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AudiA10

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2020
10
5
I don't know if this is a bug or not but on my iPhone 13 Pro Max suddenly Face ID is not working at all. I'm not wearing anything (glasses, mask etc.) and it just won't unlock. I've only had the phone for 2 weeks and it's worked fine but suddenly it has no clue who I am. Is this happening to anyone else?
 
I don't know if this is a bug or not but on my iPhone 13 Pro Max suddenly Face ID is not working at all. I'm not wearing anything (glasses, mask etc.) and it just won't unlock. I've only had the phone for 2 weeks and it's worked fine but suddenly it has no clue who I am. Is this happening to anyone else?
Can you reset FaceID and add your face or does it say FaceID is unavailable at this time?
 
I had this problem also with my new iPhone 13. Suddenly faceID stopped working. I went back to the Apple Store and they saw with their extended diagnostic tests that something was wrong with the faceID scanner, so They gave me a new iPhone 13.

Probably if you open your camera en go to selfie mode and click portrait you will see your camera freeze.
My advice, go the the apple store and get it replaced.

Probably some faulty units
 
Are you seeing an error like "A problem was detected with the TrueDepth camera. Face ID has been disabled."?

If so you can try a restore, but it's often a hardware problem.
 
I had this problem also with my new iPhone 13. Suddenly faceID stopped working. I went back to the Apple Store and they saw with their extended diagnostic tests that something was wrong with the faceID scanner, so They gave me a new iPhone 13.

Probably if you open your camera en go to selfie mode and click portrait you will see your camera freeze.
My advice, go the the apple store and get it replaced.

Probably some faulty units
Wow i think this may be the case, I scheduled an appointment so hopefully they’ll give me a new one
Are you seeing an error like "A problem was detected with the TrueDepth camera. Face ID has been disabled."?

If so you can try a restore, but it's often a hardware problem.
I got the error while trying to reset Face ID it just said it wasn’t available. Just tried a restore and didn’t work unfortunately so must be hardware
 
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Update: I just left the Apple Store and i think it’s kind of ridiculous that I bought an $1,100 phone with a defective part and the best that they can do is offer me an iPhone 8 loaner until they’re able to fix it. Its fine but are you kidding me
 
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Update: I just left the Apple Store and i think it’s kind of ridiculous that I bought an $1,100 phone with a defective part and the best that they can do is offer me an iPhone 8 loaner until they’re able to fix it. Its fine but are you kidding me
Aww , that’s unfortunate to hear :(.

In my case they told me they didn’t have the part to fix it and they didn’t want to leave me waiting, so they offered me a new one. Sad to hear they decided differently in your case. Also since it is only 2 weeks old device.
 
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Update: I just left the Apple Store and i think it’s kind of ridiculous that I bought an $1,100 phone with a defective part and the best that they can do is offer me an iPhone 8 loaner until they’re able to fix it. Its fine but are you kidding me
They probably ran out of spare units for warranty replacements. We have a chip shortage and this has proven a challenge for many companies.

Normally Apple is really good right about this stuff, but right now we all have to be patient until the supply chain issues around the world get solved. :(
 
They probably ran out of spare units for warranty replacements. We have a chip shortage and this has proven a challenge for many companies.

Normally Apple is really good right about this stuff, but right now we all have to be patient until the supply chain issues around the world get solved. :(
I didn't even think about it that way, that makes sense
 
A few drops of water fell on my iPhone 11 Pro Max when I used it next to the lake while still wet from swimming. Strangely, my waterproof phone in a protective case with a screen cover, albeit which doesn't cover the notch gave the warning:

A problem was detected with the TrueDepth camera. Face ID has been disabled.​

The help documents at Apple go in circles, each one leading back to the other. Those documents talk about updating the OS, which I had just done a few days ago to 15.6.1 from 13.7.2. Strangely enough my iPhone 11 had been working under similar conditions with no issues on iOS 13.7.2. Restarting the phone did not help. Adding a new face in Face ID did not help. The Apple documents recommend visiting a repair centre which didn't sound like much fun or really necessary.

What did work was removing Face ID completely and then restarting the phone in Airplane mode and re-adding Face ID.

Note that I did not have to erase and restore my iPhone (a significant waste of time and energy). Removing Face ID was enough.

I hope this info helps someone. I'd be interested to know if this remedy does work for others. If my own Face ID fails again (I've heard of such cases), I'll post and update. From here on, I will consider my iPhone 11 Pro Max to have no anti-splash properties as in the days of yore, as I'd like to get at least another couple of years out of it.
 
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What did work was removing Face ID completely and then restarting the phone in Airplane mode and re-adding Face ID.
Weird solution but sometimes that's how it is.

Note that I did not have to erase and restore my iPhone (a significant waste of time and energy). Removing Face ID was enough.
Agree. As I wrote in another thread:

"Research it more before restoring. I disagree with how so many people jump to that so early, some even as a first option. It should be a last resort, or even a never resort. Stop listening to nuclear suggestions like buy a new iPhone, switch to Android, change your phone carrier, move to another country, transport to another dimension, reincarnate -- or set up phone as new."
 
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