Fingerprint Scanner Not Working Well

[Mike Dee]

I got 4 grandkids who will show you that plastic pos isn't protecting nada from even scratches. The plastic I got on my one pro got scratches from my 2yo. Them tempered glass ones isn't 50 bucks for nothing they work. I'm just rocking a case obit but best believe if I had a s10 or even an 10e I would spend 50 more bucks for a REAL screen protector.

You don't have to spend 50 bucks for tempered glass but that's a different conversation and I don't want to take the thread further off topic. Buy what you feel works for you.

 

[anon(661246)]

I got 4 grandkids who will show you that plastic pos isn't protecting nada from even scratches. The plastic I got on my one pro got scratches from my 2yo. Them tempered glass ones isn't 50 bucks for nothing they work. I'm just rocking a case obit but best believe if I had a s10 or even an 10e I would spend 50 more bucks for a REAL screen protector.

You let your grandkids play with a 1k?

 

[Notefan161]

It’s hard to see how people are struggling too get it to work to be honest when mine works 95% of time straight away. Hopefully people get theirs sorted but it is a first gen FPS so hopefully updates will continue to help.

 

[Mike Dee]

You let your grandkids play with a 1k?

How's your S10 plus?

 

[Emig5m]

Ok, so now mine is pretty much working 100% of the time even after washing my hands and I'm up north in Jersey in cold and dry air.

Don't waste time registering the same finger twice, it's not needed. Mine is working best by registering four separate fingers each only once.

As you register a finger, try to register the same exact spot of the flat part of your finger the first four times only rotating your finger 45 degrees so the first register would be flat part of finger finger nail pointed towards the top of the phone and as each time you register it, rotate it slightly until your finger nail is pointed towards the side. So first one pointed up, next couple diagonal, and finally into a perfect 45 degree angle (So 12 O'clock backwards to 9 for right thumb, 12 o'clock forwards to 3 for left). And then after than you can start over and start tilting your finger (very slightly). The very last registers you can tilt more towards the tip away from the flat part.

After doing this which was my 2nd time re-registering my fingers after the big update, it's been working pretty much 100% of the time even after washing my hands and in dry cold NJ winter air. And I want to state again, don't bother trying to register the same finger twice. Mine is working best only registering a finger once. Try to get as many flat spot registers of your finger in as many rotations as you would unlock the phone naturally I feel is the main trick to this thing.

 

[theobject]

Ok, so now mine is pretty much working 100% of the time even after washing my hands and I'm up north in Jersey in cold and dry air.

Don't waste time registering the same finger twice, it's not needed. Mine is working best by registering four separate fingers each only once.

As you register a finger, try to register the same exact spot of the flat part of your finger the first four times only rotating your finger 45 degrees so the first register would be flat part of finger finger nail pointed towards the top of the phone and as each time you register it, rotate it slightly until your finger nail is pointed towards the side. So first one pointed up, next couple diagonal, and finally into a perfect 45 degree angle (So 12 O'clock backwards to 9 for right thumb, 12 o'clock forwards to 3 for left). And then after than you can start over and start tilting your finger (very slightly). The very last registers you can tilt more towards the tip away from the flat part.

After doing this which was my 2nd time re-registering my fingers after the big update, it's been working pretty much 100% of the time even after washing my hands and in dry cold NJ winter air. And I want to state again, don't bother trying to register the same finger twice. Mine is working best only registering a finger once. Try to get as many flat spot registers of your finger in as many rotations as you would unlock the phone naturally I feel is the main trick to this thing.

2nd that. When I had my Pixel 2XL I needed to twist my finger around during registration and it always worked fine. Did the same thing with the S10+ and I have had great success. Best results will be when it can read as much of your fingerprint in different directions. Maybe blame Samsung for poor instructions.
Or get a jar of this

 

[avandie]

My scanner is now in the "not working at all" stage of the day. Won't recognise anything! Just did 50 consecutive attempts.. nothing. I licked my thumb a little bit and it immediately let me in.

Cool.

My husband was having to lick his thumb too... But finally figured out that his hands were just too dry and is putting lotion on his hands regularly. I already do this and haven't had issues. I don't know if this is just a thing right now for him with the colder weather?? But it's working for him.

 

[Mike Dee]

My husband was having to lick his thumb too... But finally figured out that his hands were just too dry and is putting lotion on his hands regularly. I already do this and haven't had issues. I don't know if this is just a thing right now for him with the colder weather?? But it's working for him.

Cold weather does make a big difference. I even had trouble a couple years ago with a traditional sensor after working outside in the cold. I imagine this optical sensor is a bit more sensitive to changes.

 

[Martell545]

You let your grandkids play with a 1k?

Naw bro I don't even got a 1k phone . I got to many bills I got a 400 dollar limit on phones.

 

[Kibbster]

I've been doing a lot more testing and come up with (for me) the answer on inconsistent FPS readings.
When people say about tapping the FPS that is what I was originally doing and getting hit and miss results (just as much miss as hit.)
I've found you still have to press, you can press quickly, but you still have to press.
Tapping as in digit lightly brushes the surface doesn't work very well.
Pressing works 100% of the time for me.
Can't say if finger dryness has anything to do with the results, as I'm in the UK my fingers are rarely dried out

But anyone having loads of problems, try holding your print on the scanner with some pressure.
Don't worry about the speed, once the technique works all the time then start reducing the time you press for.

That's what worked for me.

 

[Murphybro2]

I've been doing a lot more testing and come up with (for me) the answer on inconsistent FPS readings.
When people say about tapping the FPS that is what I was originally doing and getting hit and miss results (just as much miss as hit.)
I've found you still have to press, you can press quickly, but you still have to press.
Tapping as in digit lightly brushes the surface doesn't work very well.
Pressing works 100% of the time for me.
Can't say if finger dryness has anything to do with the results, as I'm in the UK my fingers are rarely dried out

But anyone having loads of problems, try holding your print on the scanner with some pressure.
Don't worry about the speed, once the technique works all the time then start reducing the time you press for.

That's what worked for me.

After reading the past couple pages and having the worst day with it yet.. I decided to readd one of my registered prints. It read my print okay, I added it, it was working great! I then took a shower and it's been a couple of hours since... now it's back to miserable failure! Haha yeaahhh!

 

[PsychDoc]

Please allow me to summarize. The ultrasonic finger print sensor (US-FPS) does not play well with air -- that is to say that it can't "read" the fine lines and ridges in your fingertip unless there is more dense matter attaching the fingertip to the screen. That would be something like lotion or saliva. It doesn't work at all with a bone dry dry fingertip. It has NOTHING to do with how many times you scan the fingerprint in question, whether this is done before of after any update, how much you rotate or twist your finger during the teaching phase or the read phase, it does not "learn" your fingerprint any better with continuous use, it will not behave better if you perform a ritualistic dance prior to using this feature nor will it improve if you sacrifice a chicken to the great fingerprint god. And there's no way any updates will change or affect this because it seems to be an inherent characteristic of at least this iteration of the US-FPS HARDWARE...so don't hold your breath and keep waiting for a miracle -- it ain't gonna happen.

With all that said, the thing works like an absolute champ if your fingertip is moist -- virtually 100% of the time so long as you cover the right spot.

PLEASE, enough of this foolishness. This is just how it works. There's no further mystery or work-arounds...it is what it is so we all just need to get used to it. Used properly (at least with this iteration of the technology) it's really quite good, accurate and fast.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

Please allow me to summarize. The ultrasonic finger print sensor (US-FPS) does not play well with air -- that is to say that it can't "read" the fine lines and ridges in your fingertip unless there is more dense matter attaching the fingertip to the screen. That would be something like lotion or saliva. It doesn't work at all with a bone dry dry fingertip. It has NOTHING to do with how many times you scan the fingerprint in question, whether this is done before of after any update, how much you rotate or twist your finger during the teaching phase or the read phase, it does not "learn" your fingerprint any better with continuous use, it will not behave better if you perform a ritualistic dance prior to using this feature nor will it improve if you sacrifice a chicken to the great fingerprint god. And there's no way any updates will change or affect this because it seems to be an inherent characteristic of at least this iteration of the US-FPS HARDWARE...so don't hold your breath and keep waiting for a miracle -- it ain't gonna happen.

With all that said, the thing works like an absolute champ if your fingertip is moist -- virtually 100% of the time so long as you cover the right spot.

PLEASE, enough of this foolishness. This is just how it works. There's no further mystery or work-arounds...it is what it is so we all just need to get used to it. Used properly (at least with this iteration of the technology) it's really quite good, accurate and fast.

Working just fine for me, and I promise you I have the dryest hands around in cold climate, and I use zero lotions. Where I have issues is from the AOD screen, and that's because I have to learn where to place my finger tip on a black screen. That will last be a learning curve. If I hit the right spot it works, if not, once the little fingerprint symbol pops up it works. If I light the screen up and display the FPS symbol, it works.

Programming your fingerprint is very important, probably more important then the FPS on the back of phones. You have to scan different angles of your fingerprint. Scan the tip, the flat part, rotate the print scans. It definitely is different then what we are used to.

 

[donm527]

Try this just for the heck of it...

During regular day, hands/finger clean but haven't washed for hours (normal dryness or whatever you wanna call it) register a print. Then register a print after a shower/hand wash when fingers are clean but probably retaining a bit of moisture from the wash. Then register a third hands clean with lotion.

On my Note 8, I've had a love hate with my FPS and I think it's a combo of Samsungs FPS just suck compared to competition and maybe my skin is very soft, thin, gets dry and fingerprint is very thin and faint. Never an issue with iPhone FPS in past or currently on iPad no matter what condition but on my Note I find myself having to re-register my prints every few months and I'm ok for a while... it could be the season changes and how my skin is different during the seasons lol.

Right now I think I have good prints registered on my phone and adopted a light but quick double tap to get almost consistent results which is good because I hate getting stuck at a cc terminal at stores!

Register all three methods to see if it covers a range of skin conditions.

Sounds like the optical scanner is just as finicky for some.

After reading the past couple pages and having the worst day with it yet.. I decided to readd one of my registered prints. It read my print okay, I added it, it was working great! I then took a shower and it's been a couple of hours since... now it's back to miserable failure! Haha yeaahhh!

 

[maverick96]

Having to put this much effort into just unlocking your phone, something that’s done at least 100 times a day is ridiculous. Why would anyone want to put themselves through this frustration?

It’s a 1st gen product and there are a lot of kinks to iron out. Get the 10e if you don’t want to be frustrated, or stick with an older Samsung or competing product in the meantime.

 

[WizeGuyDezignz]

Having to put this much effort into just unlocking your phone, something that’s done at least 100 times a day is ridiculous. Why would anyone want to put themselves through this frustration?

It’s a 1st gen product and there are a lot of kinks to iron out. Get the 10e if you don’t want to be frustrated, or stick with an older Samsung or competing product in the meantime.

Agreed. Or just use face unlock or pin/pattern. If you are someone who is worried about having your face unlock hacked, then I think you need to address much bigger issues in your life than a smartphone.

 

[ClintRo]

Having to put this much effort into just unlocking your phone, something that’s done at least 100 times a day is ridiculous. Why would anyone want to put themselves through this frustration?

It’s a 1st gen product and there are a lot of kinks to iron out. Get the 10e if you don’t want to be frustrated, or stick with an older Samsung or competing product in the meantime.

Dont tell me what to do!?!?!?! LOL

 

[cohoman]

I initially had issues with the sensor accepting my fingerprint, but after about one day it seems to be working more consistently. I setup two fingerprint scans for each of my thumbs. I now press down somewhat hard and hold my finger to the screen until it works (take about 3-4 secs).

Fortunately, I normally use the smart unlock feature where my connected Gear Sport watch unlocks my phone and also when I connect to my car's Ford Sync system via Bluetooth.

 

[maskedcarrot]

Coming from a Pixel 3 XL, it takes a little getting used to the FPS on the S10+.

Setting up though had me nervous. It kept saying PRESS HARDER for me to start, so I was really pressing hard on the screen to get it going. Everything is fine now, but I am so nervous about all that press harder stuff I had to do that I didn't damage anything under the glass.

It appears fine, but stuff like that always stays stuck in the back of my mind, especially being as it's a new phone.

 

[felloffthetruck]

$1,599.00 phone and I have to lick my thumb to unlock the damn thing.