iPhone 7 - TouchID is temperamental..

[Chicane-UK]

Hey..

I recently bought a second hand (but nearly new) iPhone 7 32GB, upgrading from an iPhone 6 Plus. TouchID on my iPhone 6 always worked great apart from if I had slightly wet fingers (which seemed to confuse the TouchID reader) and indeed my other iPhone (an SE) also works fine. However this iPhone 7 is a different story entirely, and it's starting to drive me crazy.

I've enrolled just one finger (my thumb) and at random times throughout the day, when I try to unlock the device, it simply will not unlock using this digit. I can try multiple times, with my thumb in all kinds of angles and positions, and it just tells me it didn't recognise it - but if I unlock the phone with my PIN, then lock it again and try unlocking with TouchID it'll work fine. I can then lock / unlock using TouchID as many times as I like. However, I leave the phone for a while, try and unlock with TouchID and the problem returns again. It's extremely irritating!

I'd happily take it into an Apple store to show the problem to them, but the issue is the consistency of the fault... as it might work sometimes, and might not other times. It's entirely unpredictable in terms of when it won't work. I've checked the TouchID sensor is completely clean / free from any dirt and my hands are clean.

Does anyone know if the Apple store are likely to be willing to swap out the handset or do you think they'll need to see evidence of the problem occurring?

Thanks.

 

[PhoenixDown]

Does the problem occur when the iPhone is NOT plugged into a charger?

Apparently touch ID may not work if it doesn't feel like the voltage is correct when charging.

 

[keysofanxiety]

You can try to delete and then add the same thumb again to see if this makes a positive difference.

But generally speaking, Apple support are quite accommodating. If there's an intermittent issue and you've gone through the standard troubleshooting steps, then they're not going to escort you out of the door. The Touch ID on the iPhone 7 is second-to-none; extremely fast and very reliable, so it's not a gimmick that works 5 times out of 10. If there's an issue, they'll sort it.

 

[Chicane-UK]

Does the problem occur when the iPhone is NOT plugged into a charger?

Apparently touch ID may not work if it doesn't feel like the voltage is correct when charging.

This occurs when the phone isn't charging. It's just sat on my desk at work / home or wherever.

 

[SisterBlue22]

I have the same issue. Have had my 7 Plus since launch, and it was always fine. Suddenly in the last few months, touch ID to unlock my phone only works maybe half the time. The home button is clean. My fingers are clean and dry. It just refuses to recognize any registered fingers, and I have to use my passcode to unlock the phone. However, the very same fingers then work perfectly in my banking app, credit card apps, etc that also use touch ID immediately after the failure to unlock. Strange.

 

[Chicane-UK]

I have the same issue. Have had my 7 Plus since launch, and it was always fine. Suddenly in the last few months, touch ID to unlock my phone only works maybe half the time. The home button is clean. My fingers are clean and dry. It just refuses to recognize any registered fingers, and I have to use my passcode to unlock the phone. However, the very same fingers then work perfectly in my banking app, credit card apps, etc that also use touch ID immediately after the failure to unlock. Strange.

Interesting.... glad I am not alone. Maybe I should talk to Apple and see what they say.

Is this the sort of thing you can do over their online chat, or would I really need to get into an Apple store with a Genius Bar appointment? Cheers.

 

[SisterBlue22]

Interesting.... glad I am not alone. Maybe I should talk to Apple and see what they say.

Is this the sort of thing you can do over their online chat, or would I really need to get into an Apple store with a Genius Bar appointment? Cheers.

I suspect they will run you through the general troubleshooting steps via chat, then tell you to take it in to a store. Might as well skip the step and take it in.