Android Pay and Smart Lock Observations

[talz13]

Yeah... I've stopped using Android Pay because it's become a bigger hassle than getting my wallet out and swiping the card :'(

Also, since I use more than 1 card, it's annoying that I haven't found a way to just tell it to pay with the other card, without making it the default. Maybe, hold the phone up to the terminal, and tap which card you want to use at that time. That would be an option, of course, to not inconvenience those who only use 1 card regularly.

 

[mrmoe110]

Hey Ppl im a newbie to this thread can anyone explain me what Andriod pay is about and is it similar to that of OYNK mobile app.

What's the difference between Android Pay and the new Google Wallet? http://www.androidcentral.com/whats-difference-between-android-pay-and-new-google-wallet

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[The_Guest_Who]

I've just discovered the disconnect between SmartLock and Android Pay - and the last Android Pay update broke it completely for my LG V10.
My setup:

• LG V10, secured with fingerprint and PIN
• Microsoft Band 2, set as Trusted device in SmartLock
• Citi MasterCard, apparently an "approved" AP provider

Before the January update, I was able to tap and pay, but with a little weirdness - unlock the phone with fingerprint, open Android Pay, make sure Citi is default card, tap terminal... the phone would vibrate multiple times asking for PIN (even though provider is "approved"?), enter PIN, tap terminal again, green checkmark pops up.
After the update, I would follow the same procedure, holding the phone up to the terminal, but instead of asking for the PIN, it would get stuck on the black "Hold phone to terminal" screen, vibrating every other second, and never prompting for PIN. After pulling the phone away from the terminal, it would back out to the card screen, and the cashier would say that it never processed. Reattempting the tap gets the same result, and this was with multiple merchants where Android Pay worked before.
I setup a support request with Google, which was a complete waste of time. The email response was:

The specific error message that you saw means that your device can't support Android Pay's advanced security. If you've heavily modified your device, may I recommend returning it to its original state and trying again? Otherwise, you may want to use Android Pay on a different device for the most secure payments.

Really? A device that worked fine before, now is suddenly insecure? Replying to the email with more detail (my V10 is stock, this worked before, using fingerprint and PIN) got me a response asking me:

Please reply to this email if you are still experiencing difficulty after clearing the cache and cookies of your device, please also include screenshot of the action that you're trying to perform. We'll be happy to investigate further for you.

Cookies??? A screenshot of the "Hold phone up to terminal" screen??? Again, waste of time.
After checking this forum (and this post as well!) I tried disabling SmartLock... went to BestBuy, tapped to the terminal, instant checkmark, just like in the ads. No multiple vibrations, no prompt for PIN, just tap and done, like it's supposed to be!
Given this, Google really needs to get their act together when it comes to Android Pay. I used Wallet on my Nexus; only one merchant in my area accepted NFC payments then, and it was a breeze - unlock with PIN, tap, done. I stopped using Wallet when I switched to Windows Phone, but now than I'm back on Android, Android Pay is a convoluted mess by comparison.

Moral of the story? Don't use SmartLock with Android Pay. Lose one convenience to gain another.

 

[Cirne]

My experience with this (using Trusted Device with my Pebble Time, and a pattern lock) is that Android Pay will only ask for confirmation if I skipped the pattern entry THAT TIME, i.e. when I woke the phone from sleep to pay. What I do if I'm planning to use Android Pay is, before I get to the register, I'll wake my phone up and swipe the lock icon that tells it to "forget" the smart unlock, like if you leave it alone for too long. Then I put the phone back to sleep. When I get to the register, wake phone up, unlock with pattern, tap to pay, instant green checkmark.

I think the key is for the phone to _wake up_ in locked mode, though, because I've had to reenter my pattern if I just swipe the lock and then immediately enter my unlock pattern.

So, my procedure:

1. Wake up phone
2. Swipe the lock to disable Smart Unlock
3. Press the power button to put the phone back to sleep (IMPORTANT)
4. Maybe wait a few seconds to let the phone really go to sleep after the screen is off? Dunno if that's important but I usually do anyway
5. Wake up phone, unlock the normal way
6. Tap to terminal, instant accepted

Does this work for anyone else?

 

[talz13]

What I just did on Friday was a little more extreme than your example, but it worked for me too. I just woke my phone, pulled the menu bar down and turned off BT while the phone was still locked. Then swiping the menu back up and attempting to unlock the phone would prompt me for my PIN. Doing it this way allowed me to tap and pay without spurious PIN requests at the terminal.

It's a bit more of an inconvenience, though, as I have to toggle BT off, pay, then toggle back on. Then I have to wait a short time for my watch and headphones to reconnect. I'll have to give it a try with hitting the lock button on the lock screen and see if it works for my nexus 6.

 

[min_is_3]

Android Pay is not convenient for me. I use Smart Lock with my Moto 360 so my process is 1) swipe to unlock, 2) tap, 3) punch in code, then 4) tap again.

If i could just swipe to unlock and tap once, i would use it more but with this process plus not very wide support for Android Pay, it's not worth using it for me.

 

[talz13]

Android Pay is not convenient for me. I use Smart Lock with my Moto 360 so my process is 1) swipe to unlock, 2) tap, 3) punch in code, then 4) tap again.

If i could just swipe to unlock and tap once, i would use it more but with this process plus not very wide support for Android Pay, it's not worth using it for me.

It really does work if you tap and hold the lock icon at the bottom of the lock screen, then input your PIN to unlock. I've had good success with that the last several times I've used it. Better than shutting down BT, or doing the double tap at the terminal!

 

[min_is_3]

It really does work if you tap and hold the lock icon at the bottom of the lock screen, then input your PIN to unlock. I've had good success with that the last several times I've used it. Better than shutting down BT, or doing the double tap at the terminal!

Hmmm, wasn't aware of that method. I'll try that. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[min_is_3]

Nope, I've tried it multi times in multi places and i still have to punch in my code after the first tap even after i unlocked my phone using the code.

 

[doandm]

is it an advantage for us?

 

[James8561]

I want to add that with smart lock on, even if the trusted device isn't connected, you'll still be asked to authorize with fingerprint twice, once to unlock the phone, another to unlock android pay. super annoying compared to Samsung pay where I just swipe up

 

[jchapman01]

I just tried with smart lock enabled, but my trusted device turned off and only had to unlock once and tap once. It was probably my the fastest transaction I've ever had using Android Pay.

I just entered my pin in the car before I got out, went in, got my drink, swiped to unlock at the terminal and tapped once. My screen was on when I tapped, but the app wasn't open. Super quick.

Just a note that I have my screen lock set at 50 minutes but I clicked to power button to put it asleep after entering my lock screen pin. It's set so that it doesn't immediately lock when I pressed power.

I'm going to try and see if I can unlock at home, then drive to the store next time.

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