Paul Morris·

Face ID On iPhone X Might Require Passcode If Battery Level On Device Goes Below 10%

Apple’s brand new Face ID technology built into iPhone X has been heralded as a significant breakthrough where facial biometrics on mobile devices is concerned.

Early reports from the field suggest that it works pretty much flawlessly and that it’s a delight to work and interact with from a usability and experience perspective. To provide iPhone X owners with more information and additional insight into Face ID, Apple has published a new support document which gives additional information on the technology, including how to troubleshoot specific issues and advising of the conditions in place that will force a passcode entry requirement.

The introduction of Face ID on iPhone X – which utilizes the impressive new TrueDepth camera system housed on either side of the device notch – essentially spells the end for Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint system which will likely be phased out in all future product releases from the company. The aforementioned support document not only covers the technology in-depth but also gives an interesting insight into the fact that Face ID is still subject to the same rules as Touch ID when it comes to the device falling back to passcode entry for additional security.

As an example of this, the support document confirms that Face ID may get disabled by the system and a passcode entry might be required if the battery level on iPhone X falls below 10%. A passcode will also be required to be entered if five failed facial recognition attempts are registered, or if the device received a remote lock command from another device signed in using the same iCloud account.

Like devices with Touch ID, iOS will also force a passcode entry if iPhone X hasn’t been unlocked for 48-hours or more, if the device has just been turned on or restarted, and if the relatively new Emergency SOS feature has been activated.

All of that information suggests that Face ID is an excellent addition to iPhone X but that it is still very much a feature which has backups in place in instances when additional security is deemed necessary. As part of the support document, Apple also runs through and highlights a number of things to check for those iPhone X owners who believe that Face ID isn’t working as intended.

(Source: Apple)

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