Apple Readying Fix for Issues with Touch ID Fading

Apple is preparing an update that will improve performance of the Touch ID sensor on its iPhone 5s handset, claims AppleInsider. Apple has tapped its AuthenTec team to eliminate "fade", a term coined to describe the increasingly erratic performance of the fingerprint sensor that is experienced by some iPhone 5s owners.

After launching iPhone 5s last fall, Apple has continued to work with the original AuthenTec team to improve its recognition software and will release an update relatively soon, the source confidently reported. However, AppleInsider could not verify whether the update will ship as part of iOS 7.1, which is expected to drop in mid-March.

Issues with Touch ID surfaced shortly after the iPhone 5s was introduced, with owners reporting an increasing number of failed scans shortly after they enter their fingerprints. Deleting and rescanning a fingerprint only temporarily fixes the issue.

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iPhone 5s owners have devised creative homemade fixes that include scanning the same fingerprint five times and overtraining the sensor for improved accuracy, but these are workarounds that don't address the underlying problem.

Apple introduced Touch ID in the iPhone 5s and promoted the technology in an ad campaign that appeared in The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated and other print newspapers and magazines. Apple obtained the fingerprint scanning technology when it acquired AuthenTec in 2012.

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Top Rated Comments

wankey Avatar
151 months ago
Touch ID is by far the worst mistake apple has made. It has caused more issue than it has solved.

What on earth are you talking about? It's so much of a benefit for me that I click home buttons on none touch id devices and wait for them to unlock.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
l3it3r Avatar
151 months ago
Touch ID is by far the worst mistake apple has made. It has caused more issue than it has solved.

And here I am thinking the exact opposite. I won't buy anything else from them unless it has touchid!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djplaxe2109 Avatar
151 months ago
I always attributed any issue I had with my sweaty or dirty fingers. It's been reliable for me, just not after I go for a run or eat ribs.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
netdoc66 Avatar
151 months ago
No we haven't!

Fade-gate!!! Fade-gate!!! Fade-gate!!! Fade-gate!!! Fade-gate!!! Fade-gate!!! :D
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brewno Avatar
151 months ago
Every month I have to redo my scans. It's like my fingerprints change, lol. Glad there will be a fix.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lewisd25 Avatar
151 months ago
Finally.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)