[jcadam]

I had to disable touch ID on my iPhone out of frustration. It works for me maybe 1 out of 10 times no matter which finger I try to use (my wife has no problem with hers).

But I've always had trouble with fingerprint readers. At the DMV, govt ID card office (back when I was in the Army), etc. "Place your finger on the scanner. Nope, try again.. press harder. No, harder."

I have no idea what's wrong with my fingers :|

[pm24601]

Certain professions have a big problem with fingerprints.

Most notable: brick masons. The fingerprints are damaged and smoothed out over the years by acids in the cement and the roughness of the bricks.

[toufka]

Rock climbers too. Finger prints just get worn down.

[lostlogin]

Have you tried registering the same finger 5x?

[mb0]

I've heard that people with hyperhydrosis have a lot of trouble with biometrics devices as well as smart phones. If your skin is too moist it just kinda gums up the works.

[Declanomous]

I have a lot of problems with touch screens. Some screens refuse to register my touch, and other screens register my touch before I even make contact with the screen. If you turn on developer tools in android and look at the "touches", you can see them registering all over if I have my fingers a cm or so above the screen.

I have really moist skin, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the issue. I had a fingerprint reader on my gen 1 Motorola Atrix and that worked just fine though. I think the company that built that authentication system was purchased by Apple and used in the iPhones. I wonder if his wife would have the same issues with his phone, it might be that his fingerprint scanner is less sensitive.

[pimlottc]

Makes sense, my biggest annoyance with the fingerprint reader is that it doesn't work reliably if your finger is at all wet (like while cooking).

[pc86]

Sounds like low ridges that mess with the scanners.

[ehnto]

I have scarring across my fingerprints that changes fairly frequently (serious injuries when younger coupled with powerlifting regularly now, unnoticable but definitely not static) I am an edge case but surprisingly only had infrequent issues.

I don't use thumb scanners anymore though as inevitably my finger will change! It definitely isn't for everyone.