Why does my fingerprint scanner suck so much?

[Peter2015]

Mine works just fine. I'd say exactly the same as my iphone 6 used to work...

 

[Thiscrapsucks35]

UPDATE: Since the update this week, I think the fps is working better now.

 

[araenel]

Mine works awesome...100% every time, unless I don't cover the whole button with my thumb. Love it! Like others have set, when I set it up I made sure it scanned different parts of my thumb.

 

[vamp07]

Mine works great. When scanning your fingerprint make sure you do all angles. So start off with your thumb straight and then slowly rotate it 45 degrees

Posted via the Android Central App

I just followed this advice and I think it really helped. I'll know more later today. Until now the reader had been giving me very mixed results. If this really helped, shame on Samsung for not making it more obvious. I had scanned different parts of the thumb but not different angles in the same scan. This is another item that on iPhones just works. The finger scanner on the s5 was a joke. It's the reason I returned that phone.

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

 

[vamp07]

Now that I messed with it for over a day I think I have figured it out. You don't have to scan your finger at different angles. You just want to get a good scan of whichever finger you plan on using. I think your better off scanning the thumb at a 0 angle to the phone even if that is not the way you will be using the finger to unlock it. This way I think the scanner gets a better read. The real secret to getting a good unlock is how long you place your thumb. Its not about pressure. Less pressure helps. Also you don't need to leave your finger on the phone until it unlocks. If you find the right ammont of time between placed and removed I find I have more luck. Just leaving the finger on the phone until it unlocks leads to more failures. Maybe because we move the finger while it is reading the longer we leave it there.

In my opinion the scanner is not as good as the one on the iPhone but unlike Samsung's last attempt this one at least works. You need to be awre that the scanner is more sensitive to how you use it then what the iphone requires.

 

[EMY92]

For the first 5 weeks I had the S6, I rarely noticed the fingerprint scanner. It worked as I woke up the phone, actually I had started to wonder if it was working (it was) because it was so flawless.

However, in the past couple of weeks, it's been horrible. In that time, no apps or updates have been installed. I've twice rescanned my fingerprints, but only achieve a very temporary respite. After the last rescan, the forefingers see much more reliable, the thumbs fail and fail again. I hate typing my password.

Any ideas on how to improve this?

 

[TENYKS]

I have an iPhone for work. It's fingerprint scanner ALWAYS reads my thumb 100% of the time without fail.

Even though it was annoying, the fingerprint scanner method on the S5 was more reliable than it is on the S6. :-(

I coudlnt' agree with you more. I have the iPhone 6(company issued). I hate using the iPhone because I'm a die hard Android fanboy. However, 99.9% of the features work on first try with the iPhone.(fingerprint scanner included)

I have both the S5 and S6 now for my personal phones. The S5's fingerprint scanner is more accurate, but having to swipe is annoying, especially because I have a case with thicker edges. The S6's fingerprint scanner is ridiculous. I can only get it to accept is on the first try less than 50% of the time.

 

[bdmridgeback]

Mine works awesome, 99% of the time, unless my fingers are extremely dirty or wet, then it may take a few tries.

 

[Prosafe]

Works fine after i made 2 scanns of each finger on the S5 it maybe worked 1/10 on the edge 8/10

Skickat från min SM-G925F via Tapatalk

 

[aapold]

At first I thought it was awful would take 4 to 5 tries and sometimes I had to resort to password...

But eventually I found I had to train myself how to use it. I was treating it more like a classic swipe reader, but it is more like a press your thumb (or finger of choice). I still set up smart unlocking for most places and my car Bluetooth so it's less of a need but it works pretty well when I need it now.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Thomas C]

I set mine up for a thumb print. It didn't work well at all. Very frustrating! I added my index finger and it's been flawless! Just try another finger. Good luck!

 

[torbach1]

I used to have issues with this. But I discovered that if I gently rest my thumb on the sensor and wait 1/2 a second, it always works. The key is in the pressure I use. I used to put what I thought was a reasonable amount of pressure on it and would get spotty results at best. Since switching to the "lighter touch", it works every time. Would be curious if this works for anyone else.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Brand Slewa]

i was suffering like you :'(, but here's my idea try to add multiple fingerprints for example add 4 fingerprints in the meantime while you're adding it try to not using it in the same place in you finger, that could give you more chances to read your fingerprint with no problem at all.

 

[Dave Rowley]

I just put in my thumb in for 2 of the fingerprints and it seems to be working consistently. Before with only one thumb print entered it didn't work well at all.

 

[rich8062040]

I am so tired of the fingerprint scanner on this phone.

It rarely reads my thumb the first time. I have re-done it for my thumb dozens of times. When re-adding my thumb, I always place my thumb the same way that I do when I unlock it. I have tried adding my thumb to 2 fingerprint slots. No dice.

I have to place my thumb on the scanner like 3-5 times before it reads my thumb.

WHY?

Anyone else have any feedback on this? It's very frustrating.

FYI, it doesn't seem to be as bad for my index finger, but it's not perfect for that one either.

Your supposed to mover your finger slightly each time up and down, place finger, lift move up or down place finger. I had the same issue till I done that now it reads it every time.

 

[chezm]

Your supposed to mover your finger slightly each time up and down, place finger, lift move up or down place finger. I had the same issue till I done that now it reads it every time.

This. Although I have an S6 I would imagine it's the same.

When creating the finger print, make sure you move your finger around in different angles, spots (corners, centered) and any potential area where you could possibility use as an unlock (your finger tip is the least likely you'd use). Once doing this for each finger, it unlocked 99.9% of the time for me.

Also, while I did originally use multiple finger scans for a single finger to offset, I found over time it made the unlockong process to slow down. Probably cross referencing the multiple scans to see which was applied. If you can use a single scan for each finger, if its still a trouble then double it up.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[chris baker7]

I was having a ton of trouble with fingerprints on my s6 but I found a way to resolve it. When scanning my finger print I made sure to use the pad of my thumb versus the tip. This allows me to cover the button entirely and increases my success percentage 100%. Hope others out there find this useful as I was very frustrated by this for a long time.

 

[Thiscrapsucks35]

I have already tried what everyone is recommended above and it IS better... but:

1. I shouldn't have to assign my thumb to more than one of four fingerprint slots. If I have to do that, something is wrong with the phone.

2. More importantly, I have an iPhone 4s for work. The fingerprint scanner on it works 100% of the time. I have NEVER had an issue with it. Even though it's improved, I absolutely cannot say the same for the S6. I am not a fan of Apple, but Samsung needs to get it together. The only reason I went with the S6 over the G4 is b/c of the fingerprint scanner. Next year I'll have more options as the G5 should have a fp scanner.