There is a trend on social media where people record the reactions of their friends and family after shaving their hair or beard. Well, as it turns out, your phone can freak out when you make drastic changes too, as I recently discovered firsthand.
Every November, I make sure to grow a mustache as part of the Movember charity campaign, and this entails shaving off the beard I sport for the remaining eleven months of the year. But at this time, my iPhone 15 Pro Max is having trouble recognizing me when I try to use the phone’s Face ID feature.
This may not be an interesting dilemma — the passcode provides me with a workaround — but it makes Apple Pay and other Face ID-enabled features less convenient. And it made me wonder why this happened. With that in mind, I decided to ask those working in the office to see if others had encountered similar problems.
One persistent complaint has been that some pairs of sunglasses, even some of the best smart glasses, have resulted in phones failing to recognize their owners. The reason for this has to do with one of the features that make up Apple’s TrueDepth camera system.
Apple’s iPhone has an option in its settings called “Attention Awareness,” which requires you to look directly at the phone or camera for it to unlock. This can cause a problem when wearing polarized lenses, as the camera can’t capture where you’re looking, which means the phone can’t confirm your attention.
Although it may be tempting to turn off Face ID, I don’t recommend it. This feature is designed to make your phone more secure, but it also serves the dual purpose of making sure your phone’s screen doesn’t darken when you look at it.
What about hair and beard styles?
Another problem that many people have had to do with changing their hair, whether it be a haircut or, as in my case, Shave their faces. This can make it difficult for the phone to recognize you when you try to use Face ID.
It all comes down to how your iPhone maps your face, i.e. the difference between stable and global mapping. Apple uses a 3D mapping system, which creates an image of your face using fixed features like the distance between your eyes and your cheekbones.
However, to create a full map, the phone will use an end-to-end processing method that relies on certain features – in this case, a beard or hairline – to help create a more detailed map. Drastic changes (such as shaving) can create a variable that exceeds the usual margin of error that the software can handle.
In response, your iPhone will ask you to enter your passcode, which tells the phone that the person detected by the Face ID sensors is actually you. In theory, this allows your iPhone to add this change to the face map, meaning it won’t happen again. However, it may take a fair number of attempts for this adaptation to work as intended.
Fortunately, if you’re still having Face ID issues after changing your appearance, you have some options to make things go more smoothly.
How to add an alternate appearance on iPhone
(Photo: © Future)
On iPhone, go to Settingsthen select Face ID and passcodes. Once you click on it, you will need to enter your passcode and you can then select Set up an alternate theme option. Your iPhone will guide you through the process of rescanning your face.
What about an Android phone?
This is partly because many Android devices use 2D face mapping instead of 3D. A 2D approach is more convenient, but it lacks the depth that 3D technology provides. This, in turn, could limit the options available for face unlock technology. It can also mean that the setup is less secure.
However, the best Samsung phones offer the option of adding an alternative Face ID.
How to add an alternative Face ID on Samsung phones.
(Photo: © Future)
First, log in Settings And specify Lock screen and AOD tab. From there, search for Screen lock and biometrics option, then go to Face recognition Unpaid invoice. Finally, select the option to Add an alternative appearance.
Doing this will not always solve the problem, but it is one of the best ways to help. On the plus side, I can grow a beard again after November is over, but that will mean a few more weeks of struggling to get my phone to notice me.
Let me know if you find that your phone is having trouble recognizing you, and what has changed. Alternatively, let us know your favorite mustache style in appreciation of Movember!
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