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Fingerprint security on Galaxy mobiles..


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Old 06-02-2015, 20:23
ASIFZED
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Howdy.

Just acquired a new Samsung Galaxy Alpha and I'm really pleased with it. Does what I need it to do, stylish, fast and not overly large.

But the fingerprint scanner.. Whilst it's a bit of a gimmick for me, curious to know if others who might also have the Alpha, S5/S5 Mini or Note 4 (all of which I believe have fingerprint security), find it nigh on impossible to unlock via the one-handed method. Unlocking via the index finger of the hand that's NOT holding the phone works 9 times out of 10, the first go. But using your thumb of the hand holding the phone, is really, really, difficult.

Agree, it's not the best implementation of a fingerprint security method (Apple's is great..) and Samsung will no doubt copy Apple with the the new S6, but interested in others' experience of the current method and any tips or tricks.

Cheers.
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Old 06-02-2015, 20:48
jchamier
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Samsung will no doubt copy Apple with the the new S6
Will be hard to do when Apple bought the entire company that developed that method and patented it. (Authentec)
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Old 06-02-2015, 20:51
jabbamk1
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Will be hard to do when Apple bought the entire company that developed that method and patented it. (Authentec)
My Huawei Ascend Mate 7 seems to have a better success rate than Apple & Samsung combined. I've never had it fail on me.
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Old 06-02-2015, 20:52
jchamier
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My Huawei Ascend Mate 7 seems to have a better success rate than Apple & Samsung combined. I've never had it fail on me.
I wonder who makes the sensor, and if they've had to work hard to avoid other patents in the fingerprint industry. Being on the back makes sense for Android's too.
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Old 06-02-2015, 20:59
d123
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My Huawei Ascend Mate 7 seems to have a better success rate than Apple & Samsung combined. I've never had it fail on me.
The only time I have failures on either my iPhone 6 or Air 2 is if my hands are really dirty (as in working on oily machinery) or after being immersed in water for a long period.

With normal use I get a 100% success rate.
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Old 06-02-2015, 21:45
jabbamk1
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I wonder who makes the sensor, and if they've had to work hard to avoid other patents in the fingerprint industry. Being on the back makes sense for Android's too.
Why when Chinese manufacturer is mentioned people start talking about patents????

The Touch ID sensor for Apple is developed by AuthenTec, a US company based out of Florida.

Huawei's fingerprint unlock sensor is developed by Fingerprint Cards and Precise Biometrics who are Swedish companies. The Mate 7 features Precise Biometrics fingerprint algorithm which they dub "Precise BioMatch Mobile. This technology has been integrated with the touch fingerprint sensor, FPC1020 from Fingerprint Cards.

The FPC1020 is a state of the art compact CMOS fingerprint sensor with many advantages, the sensor with it's 3D pixel technology can read any fingerprint whether dry or wet and is protected against scratches and wear thanks to it's hard and durable surface coating. The FPC1020 is extremely low power and integrates fully with the Precise Biometrics algorithm.

The Algorithm and sensor pairing gives the module 360 degree accuracy meaning the user doesn't have to bother about placing their finger a certain way. Because of this the fingerprint technology allows the user to unlock their phone 80% faster than devices that use a swipe sensor and a fraction of second faster than leading competitors.


Hopefully Huawei's new phone will be using FPC1150.
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Old 06-02-2015, 22:13
Mark in Essex
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I must admit that the fingerprint recognition is the only real thing that for me is better on the IPhone as it's so well implemented.

I've heard that they have made it a bit better on Lollypop, but I've yet to try it although you should not have to use it so often as you can set the lock not to be on if say the phone is connected to your Smartwatch or home wireless (I'd like that if I could set it to not be needed if it's connected to my cars Bluetooth as it's always a pain to unlock with my finger when it's in the car holder near the windscreen).
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Old 06-02-2015, 23:33
tombigbee
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I saw someone online suggest to swipe upwards rather than down as this seemed to improve the success rate. Personally I didn't find that to be the case though. It was ultimately useless since it's less hassle and quicker to just draw a pattern.
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Old 07-02-2015, 00:42
ASIFZED
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Samsung's deployment is definitely to swipe downwards. But agree, drawing a quick pattern to unlock is just as quick and less frustrating. Be interesting to see how they will improve, when the S6 debuts in a month or so.
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Old 07-02-2015, 06:49
KieranDS
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The only time I have failures on either my iPhone 6 or Air 2 is if my hands are really dirty (as in working on oily machinery) or after being immersed in water for a long period.

With normal use I get a 100% success rate.
Same.
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Old 07-02-2015, 07:15
gillyallan
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I couldn't get it to unlock on s5 mini so turned it off.
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Old 08-02-2015, 20:15
jthspace
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I have an S5 Duos. I read a tip to record your thumb swipe at an angle of 45 degrees rather than straight down - this is the angle your thumb has when holding the phone one handed. It works most of the time, but I use the pattern lock as it is generally quicker than swiping two or three times when it is being mischievious.

Jeff
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Old 09-02-2015, 09:25
m4tt24
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I saved my finger print in various postions. Straight down and whilst holding the phone so my thumb was at an angle. Works fine pretty much every time provided my hands aren't wet.
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Old 09-02-2015, 09:33
ihatemarmite
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S5. Became too frustrating so disabled it.
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Old 09-02-2015, 10:47
ASIFZED
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I saved my finger print in various postions. Straight down and whilst holding the phone so my thumb was at an angle. Works fine pretty much every time provided my hands aren't wet.
Did the same. But continually fails to recognise the single handed left thumb / right thumb approach. The straight down with the index finger, thus 2-handed, works fine 99% of the time.
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Old 09-02-2015, 17:37
Mark in Essex
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S5. Became too frustrating so disabled it.
Mine is not that bad and its probably say 1 in 10 times it does not unlock when I'm holding the phone normally and not in the car holder. I did record the same finger several times at different angles though.

The only timeiI find it does not work is having a wet finger (oh err) or if I've damaged my finger print (like when I was sand papering decking down a few months ag).

I also had problems when I had a dirty sensor and worked ok after I cleaned it.
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