try different angles. Don't just set your thumb in the same spot each time. You need to let it read your thumb (or whatever finger) from various angles. On the second go round, when it reads the edges, be extreme with it. Use the sides of your thumb and again, let it scan your whole thumb.

(2) The scanner gets better over time. Re-doing all your scans the second it doesn't work won't make things better. When I first set it up it failed once or twice. Now it works flawlessly. I continues to learn as you use it.

(3) Make sure you are on iOS 7.0.1. Seems like people are here complaining about issues but aren't on the latest release that Apple pushed out to fix some bugs in the 5S and 5C.
 
BergerFan said:
Touch ID definitely doesn't replace the passcode(as I hoped it would), as I find I still need it a lot.
I guess they're taking initial baby steps with the functionality, before adding more and more later on.
Click to expand...

When do you enter your passcode?

Only times I have since Friday was when I set it up and after I rebooted the device.

Other than that, all Touch ID.
 
jrswizzle said:
When do you enter your passcode?

Only times I have since Friday was when I set it up and after I rebooted the device.

Other than that, all Touch ID.
Click to expand...

It seems like when you haven't purchased apps recently on the app store it requires a passcode. It at least happened once to me so far where the App Store asked for my passcode and would not accept my finger print (wasn't even an option to scan).
 
pmau said:
Are you sure you are doing it correctly?

You have to click and keep the finger while you lift the button.
If you stop touching it, it fails.

Does it work better if you first use sleep/wake at the top to get to the lock screen and then use your thumb?
Click to expand...

andymac2210 said:
I click the home button and leave my finger there.

It seems to only be able to work with a small part if your finger, if you don't use the very tip it says 'try again', even if you set it up to scan that part of your thumb.

Maybe I was being a little over zealous when I said it worked 50% if the time, but it's less than 70% for me unless I take extra care to make sure I hold it right.
Click to expand...

It might be a faulty unit or you aren't constantly using the pad of your finger/thumb, even the side. I have found it is incredibly reliable, better than I expected.

As for the suggestion of the power button- place your finger/thumb on the home button then click power, near instant unlock.

There is a rhythm to make it unlock extremely quickly that once you find yours it makes pass codes seem passe.

I'd definitely take it in if you have an Apple Store nearby and talk to someone at the genius bar.
 
zhenya said:
Thanks. I'll trust Anand before I'll trust you.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review/8
Click to expand...

Zhenya - Wow. Didn't know that. I was wrong. Thanks for setting me straight.

OP - There was something interesting in the article though that made me wonder about your situation. It specifically mentions that the metal ring around the button is a conductor, and your skin has to come in contact with it in order for the sensor to work. When you are performing your attempts that are failing, are you sure your finger is touching the ring in the process? Could that be the problem? Just a thought.

"The steel ring acts as a conductive sensor for your finger. Make contact with the steel ring and Touch ID wakes up (presumably when your phone is in a state where Touch ID interactions are expected). Without making contact with the ring, Touch ID won’t work (I confirmed this by trying to unlock the 5s with my pinky and never touching the ring)."
 
jrswizzle said:
A couple things OP:

(1) When you go through the setup, lay your thumb flat through the first round of scans. Move it around, try different angles. Don't just set your thumb in the same spot each time. You need to let it read your thumb (or whatever finger) from various angles. On the second go round, when it reads the edges, be extreme with it. Use the sides of your thumb and again, let it scan your whole thumb.

(2) The scanner gets better over time. Re-doing all your scans the second it doesn't work won't make things better. When I first set it up it failed once or twice. Now it works flawlessly. I continues to learn as you use it.

(3) Make sure you are on iOS 7.0.1. Seems like people are here complaining about issues but aren't on the latest release that Apple pushed out to fix some bugs in the 5S and 5C.
Click to expand...

Good advice. Not sure on #2, but still good advice.
 
cmichaelb said:
Good advice. Not sure on #2, but still good advice.
Click to expand...

Someone has already posted the anandtech review. They've come to the same conclusion.

My evidence is failures more often when I first set the phone up -> 2 days later and it works every time.

I also have 4 fingers saved - same set up as the Anandtech reviewer. They all work flawlessly.
 
kmichalec said:
Zhenya - Wow. Didn't know that. I was wrong. Thanks for setting me straight.
Click to expand...

🙂 Again, try it yourself - it's quite easy to see it improve in short time. This morning it was failing on my right thumb quite regularly. I've just opened it a few times with different parts of my print over the course of the day and it is markedly better already. I now have to try to get it to miss.
 
I only got my 5s this morning, but so far I'm loving the touch ID. It has only failed a couple times, and that's only because I'm not totally used to it yet. It's much faster than I expected it to be too. Before I rarely enabled a pass code, and when I did I used the short one. Now I have a much longer one and I'm likely to keep it enabled all the time, so I think this is a big improvement.
 
andymac2210 said:
I'd say it works about half of the time.

Set it up for both of my thumbs and every time I press the home button it seems to unlock my phone about half the time. It's literally 50/50 'try again' and successful unlocking.

I've tried re-doing the setup for it about 10 times now, doing exactly what it says on the screen and I just can't make it work properly.

My hands are not greasy, my 5s is perfectly clean and still it doesn't really 'just work' the way you'd expect it to. You seem to have to do it at the right angle every time if you want it to actually work properly, align your finger 20* to the left or right and it'll just say 'try again'.
Click to expand...

Had the same issue. There are obviously defects. Swap yours out... mine now works 95% of the time
 
Same bad experience with Touch ID

I have the same experience as the original poster. Touch ID does not work at all as advertised on my phone. After setting it up for a couple of fingers I use most to open my phone it will work for half a day or so, and then slowly the phone "unlearns" my fingerprints, until they don't work at all anymore.

So the statement that some people make that the Touch ID gets better as it learns my fingerprints is exactly the opposite for me. The phone forgets my fingerprints.

It is so bad, that I have completely disabled Touch ID on my phone. I am pissed, because this feature was the one and only reason I upgraded my phone form the 4S.
 
zhenya said:
Stop re-doing the setup. Each time you do that you are re-setting its learning curve. Once you've set it up use it as normal, including trying multiple times until it works. If it rejects your fingerprint, but then accepts it again in short proximity, it 'learns' from the rejected print.
Click to expand...

Where do you get this that the phone "learns from the rejected print"? I'd like to see a cite from Apple that supports this statement.
 
Last edited:
Mine just stopped working today. Not sure what happened. I set up a Genius Bar appointment for Friday but I'll have to try restoring, etc before then.
It's frustrating for sure though.
 
Very reliable here. I join those who suggest you take it in to the Genius Bar and see if they have suggestions.
 
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