How to set up Face ID on an iPhone
While many of us despised Face ID during the pandemic as it was the only way to quickly unlock our phones, we were wearing masks so it wasn’t fast at all. It’s still a very good way to secure your iPhone. This is because it is much more secure than just using a camera, which many Android smartphones do.
So it’s worth setting it up, and that’s exactly what we’re going to show you how to do today.
What is Face ID and how does it work?
Face ID is Apple’s own name for facial recognition. It was first released in 2017 with the iPhone X, which was the first iPhone without a physical home button.
Now, Face ID works a little differently compared to facial recognition on Android. Face recognition on Android basically just uses the camera to see your face and then authenticates it. Which means photos can unlock your phone. This is not the case with the iPhone. Instead, Apple uses a TrueDepth camera system. It is capable of detecting your face with a flood illuminator, even in the dark. It also uses an infrared camera which will then take an image and a dot projector will project more than 30,000 invisible infrared dots.
The system will use the infrared image and the infrared dots and push them through neural networks to create a mathematical model of your face. That’s why just showing a single picture in front of the phone won’t work to unlock it.
This is also why Face ID can be used to unlock different apps like your banking apps. As it is much more secure than just a camera. This also explains why the notch or Dynamic Island is so much larger than on Android smartphones.
How to set up Face ID on an iPhone
If you’re just setting up your iPhone for the first time, you should be prompted to set up Face ID in the setup process. If not, here’s how you can do it.
Open the Institutions app.
Tap now Face ID and Passcode.
You will now be asked to enter your existing password or create a new one. This is necessary as it is the fallback for when Face ID can’t recognize you.
Next, you need to remove any mask or glasses you are wearing. You can later set up Face ID with this.
Now, type up Set up Face ID.
Next, you will be asked to move your head in a circle. This takes about 20 seconds, depending on how far your head is from the camera.
And you are ready. Some may be prompted to do a second scan, but Apple has mostly removed this with the iPhone 13 and later.
How to set up Face ID with a mask and/or glasses on an iPhone
Now that you’ve set up your initial Face ID scan for your iPhone, you can now set it up with a mask and/or glasses on. You will actually have to do this separately. So here’s how to do it.
Set up with a mask
Go to Institutions.
Tap up Face ID and Passcodeand enter your password.
Now tap on the switch next to it Face ID with a mask.
Here you will be taken to a menu to set up Face ID with a mask. It will scan you with a mask on, and then you’ll be good to go.
Set up with glasses
Go to Institutions.
Tap up Face ID and Passcodeand enter your password.
Now, type up Set up an alternate look.
Here you go through the Face ID process again, this time with your glasses on. So repeat the same steps you did here earlier.
And then you will be ready. Now you probably don’t have to. Face ID is pretty good at recognizing people with and without glasses. But it should help make things easier.
