Writes a failure touch ID. Fingerprint scanner broken? Detailed repair instructions

With the release of the iPhone 5s, Apple developers have introduced a new Touch Id feature - a fingerprint reader. With its help, users of apple gadgets can easily make purchases in the App Store, unlock the phone, etc. Very often on the forums you can find threads about a broken Touch Id.

In this article, we will try to figure out why Touch ID does not work on iPhone 5s / 6 / 6s and how to fix it?

To begin with, it should be noted that if the device became buggy after a recent update, it is most likely that you will have to roll back the system and return to the previous version of iOS.

If this method did not help you, you should resort to the following options for fixing Touch ID.

Touch ID stopped working on iPhone 6 / 6s / 5 / 5s

Touch Id mechanical repair - last resort

What if Touch Id doesn't respond to any actions? In this case, if the Touch ID fails as a result of a software failure, a hard reboot of the system should help. To do this, hold down the Home and Power keys and hold until the device reboots.

If the problem was programmatic, a restart will fix the problem. If the phone was physically affected, you will have to contact the service center, where a qualified technician can diagnose and, if necessary, fix the problem.

Touch ID does not work on iPhone 6 - repair it yourself

If there are minor interruptions in the operation of the Touch Id device, Apple developers advise to reconfigure, in other words, to make a new fingerprint and get rid of the old fingerprint.

It is advised to do this periodically so that the fingerprint data in the device is fresh. human skin on hands is constantly exposed to various factors, and therefore the print may slightly change.

In order to make a new fingerprint, you need to go to "Settings", then select "Touch Id and password". Delete old prints. After that, click "Add fingerprint" and perform the necessary actions in accordance with the instructions.

Touch ID stopped working in the App Store on iPhone 5s / 6 / 6s / 5

Basically, the cause of this problem is also slightly altered fingerprints, as a result of which the system cannot recognize them, however, sometimes there are cases when the problem lies in incorrectly installed software.

The forums also complain about a crash when the App Store doesn't see Touch Id. How do you fix this?

Go to the Gadget Settings and look for "Touch Id and Password";
Find the section "Using Touch Id" and disable "App Store, iTunes Store";
Reboot your iOS device;
Go back to Touch Id settings and turn on "App Store, iTunes Store".

After these steps, there should be no problem.

IPhone 6 problems. Touch ID does not work in winter, in cold weather

There are many complaints about the poor performance of the Touch Id during the cold season. It is very simple to explain the cause of this problem - as a result of the cold, our fingerprint is slightly modified, which is why the system cannot recognize it.

Frequent updating of the fingerprint or creating a "cold" fingerprint will help you in solving this problem. Scan your fingerprint in the cold. However, it is believed that these methods only partially help, however, if there is an urgent need for this function in the cold, it is worth trying.

Touch Id does not work on iPhone 6 / 6s / 5s / 5 due to exposure to water and dirt

What password can be called the most reliable and at the same time constantly available to the owner of the equipment? Fingerprint. The new development of Touch ID uses a fingerprint sensor as a means of identification. This method allows you to quickly or another Apple device and at the same time be confident in the safety of the stored data.

Of course, the question immediately arises: Touch ID - what is it? Is it a device, technology, or, in general, a phone model? Apple Touch ID is a technology that includes the use of a sensor that recognizes a highly personalized pattern of a user's fingerprint. The unlocking process is simple: just put your finger on the Home button. The installed sensor reads the received data from absolutely any angle and in any way the iPad is positioned.

The unlock button for iPad mini 3 is made of sapphire crystal, which is enclosed in a stainless steel ring. Each part: the ring detects touch, and the glass part transmits the fingerprint data to the sensor. The readout software performs a benchmarking analysis and signals compliance. It is noteworthy that the Touch ID sensor performs the entire operation within a fraction of a second.

Technology advantages:

The speed of response and the minimum number of operations required.
Preservation of confidential information (due to the specific architecture of the A7 processor).
Information security of the user (the password and fingerprint used cannot be copied or transmitted in any way, and is also not available for the OS and applications).
App authorization (Touch ID technology is already integrated to simplify the process of verifying actions or signing).
Your fingerprint can be used to confirm the purchase and iTunes - using Touch ID technology will eliminate the need to enter payment details and passwords.

How do I enable and set up Touch ID?

Unfortunately, so far there is no way to put a single mark to realize the functions of the technology. Then a logical question arises: how to enable Touch ID?

Initial setup

First of all, you should understand the initial setup. It :

Before starting the process, carefully wipe the button and fingers.
Enter the invented four-digit password that the program will use without recognizing the fingerprint (the request is also possible after a reboot, two days after the last unlocking of the device, or to access functions).
Holding the device as if you normally press "Home", put your finger on the button (just a light touch) and hold until a slight vibration or until the system signal informs you of the possibility to remove your finger.
After the end of the initial recognition, the system asks to change the position of the pad - this is necessary to complete the scan. Now you need to attach the edges of the fingertip.

If the device is activated, then the initial setup can be done through the main menu: go to the "Settings", select "Touch ID and password", after that - "Fingerprints". The system itself will offer to go through the described registration process and about prints.

Activation methods

If you can't set up Touch ID, you can use the sensor for purchases and password entry... To unlock the iPhone using the technology, it is enough to wake it up from sleep mode by pressing the "Power on" or "Home" buttons, and then bring your finger to the "Home". To use the sensor as an account identifier, you need to go to the settings section, then select “Touch ID and password” and activate “iTunes Store, App Store”. When downloading content, the system will inform you that you need a fingerprint on the iPad or other device.

Authorization using a scanner is activated separately in the settings. Next, the corresponding steps to activate Touch ID on iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 Plus with iOS 8, and iPhone 6 in the updated free 1Password app:

Open "Settings" (tab located on the bottom panel of the program).
Select the "Security" section.
Scroll to the technology name tab.
Switch the toggle switch to the "On" position.

Now the entrance to the program is available after a second pressing the pad of your finger to the sensor!

Inoperative function: defective or incorrect operation?

Undoubtedly, but what if Touch ID stops working or does not work initially? There may be several reasons for this:

Domestic reasons (incomplete coverage of the button with a fingertip, contamination of the sensor, and even other). It should be noted that most of the complaints that Touch ID does not work well fall into this and the next category.
Just a "glitch" of the recognition program. In this case, it is better to enroll the other fingerprint.
Unfortunately, there is such an option as marriage. An indicator of such a situation is the lack of effect from rebooting the device and scanning error. And it doesn't matter whether the marriage was committed at the production stage or by a crook-seller who assembled one iPhone out of two without taking into account the binding of the Touch ID sensor to "his" processor, the phone will still have to be taken to the service center.

With customizable actions, the features in each app are more than covered by convenience, speed, and streamlined shopping processes. Although the likelihood of a marriage that can bring trouble is not excluded.

After installing iOS firmware on iPhone 5s, there may be an issue where Touch ID does not work on iPhone 5s. Our review will help owners of Apple gadgets understand what to do in such cases.

The problem arises due to the imperfect sensitivity of the fingerprint scanner, but with each updated firmware, Apple promises to improve the Touch ID functionality, its response to touch. The loss of sensitivity of the Touch ID biometric scanner does not occur immediately, but over time, and given the fact that this is a completely new technology, you can turn a blind eye to the flaws in its work.

The first tip for these symptoms is to perform a rescan. This will help improve the Touch ID response and, probably, the user will be able to postpone the visit to the service center for a long time.

In the smartphone settings menu (basic) go to "Touch ID and password".
Select a fingerprint (pulses in gray) from the Touch ID menu and scan it again. If necessary, perform this procedure with all fingerprints previously registered in the iPhone's memory.

What to do if Touch ID doesn't work at all

If during the secondary scanning of the prints that you registered before, the problem was not resolved, and the scanner does not react at all to touches, use our second advice - remove all your prints (the "delete" button), and then register them again.

Removing prints. Step-by-step instruction

Open iPhone 5S General Settings → Touch ID & Passcode and enter the passcode.
Select the sub-item of the opened menu "Touch ID and password".
Enter the passcode you set earlier.
When selecting the fingerprints you have registered one by one, delete them by clicking the “Delete Finger print” button.

Re-enrollment of fingerprints. Instructions

After removal, the problem when the fingerprint does not work on the iPhone 5s has been eliminated, because the gadget will function perfectly without activating this innovative function, but the trouble is that the iPhone owner likes its capabilities, he is already used to using it. So, we will register the "fingers" again. Apple took care of the users and created the most simple scheme for adding fingerprints to the gadget's memory. Re-registering in many cases helped to resolve the issue of the failure of the Touch ID function.

Go to the iPhone 5S settings menu → "Touch ID and Password". At this point, you will not have any registered fingerprints since you just deleted them all.
As before, select the "Add a Fingerprint ..." function.
To fix the problem with the fingerprint not working on iPhone 5s, lift the finger you want to add the fingerprint and press the Home button several times. You should remember to touch several times until the print on the screen is completely filled with red.

Raise your finger and touch the Home button as many times as it takes for a full scan. At the same time, the opinions of users on the issue of the frequency of touches are divided: some believe that the smaller the step of touches, the higher the accuracy of fingerprint recognition. Others, on the contrary, believe that moving the finger across the scanner is more important for further work.

After re-registration, unlock iPhone. If everything worked out, you will not need to read further tips. However, if your smartphone is still not working with Touch ID iPhone 5s, try the following method to resolve the error.

Restore via backup

Restoring the smartphone completely through a backup can help with the iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner not working error.

Connect your smartphone to a PC with iTunes installed.
On the left side or in the upper sector on the right, select your gadget
Go to the "Browse" menu and select the "Restore iPhone" command.
Then you will see iTunes ask you to back up your iPhone, you should select "Back up" in case you haven't done a backup before. If you previously made a backup in iCloud or iTunes, then you do not need to create another one. Then you need to click on the "Restore and Update" command (it will appear in a pop-up window).
The iTunes app will immediately start installing the iOS firmware on your smartphone
Once the installation is complete, you can resume your phone backup from the iCloud cloud or iTunes.

This method in most cases should help to remove the problem when fingerprints do not work on iPhone 5s, even though re-registering them did not fix the problem. To be fair, we note that over time, Touch ID often does not work on the iPhone 6 either.

Touch ID is a useful and convenient identifier not only in iPhone but also in other Apple devices. Very often we hear from owners that touch id doesn't work on iPhone or iPad. In this article, we will figure out why the fingerprint sensor does not work or shows a notification that a failure has occurred.

Touch ID not working - what to do

If Touch ID does not work or if there are frequent failures, we recommend rebuilding the prints in the device. By the way, the brakes in the operation of Touch ID may appear after the iOS update.

Before renewing your prints, thoroughly wipe the scanner surface on your iPhone or iPad, and even better, wash your hands and dry them thoroughly so that they are not wet, greasy, and so on.

Go to "Settings".
Enter your passcode.
Delete the previously entered prints (swipe from right to left).
Add fingerprints again.

Optimization of the operating system does not stop, Apple engineers are improving and adding new features, and in this regard, some data, for example, the same fingerprints in the touch ID need to be updated.

Why Touch ID stopped working in the App Store

Often in the App Store, Touch ID may also stop working. Typically, this problem is also related to the software and is a common malfunction.

If “touch ID” stopped working in the App Store, follow these steps:

Go to "Settings".
Enter the "Touch ID and Passcode" tab.
In the "Using Touch ID" section, turn off the "iTunes & App Store" slider.
Exit "Settings" and reboot the device.
Then we go back to "Settings" and then to the tab "Touch ID and passcode" we need.
Switch the "iTunes Store and App Store" slider to active mode.

After the above steps, the "glitch" with Touch ID in the App Store should be fixed.

Touch ID stopped working altogether

If the above instructions did not help you then you need to - hard reset. If there were problems of a software nature, then this method will help to restore the functionality of Touch ID. Of course, the likelihood that the sensor is simply out of order cannot be excluded in such a case, we recommend contacting the service center for help in troubleshooting.

Touch ID stopped working in winter - what to do

According to statistics and reviews, it is already known that the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone / iPad works worse in winter at low temperatures. This is explained by the fact that due to the cold, the papillary pattern changes slightly. This change is difficult to notice with the naked eye, but the Touch ID sensor notices this change and ceases to recognize the fingerprint.

How to fix it, if you often have to be out in the cold, we recommend adding the same fingerprint, but already "winter". Accordingly, you must do this in low temperature conditions so that the Touch ID sensor remembers the modified fingerprint in cold conditions.

Why fingerprint sensors don't always work well

There are times when your fingers are not completely clean and not completely dry, so dirt and moisture can interfere with the fingerprint reading. Here are recommendations for your hand hygiene only - use the Touch ID scanner with dry and clean hands.

Have you ever had a problem with the fingerprint scanner on your iPhone or iPad? Share your glitch fixing experience with Touch ID in the comments

As for the technology, it is impossible not to raise the issue of setting up the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone and consider possible problems.

Let me remind you that Touch ID is a great way to use your fingerprint instead of your usual four-digit password. One press of the Home button is enough to unlock your iPhone, let's see how to set up Touch ID.

How to set up Touch ID

Apple claims that Touch ID can recognize your finger from almost any angle. This is indeed the case, when you first scan your fingerprint, the phone will ask you to re-send your finger to the sensor for additional scanning from different angles and angles.

First, we need activate Touch ID, go along the following path:
Settings - General - Touch ID & Password - Touch ID
After enabling Touch ID, the iPhone will ask you to enter your usual four-digit password, this is necessary in order to provide additional protection. For example, when adding other fingerprints.
Now you need to gently touch the Home button until you feel a slight vibration. This action must be repeated as many times as necessary. This will gradually fill the fingerprint image. It is important to do everything as if you are using the iPhone in your daily life, that is, as naturally as possible. Make sure your finger and button are dry.
At some point, the phone will ask you to touch a button at an angle with your finger to scan the edges of your fingertip.

It is worth noting that the more you use Touch ID, the better the technology will recognize your fingers. In total, the iPhone allows you to register up to five fingers (it will take more time for recognition), by the way, some manage to register not only fingers ... An interesting fact is that Touch ID will still understand you if you suddenly get a severe injury to your finger, which will break the imprint. Touch ID will still require you to enter a four-digit password in the following cases:

after restarting the phone;
available in the "Touch ID and Password" settings section;
after 48 hours have passed since the last unlock.

What can I use Touch ID for?

At the moment, Apple uses Touch ID technology very sparingly. With your fingerprint, you can only be content with unlocking your iPhone and purchasing from the iTunes Store, App Store and iBooks Store without entering a password.

By the way, the ability to purchase content in the aforementioned stores can be disabled, for this you need to go to the following menu section:

Settings - General - Touch ID & Password - Touch ID

There is a corresponding "iTunes Store, App Store" toggle switch.

But users can afford much more, for example, installing fingerprint protection to open certain folders or applications.

Touch ID doesn't work

If you encounter problems when working with Tocuh ID, the reasons can be very different. Apple recommends in such cases any triviality - make sure that you have the latest version of iOS, the "Home" button is not overgrown with dirt, pay attention to whether the whole finger covers the sensor and stuff like that ...

If all of the above is not the case in your case, then we can recommend trying to register another fingerprint.

Problem still exists? Your case is the worst. Apparently you are faced with a Touch ID manufacturing defect. Most often, this is accompanied by the error " Failed to scan, please go back and try again"when performing a fingerprint scan and if restarting the iPhone did not help you, then you need to take the phone to the service center.

The most disgusting thing about this problem is that sometimes the seller is to blame. The fact is that in the presence of a marriage, unscrupulous sellers collect one of the two iPhones, and since the Touch ID sensor is connected to the native processor, they cannot find each other in the body of one phone. This is just one of the possible reasons, you should not assume only it, but this option is quite possible.

What to do if Touch ID doesn't work well

It is not uncommon for iPhone and iPad users to complain about poor Touch ID performance. Moreover, difficulties with fingerprint recognition can arise even with a button cleared of dirt and dust and clean, dry fingers.

Few people know, but iOS has a built-in function to correct your fingerprint data. In other words, Touch ID recognition accuracy can be improved and it is not difficult at all:

We go to: Settings - General - Touch ID and password - Touch ID;
register multiple fingerprints, if you have not already done so;
now in the main menu of Touch ID settings, simply touch the Home button and you will see how the registered “finger” will be highlighted in gray;
repeat this procedure several times, touch the sensor at different angles.

This way you can “train” Touch ID without even having to re-register your fingers.

If you did not find the answer to your question or something did not work out for you, and there is no suitable solution in the comments below, ask a question through our