Most people don’t know that you can train Touch ID beyond the initial setup. Of course, every time you use Touch ID, it learns more about your fingerprint. I’m talking about deliberately adding lots of data, which increases performance — decreasing both false negatives and time to verify a fingerprint.
To start training, go to Touch ID & Passcode in the Settings app. It will ask you for your passcode to change Touch ID settings. From here, touch one of your added fingerprints to the Touch ID sensor. You’ll see the entry for that fingerprint is highlighted temporarily, which means it just recorded more data. Do this for a while, walking it to different parts of your fingerprint, and you should notice Touch ID start unlocking your phone faster than before.
Amazin!
This article shows no verified proof whatsoever,as far as I know this has not been published as a possibility by apple. Just because the finger print is highlighted with grey doesn’t mean anything more than that it is showing you which finger print is which. In other words, If I put my thumb on the reader and “finger print 1” is highlighted, that is just to let me know what finger is associated with finger print #1. If this function was designed to help train the reader to recognize fingerprints more accurately, then apple would publish that information so that people would get better results with the reader. If they did then great, but I have yet to see that.
You can test it. Find a part of your fingerprint that it doesn’t recognize by touching it to the Touch ID sensor and verifying that it doesn’t highlight. Then start training it from a part of your finger that it does recognize and walk it back to the area that it didn’t recognize before.
Yup 100% works and is an amazing tip!!! I’ve got it trained so it’s almost instantly recognizing any part of my fingers now. Thank you!!!
The finger print reader works 100% of the time for me as it is, so I can’t test this theory. Some documentation would be nice. I’d be stoked if this was/is a true feature.
I was having trouble with my thumb and finger prints around the edges. I performed this procedure without deleting and found that there is a definite improvement. This really does work. Thank you!
Wow Darren, chill out! And how do you know the finger print being highlighted doesn’t mean anything? You design the software for Apple? Yea, didn’t think so! So stop assuming genius! I did what Josh suggested and I now see a big difference. The phone unlocks much, much faster! That’s verified proof to me! Thanks Josh!
It’s all good.
You can always test the theory by adding another finger with unrecognized spot. Then use Josh’s procedure to see if additional training occurs.
Josh,
Can you clarify your procedure a bit more? It is not done on the screen where the setting app ask for the passcode to access the Touch ID correct? I can only enter the passcode. And the next screen I can touch the FP entry recorded, but it only brings me to the renaming of the recorded FP.
How did you do it exactly?
He doesn’t explain it but you have to enter the passcode, then on the next screen where you pick a finger to delete or add a new one, do the touchID thing there and it will briefly highlight the one it matches (if any). It does seem to work at adding data, quite a find. Not sure it’s any quicker on the main part of my thumb I use, that it always had recorded though.
This absolutely worked and is a great tip!
Can you please clarify when to touch at what screen? Perhaps a picture would help. Thanks.
Do it on the screen with the list of recorded fingers, that has a red fingerprint icon at the top and “Use Touch ID For” Phone Unlock and iTunes/App Store options below, followed by the list. It is that list which highlights when you touch the sensor.
I did it and I think it does work. I am also a little skeptical about stuff but I >tried< first before talking sh!t and it did improved the reading!
Neat! Good job.