Mobile phones and fingerprint readers.

Pete Gl

Pete Gl

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It’s time to replace my mobile phone. On my last two phones I’ve used the fingerprint reader to access my phone and a number of apps, having read that that technology is more secure than passwords.

Having looked at a few likely models I’m finding that FP readers have been ditched on a lot of models now. Yes there are still a small number of phones around that have FP readers, but none that I’d really consider.

Am I just a bit behind on technology? I’ve been reading some phones now have facial recognition, is that the way forward.

I did find FP readers so easy to use.

Any and all advice / information much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Pete.
 
Pretty much all phones except iPhones have fingerprint readers so not sure what you've been looking at. Mostly they under the screen now.

Face Id is ok unless you frequently wear glasses or a mask
 
So does mine. Sometimes! It's also recognised me with a mask and shades on which is a bit worrying - I don't think my nose is THAT distinctive. (Not an eyephone.)
 
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Ricardodaforce said:
If you have an Apple Watch, an iPhone will unlock using Face ID if you are wearing a mask.
Click to expand...

Most of the time.

I've found a recurring situation where this doesn't work. My iPhone has registered at some point that I used the O2 free WiFi network in a cafe a couple of years ago. If I want to unlock the phone anywhere within WiFi distance of a free O2 AP, the phone tries to join the AP but can't. For some reason, this prevents unlocking. Possibly because Apple's Face ID relies on access to the internet via WiFi, although the iPhone shouldn't need to 'phone home' for this purpose; it should all be between me, the camera, and the phone's T2 security chip.

Has anyone else seen this behaviour?
 
garryknight said:
Most of the time.

I've found a recurring situation where this doesn't work. My iPhone has registered at some point that I used the O2 free WiFi network in a cafe a couple of years ago. If I want to unlock the phone anywhere within WiFi distance of a free O2 AP, the phone tries to join the AP but can't. For some reason, this prevents unlocking. Possibly because Apple's Face ID relies on access to the internet via WiFi, although the iPhone shouldn't need to 'phone home' for this purpose; it should all be between me, the camera, and the phone's T2 security chip.

Has anyone else seen this behaviour?
Click to expand...
not true, I have used mine on numerous occasions to pay for goods without being on wifi, just normal 4G.
 
My wife uses Face ID on her iPhone in the woods where there is no signal at all. The data is stored internally on a secure chip, no need for any access to anything else.
 
I got the iPhone SE (2020) for my wife. It has a fingerprint reader and a modern CPU with decent amount of RAM. She found it to be a great upgrade over her iPhone 7 (now mine thanks to the laws of hand me downs).
 
my xiomi note 8 pro has the best fingerprint reader out of all my phones ever
 
Depending on your budget, I find the finger print reader on my Samsung Galaxy 20 5G to be very good.
It also worked well on my previous phone (Galaxys S9) as well.
 
garryknight said:
And yet it is consistent. O2 WiFi, no face unlock. Turn WiFi off, face unlock works.
Click to expand...

Then theres a fault of some sort at your end. Probably best to rule out PEBKAC errors.

I’ve just tested face unlock with the iphone in Airplane mode (so no data whatsoever, WiFi or mobile) and it unlocked first time. There is definitely no data link required for FaceID to work.

D69A62B8-033C-48F2-8B7B-FFFF5707C914.jpeg












Oh, and Apple say so as well…

About Face ID advanced technology - Apple Support

Learn how Face ID helps protect your information on your iPhone and iPad Pro.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

A portion of the neural engine of the A11, A12 Bionic, A12X Bionic, and A13 Bionic chip — protected within the Secure Enclave — transforms the depth map and infrared image into a mathematical representation and compares that representation to the enrolled facial data.

Privacy is incredibly important to Apple. Face ID data - including mathematical representations of your face - is encrypted and protected by the Secure Enclave. This data will be refined and updated as you use Face ID to improve your experience, including when you successfully authenticate. Face ID will also update this data when it detects a close match but a passcode is subsequently entered to unlock the device. Face ID data doesn’t leave your device and is never backed up to iCloud or anywhere else.
 
Pete Gl said:
It’s time to replace my mobile phone. On my last two phones I’ve used the fingerprint reader to access my phone and a number of apps, having read that that technology is more secure than passwords.

Having looked at a few likely models I’m finding that FP readers have been ditched on a lot of models now. Yes there are still a small number of phones around that have FP readers, but none that I’d really consider.

Am I just a bit behind on technology? I’ve been reading some phones now have facial recognition, is that the way forward.

I did find FP readers so easy to use.

Any and all advice / information much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Pete.
Click to expand...

Mines in the screen, works very well.
 
garryknight said:
Most of the time.

I've found a recurring situation where this doesn't work. My iPhone has registered at some point that I used the O2 free WiFi network in a cafe a couple of years ago. If I want to unlock the phone anywhere within WiFi distance of a free O2 AP, the phone tries to join the AP but can't. For some reason, this prevents unlocking. Possibly because Apple's Face ID relies on access to the internet via WiFi, although the iPhone shouldn't need to 'phone home' for this purpose; it should all be between me, the camera, and the phone's T2 security chip.

Has anyone else seen this behaviour?
Click to expand...

Completely different issue there, the issue there is that the Watch sets up a secure connection over both WiFi and Bluetooth with the iPhone for the feature to work, if the WiFi is off on the iPhone the Watch cannot set up this connection hence the watch unlock of the iPhone won’t work.

And just to reiterate, the FaceID does not rely on internet access.

Unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch when you're wearing a face mask or sunglasses - Apple Support

When you're wearing a mask or sunglasses and your Apple Watch, you can simply raise and glance at your iPhone to unlock it. Learn how to set up and use the feature.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

The feature also has these requirements:
  • Your Apple Watch needs to be paired with your iPhone.
  • Your iPhone and Apple Watch need to have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. (You don't need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network.)
  • Your Apple Watch needs to have a passcode, and wrist detection must be turned on.
  • Your Apple Watch needs to be on your wrist and unlocked.
  • You need to be wearing a mask that covers your mouth and nose.
 
Thank you all for your help, that's what I think I've been missing, most FP readers are now on the main screen, I was looking for the dedicated reader on the back.

Thanks again,

Pete
 
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