How to unlock iPhone with Face ID and surgical face mask

How to unlock iPhone with Face ID and surgical face mask

Masks will be part of our daily life over the coming months. Maybe years. With its obligation as much as possible, it collides with one aspect of the most advanced iPhone: Face ID. In this tutorial we will see how to unlock iPhone with Face ID and a face mask.

Something that can be problematic but luckily there is a solution. Let’s go see her.

Eyes, nose and mouth: the three essentials for Face ID

Face ID is a facial recognition system that creates and measures a three-dimensional model of our face. This model is stored in the Secure enclave iPhone processor and never leaves the device. Thanks to the TrueDepth system, processor and operating system, unlocking is almost instantaneous.

Face ID is able to identify its owner at night and even with glasses. He also learns the changes on our face beard or hair, to suit. However, placing a mask that covers part of the face gives an error during authentication.

Indeed, Face ID requires a more or less complete view of the face. The mouth, nose and eyes are essential during the examination. By default, this system also requires the eyes to watch to the iPhone as another security measure. Of course, this can be changed from the Face ID settings.

The other two points of the face are however necessary. Thus in winter, wearing a scarf that covers part of the mouth or the whole can cause problems for the user. By combining the facial ID masks, the recognition error is guaranteed. Fortunately, there is a solution that could work in many cases.

Unlock Face ID With Mask By Following These Steps

This video (via José Mendiola) explains how to « teach » Face ID recognize our face with a mask. The process is as follows:

• We go to Settings> Face ID and code.
• We reset Face ID, this will erase your face template as well as the alternate face if you had configured it.
• Restore your face, but this time do it with a blank sheet of paper covering a quarter of your face.
• Once done, lock the iPhone and try to unlock it with a face mask. It may take several times to get it.

In our tests, this trick for Face ID unlocking with a worked mask. We used a surgical mask and the iPhone was unlocked the second time around. It may not work with other masks.

In our case, we tried another mask. This time in black fabric and shaped to fit the face, without Face ID being able to unlock the iPhone. Before you venture out with your iPhone and your mask on the street or at work, we suggest you take a test. Touching the face with your hands to adjust the mask and unlock the Face ID is not recommended outside the home.

Source: Appleinsider