Unlock iPhone Using Face ID While Wearing a Face Mask

qwikfone

december 30,2021

How to Unlock iPhones Using Face ID While Wearing Face Mask
by Ishaan Seth April 16, 2020
The appearance of the new novel coronavirus has disrupted our way of life. Deemed as a pandemic, COVID-19 has infected millions of people globally and has claimed thousands of lives too. The public is recommended to stay indoors to help reduce the number of infections. Those who are going out are advised to cover their faces, particularly their nose as well as their mouth, by wearing face masks. All of these are put in place in the hopes of protecting everyone from this dreaded viral infection.

One minor inconvenience when it comes to covering our faces is that it makes it difficult for us to unlock our iPhones. Apple has ramped up the security features of its iPhones through Face ID which makes use of facial recognition technology. Aside from preventing others from accessing the contents of your device, the use of this feature prevents you from having to touch the device whenever you want to use it. This is useful during these times when the virus can be easily spread by touching a surface that has droplets of the virus.
Is it Possible to Unlock iPhone with Face ID while Your Face is Covered?
Sadly, there isn’t any guaranteed method of using this security measure when you have covered your face unless of course, you remove this obstruction. Unfortunately, this will leave you exposed to the virus. One reason why Face ID won’t be able to recognize you is that the mapping technology will be looking for the different parts of your face, including the nose as well as the mouth area. Even if the application can recognize your eyes, it will request you to remove any covering for it to capture your facial features.

Let’s move on to a solution that was discovered by a security lab in China. The solution that they discovered was that it is possible for Apple users to re-apply their face with the facial recognition tech, but this time, while half of their face is covered just like when they are using a full mask.

However, this doesn’t mean that this technique will work with everyone. Some had to retry this way several times before they were able to successfully re-enroll their partially covered face. Others weren’t even successful at all. The kind of mask that you are using may also affect the effectiveness of this recently discovered method of accessing an iPhone with partially covered features.
How to Unlock iPhones Using Face ID While Wearing Face Mask
Steps to Open iPhone using Face ID with a Partially Covered Face
Regardless of whether you have a new iPhone on hand, or buying a refurbished device from Qwikfone, when it comes to unlocking your device using the Face ID application, you should follow these steps:
Reset the Application
Head to Settings of your Apple iPhone device. You will need to find the option for Face ID and select it. If you are prompted, input the passcode that you are currently using. You can now press the button to reset the Face ID feature.
Remove Face Mask
The next step here is to take off the cover that you are using then fold it into two. Place this folded cover against your face in such a way that it is similar to the way you are wearing it in full.
Re-Enroll Your Face
Now that you are showing at least half of your face, with your nose and the mouth area visible, the next step is to re-enroll your facial features in Apple’s Face ID. Return to the Settings of your device, input your passcode as needed, then press on Set Up in the Face ID application.

At this point, it would be a good idea to toggle off the “Require Attention” option as it will improve your chances of successfully enrolling your facial features even when it is partially covered. However, this option will leave your phone less secure because it no longer has that additional authentication security layer. This is because this extra feature needs the user to look at the refurbished iPhone screen directly when they need to unlock their device. Fortunately, you can go back and re-install this extra layer of security once you get home and are no longer in need to cover your face.
Continue with the Prompts
Prompts will appear on your screen as you attempt to re-enroll your features for this application. When positioning the folded mask, make sure that the mouth, as well as nose area, are visible. It is possible the process will be done several times before the app will be able to detect the new face being enrolled in it.
Try to Open Your Device with Mask On
Unlocking your phone while you are wearing your protective covering in full will be a bit tricky at this point since half of your face will be covered. However, you should try angling your iPhone when you are unlocking your device as this may help the device recognize your face even when it is covered a bit. Try to find one that will work best for you.
Adjust Settings for Notification
Like it was mentioned before, the steps mentioned above may not work for all Apple iPhone users. Fortunately, there is an alternative to this and that is by tweaking the settings on the notification panel using these steps.
  • Click on your device’s settings then choose the “Notifications” button.
  • Look for the option that allows Previews to be shown then tap Always.
  • Return to Settings then select Face ID and Passcode.
  • Once the passcode has been typed in, look for the feature for Attention Awareness. Toggle this off so that the iPhone will be able to display notifications on the screen even when it is locked.
In these times where wearing a face cover is a must, we shouldn’t worry too much about how we can unlock our Apple devices that come with Face ID. With the steps mentioned above, it is possible that you will still access the contents of your phone even while wearing a cover. You can try which one will work best for you and your iPhone so you will have the option of accessing your device while you are out and about.