It promised to be a futuristic solution to securing your phone but Apple’s Face ID is causing problems for some of its users.
Since the release of the latest version of iOS, many iPhone X customers have been unable to activate the facial recognition feature.
Affected handsets display the message ‘Unable to activate Face ID on this phone’, but a simple trick could help to correct the error.
It promised to be a futuristic solution to securing your phone but Apple’s Face ID is causing problems for some of its users. Affected handsets display the message ‘Unable to activate Face ID on this phone’, but a simple trick could help to correct the error
The problem emerged with iOS 11.2, itself created to fix another bug in the Apple operating system that was causing some phones to constantly crash.
For some users a ‘soft’ reset, turning the handset off and then on again, may resolve the issue.
However, there are reports on social media of some frustrated Apple fans who have been unsuccessful with this workaround.
Twitter user Todd Nichols said: ‘Seriously @Apple !!! Face ID bug is a huge #FAIL for such an expensive phone. Grrrrr! #alreadyrebootedthephone3times.’
Anyone who is unable to resolve the glitch with a soft reset should try a ‘hard’ reset instead.
To perform a hard reset, turn off the iPhone X by holding down the side button along with either volume button.
Drag the ‘slide to power off’ slider to shut down the phone, and wait for the screen to go black.
Hold down the side button to boot the phone up again.
This should resolve the issued, but if Face ID is still not working, you will need to contact Apple Support.
This is not the first time that Face ID has come under fire.
Since the release of the latest version of iOS, some iPhone X customers have been unable to activate the facial recognition feature (pictured)
For some users a simple ‘soft’ reset, turning the handset off and then on again, may resolve the issue, although a ‘hard’ reset may be required
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak expressed concerns about whether the Face ID feature would work just days before the smartphone’s release.
Since that time, cyber-security researchers claimed in November that they fooled the face recognition technology with a mask that costs just £114 ($150) to make.
The findings suggest that face recognition is not yet mature enough to guarantee security for computers and smartphones, according to experts.
The mask was made just one week after the iPhone X officially went on sale, by researchers from Ha Noi-based Bkav.
The researchers set up the Face ID feature as normal with a human face, before creating a mask of that face using a 3D printer, with a nose created by an artist from silicone.
The eyes were represented with 2D images, while the ‘skin was also hand-made to trick Apple’s AI’, according to the team.
This is not the first time that Face ID has come under fire. Cyber-security researchers claimed in November that they fooled the face recognition technology with a mask that costs just £114 ($150) to make
In a video posted to YouTube within days of the finding, Sana Sherwani from New York showed how FaceID registered both her face and that of her son Ammar, giving the youngster instant access to his mother’s phone.
Face ID uses a TrueDepth front-facing camera on the iPhone X, which has multiple components.
A Dot Projector projects more than 30,000 invisible dots onto your face to map its structure.
The dot map is then read by an infrared camera and the structure of your face is relayed to the A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone X, where it is turned into a mathematical model.
The A11 chip then compares your facial structure to the facial scan stored in the iPhone X during the setup process.
Face ID uses infrared to scan your face, so it works in low lighting conditions and in the dark.
In a video posted to YouTube within days of the finding, Sana Sherwani from New York showed how FaceID registered both her face and that of her son Ammar, giving the youngster instant access to his mother’s phone
It will only unlock your device when you look in the direction of the iPhone X with your eyes open.
Face ID captures both a 3D and 2D image of your face using infrared light while you’re looking straight at the camera.
Five unsuccessful attempts at Face ID will force you to enter a passcode – which you’ll need anyway just to set up facial recognition.
That requires you to come up with a secure string of digits – or, for extra security, a string of letters and numbers – to protect your privacy.
Face ID also adapts to changes in your appearance over time, so it will continue to recognise you as you grow a beard or grow your hair longer.