Community Chat

[kdgn]

On 3/16/2014 Snowpuppy said:

I still happily own a dumb phone but one question about the fingerprint technology..........

If you are in an accident and first responders pick up your phone to call your emergency contact (Your ICE number).......how do they get to this if your phone is locked?

I have a Droid, no fingerprint but I do have to enter a code to open the phone. However, the emergency 911 number and the ICE numbers can be accessed without the passcode numbers being entered. My phone was locked and I just opened my ICE numbers.

[cody2]

On 3/17/2014 Bikkie said:

I have an iPhone 5S and the fingerprint sensor works every time without fail. I would go into:

Settings > Touch ID & Passcode (you will be prompted to enter your 4-digit passcode) and it will allow you to add a new fingerprint. Maybe the scan didn't take well. Wipe the fingerprint sensor with a microfiber cloth and try taking the scan again.

I just wiped my phone and it still doesn't work. I scanned my thumb AND my forefinger so I had options. Neither of them work. It always lets me try about 6 times and then it tells me to use my passcode. Once in a blue moon it works after several times. I keep pressing too hard and then Siri asks me what she can help me with. Siri is obnoxious.

[cody2]

Hmmmm. I think I just fixed it. I read online that some folks downloaded 7.1 and fingerprint id didn't work. I downloaded it as soon as it came out. Sooooo. I deleted old fingerprints and did them again and now it seems to be working. Problem solved...I hope. Thanks to everyone for your replies. I appreciate your help.

[cody2]

Nope. It worked the first two times and I am back to square 1.

[cody2]

And soooo Cody...QUIT talking to yourself. Ok Cody...I will.

[pinkskates4]

Cody, I'm sorry to hear you are having problems. I love my new phone - altho some things - like setting up voice mail (with ATT) were harder than they needed to be - now everything is working great.)

Have you tried contacting Apple help for assistance?

With my voice mail issue - (altho that was an ATT not Apple problem) the woman helping me had to go in and override my system to fix it. Maybe something like that has to happen with your thumbprint problem.

Wising you the best!!

[pinkskates4]

Or here is another idea:

Although the fingerprint scanner works well for many people, and has garnered positive reviews from some of the most prominent tech critics, others have found that it doesn't work well for them.

What to do? Apple recommends rescanning your finger (and, of course, making sure it's clean and dry) or trying other fingers if you are having problems. The company also notes that things like lotion, oils and dry skin, or activities like swimming or exercising "may affect fingerprint recognition."

But I had an idea: Touch ID works with up to five different fingers, so what if I scanned my thumb multiple times, essentially telling my iPhone that it's different fingers? After all, I rarely use a finger other than my right thumb to press the Home button, so those other four slots were empty.

I thought that having more -- and more varied -- prints of my thumb could only help, so I tried it by "enrolling," as Apple calls it, my thumb two more times. The result was fantastic -- Touch ID now works much better than it did before, probably over 90 percent of the time.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/20/fingerprint-scanner-iphone_n_4305054.html

[cody2]

Good morning Dagna. Yesterday I deleted my old fingerprints and then did them again. Before, I had two prints of my thumb and one of my forefinger. They worked at first and then...nothing...again. I may just take it down to the Apple store and see if they can advise me. I may just be one of those folks that it doesn't work for. It is frustrating to try and try and then just have to put it my passcode anyway. Takes so much longer than if I just go directly to my passcode.

Thank you for your input. Yesterday I realized that after three posts, I was talking to myself. Hence the laughter, LOL. Thanks again!

[Cha1k]

cody,

You may have hit on the problem -- your finger prints being difficult to detect. I say this because I had to be fingerprinted for employment in the school system and they had a hard time getting my thumbs and forefingers to produce a readable print.

They asked if I had taught school for several years which I had -- 34 years before I had to be fingerprinted. It seems as if you handle paper, use abrasive products, like chalk, etc. the ridges on your fingers erode and your prints will not be as defined.

I would love to have a new iPhone with Touch ID, but anticipate that it won't work well for me.

[pinkskates4]

On 3/18/2014 cody said:

Good morning Dagna. Yesterday I deleted my old fingerprints and then did them again. Before, I had two prints of my thumb and one of my forefinger. They worked at first and then...nothing...again. I may just take it down to the Apple store and see if they can advise me. I may just be one of those folks that it doesn't work for. It is frustrating to try and try and then just have to put it my passcode anyway. Takes so much longer than if I just go directly to my passcode.

Thank you for your input. Yesterday I realized that after three posts, I was talking to myself. Hence the laughter, LOL. Thanks again!

Cody, if you find that it doesn't work for you - and they can't help - you can always turn off that feature. I know it won't be as secure, but at least it won't drive you nuts.