Fingerprint scanner not functional LineageOS 18.1 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ Questions & Answers

My phone has been running on the custom ROM for about 1.5 years now, but since last weekend my fingerprint scanner is not functioning anymore. Not at all, or so it seems.
When I try to unlock the phone with the scanner while screen is off, it's not responding at all. When I first wake up the phone through either the power button or the home button and I tap the finger scanner, the screen first flicks off, then shows my background with the little unlocking icon on the top of the screen, but then it goes back to the lockscreen.
I have already restarted my phone several times, tried the soft reset and clearing out the cache. Not of them had any effect. I also tried removing the stored fingerprints, but that also does not seem to work. When I press the garbage bin icon, the menu freezes. The phone will still be functioning, but when I return to the menu, the fingerprint I tried to delete will still be there.
Any apps that use the fingerprint scanner to verify or unlock also don't work with the scanner anymore.
I do notice a little mark on the right side of the scanner. Alsmost as if it has a speck of dried up fluid on it, but I even tried to clean it with Isopropanol and it just stays there.
For me it feels a bit like there's a bug in the software. Has anyone ever gone through something familiar with their phone? Or does someone have an idea on what to try next, apart from a hard reset or changing the scanner.

After finding out there's been a newer build of Lineage, I decided to flash it. Problem's gone now, so I guess the software was corrupted.

Related

[Q] phone being a laggy pos

have had my phone for a few months now, and just recently it started being really laggy, i pull the battery out for a bit and stick it back in, same thing, it goes to the main home screen and just gets stuck there sometimes, or wont respond at all. Sometimes the button lights show up, but not the screen. Anything I can do? Haven't done anything to it besides cookies and a theme
Clean your machine.
Most radical, but most effective way is a Hard Reset (factory reset)
Remember to backup your agenda, contacts and other stuff before you try this.

S6 won't respond then will, just received it today.

Today I got my phone in. I was on the first set up page and it wouldn't respond to any of my touches. The buttons would glow like I was touching them but it wouldn't type or input. I soft reset it. It worked when I used assist touch. I hard reset it, wiped cache and factory reset. It fixed and I installed all my apps and when I plugged it into the charger it stopped working again. I can open the camera by double pressing the home button to unlock my phone but i can't open anything. It will glow like I'm pressing it but it won't open. I can pull down my notifications bar but none of my toggles or setting icon will work, again, they will glow just not open. I came back to my room and randomly it was working again, after 5 mins it stopped again.
Thank you for your attention.
ATT 64 GB
Galaxy S6 (not edge)
I don't know if this is the cause/solution to your problem, but I know S Voice can cause lag issues. By default, double pressing the home button (when device is unlocked) opens the S Voice. Frankly, it's redundant and pointless, as it's a mediocre attempt at Google Now. Open it, then go into the settings, and disable it. It causes lag because it's waiting to see if you're going to press it again or not.
But if that doesn't fix it, and it's doing that stuff before you've even set it up, I'd tend to think you've got a faulty unit. The capacitive buttons are part of the screen/digitizer, so maybe you've got a bum one.

Fingerprint sensor/ Lockscreen

Hello,
Long time lurker here and was hoping for some advice/ suggestions.
I have a Canadian S9 Plus (on Bell Mobility) and noticed the following issues/ annoyances:
1) When the phone is woken up (e.g. pressing the virtual home button, plugged into charger, new text message received, etc.), the screen would turn on, continuously look for fingerprints ("Wipe the fingerprint sensor and try again" message would keep flashing) and would not shut off until I press the power button to turn off the screen
2) The fingerprint sensor generally works (e.g. unlocks the phone, swipes to drop down notification window), HOWEVER it does not work to unlock the phone if the phone has been sleeping for more than a few minutes (nothing happens no matter which direction I swipe/ press the fingerprint sensor). When I try to unlock the phone, I will have to press the power button to wake up the phone then swipe the fingerprint sensor. This may be a standard feature, but after pressing the power button to wake up the screen I will always get a message that says "The fingerprint sensor may be dirty. Clean it and try again.". Again the fingerprint sensor otherwise works so cleanliness of the sensor isn't really an issue here.
Has this happened to anyone's phone? I tried clearing cache/ resetting app preferences/ factory resetting the phone multiple times but with no luck. I also called Samsung but the conversation didn't go anywhere.
Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help!
Have not had that issue with mine.
Do you have the finger sensor gesture on?
chickenbb said:
Do you have the finger sensor gesture on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried both finger gesture on and off - no difference with the same issues persisting :crying:
this is the exact issue im facing when i got my s9+, i also thought that it was a factory defect. but luckily recently it didnt came up again and i did nothing. but still continuing monitoring the issue as it is really so bothersome.
Sounds like a defect to me. I'd exchange it.
I have not had any issues. Have you tried re-scanning your fingers? I noticed that this finger print scanner is different from the one on my LG V20. It feels different, and seems to operate different. It's also a little smaller which makes me have to position my fingers different.
I also read the instructions wrong.. I was supposed to swipe my finger during the setup. I was pressing it down. Either way mine works great.
Same issue here, did you manage to solve it?
Mario_Nissan said:
Same issue here, did you manage to solve it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all - I ended up returning it. Any luck on your end?
Maybe try registering your finger/s with and without a case on. See what happens.
Same issue here. This is the one thing that really bugs me about this phone.

Lift to wake, double tap, and lock security flaky?

Anyone else notice lift to wake sometimes doesn't work? Sometimes it's fine, other times there's a few second delay, other times I can shake the phone after picking it up and nothing then it finally comes on. Googling shows intermittent reports over the last year or two of similar symptoms on the 2 and 2 XL.
Also, double tap sometimes does nothing. Tapping again usually works. Sometimes it works fine several times in a row, then fails again.
Lastly, I have fingerprint lock enabled. If lift to wake works, and double tap gets me to the lock screen sometimes I can swipe up and get the home screen. Other times it forces me to use my fingerprint.
Quite a bit of flakiness in this whole area. Things appear to be working fine once I'm in, but getting there is quite inconsistent.
I did contact support, tried various things they suggested including booting into safe mode, but didn't fix it. They're supposed to get back to me...
samnada said:
Also, double tap sometimes does nothing. Tapping again usually works. Sometimes it works fine several times in a row, then fails again.
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Click to collapse
Definitely noticed this on my 3XL. It's like it doze's a little too hard or something. Usually doesn't react properly after long periods of inactivity. Same with FP on my P3. But sometimes the FP is fine, like you say it's flaky and inconsistent. Maybe something that will be tuned a little better in an update or with a custom kernel in the not to distant future....
Chronzy said:
Definitely noticed this on my 3XL. It's like it doze's a little too hard or something. Usually doesn't react properly after long periods of inactivity. Same with FP on my P3. But sometimes the FP is fine, like you say it's flaky and inconsistent. Maybe something that will be tuned a little better in an update or with a custom kernel in the not to distant future....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of things.
I ended up disabling FP and then setting it up again and since then the FP detection has been much more consistent. Maybe sometimes the process for the initial FP scan isn't very good and that might cause the security scans after that to be inconsistent. Just a guess. Anyway, resetting it might help.
Also, the comment I made about sometimes I can just swipe on the lock screen and not have to use FP was due to having "Smart Lock" enabled. It's a bit confusing (at least to me) in the Settings screens. Under Security > Advanced > Trusted Agents > Smart Lock can be turned off. I did that and now it always requires my FP.
One more thing. The swipe on the FP scanner to bring down the notification panel is very flaky for me. Works only about 50% of the time at most. Also went over that with support. Waiting for them to get back to me on that one as well.
samnada said:
Couple of things.
I ended up disabling FP and then setting it up again and since then the FP detection has been much more consistent. Maybe sometimes the process for the initial FP scan isn't very good and that might cause the security scans after that to be inconsistent. Just a guess. Anyway, resetting it might help.
Also, the comment I made about sometimes I can just swipe on the lock screen and not have to use FP was due to having "Smart Lock" enabled. It's a bit confusing (at least to me) in the Settings screens. Under Security > Advanced > Trusted Agents > Smart Lock can be turned off. I did that and now it always requires my FP.
One more thing. The swipe on the FP scanner to bring down the notification panel is very flaky for me. Works only about 50% of the time at most. Also went over that with support. Waiting for them to get back to me on that one as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the stuff you experienced is standard operation for phone's with Double tap to wake, lift to wake, etc. Those features just kinda go to sleep after a while. And yes, smart lock keeps you logged in during certain situations that you specify. Welcome to Team Pixel!
Don't use a lot of those features, but some OT thoughts..
I think there is some FP lag if you have lift-to-check enabled because it's 'lifting-to-check' while i'm hitting the FP. I disabled lift to check and i'll see if the FP's a little snappier.
Always helps to redo the FP after you change a case too- I usually do 2x on each index finger.
PuffDaddy_d said:
Most of the stuff you experienced is standard operation for phone's with Double tap to wake, lift to wake, etc. Those features just kinda go to sleep after a while. And yes, smart lock keeps you logged in during certain situations that you specify. Welcome to Team Pixel!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every phone I've had has quirks. It is a bit disappointing a useful feature like lift to wake, especially with no notification LED, has been flaky for so long it's now accepted behavior. I tried a location smart lock feature on my previous Samsung and quickly abandoned it as unreliable as well. What seems odd and a bit confusing is the Smart Lock on/off switch is in a totally different place than where you set up the specific settings, some of which get added by default. Really like the phone, just a bit of acclimation.
Do you have your battery saver on? I found that after I turned off my battery saver it worked
oneeyeddie said:
Do you have your battery saver on? I found that after I turned off my battery saver it worked
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Click to collapse
I had battery saver on. I've turned it off for now to see if that helps and how much extra battery gets used. Thanks for the suggestion.
Update: That didn't take long. Lift to wake is still flaky. Works sometimes, other times not.
I've noticed the same. I use smart lock with a Garmin watch. On my Nexus 6 it always worked, and if I didn't have my watch on, when I swiped the screen it would ask for a PIN. Now, I lift or double tap and sometimes it will then let my swipe the screen, but most often I have to hit the power key. This is not an improvement.
Can't believe no one has figured this out. It has to do with the lock to sleep delay. By default it is set to 5 seconds. So, madly tapping won't work. Go into settings and change the timing. Be amazed.

General Why must unlocking my phone be so cumbersome?

The simple user experience of unlocking the device on is so bad on Pixel 6. There's just no winning option.
Smart Lock randomly kicks in, so I can't be sure that a single tap of the screen will turn on the phone.
The fingerprint sensor sucks, and requires a tap on the screen just to bring it up. And sometimes I don't even get the option to use my fingerprint.
I don't even like the single-tap gesture to begin with. It means I'm accidentally turning my screen on all the time just when carrying the phone. It almost started a call with my deadbeat father, who I haven't talked to in 20 years
I could go with no screen lock but then I'm locked out of several key features (like viewing my account passwords). Also, pressing the Power button at all on a phone this big is cumbersome, since I then have to reposition my entire hand to go from pressing it to then interacting with the screen.
I'm already rooted because I absolutely needed the Back button to be on the right side. Now I'm hoping modders can fix the unlocking experience because it's the next big issue in my mind.
The fingerprint scanner is actually very good if you set it up right, and will always be displayed with always on display... No tap required. Problem solved
turbosrrgood said:
The fingerprint scanner is actually very good if you set it up right, and will always be displayed with always on display... No tap required. Problem solved
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or lift to check turned on rather than AOD.
turbosrrgood said:
...and will always be displayed with always on display... No tap required. Problem solved
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not my experience at all. Sometimes I get a fingerprint sensor icon. Other times my phone is unlocked via Smart Lock and I get an Unlock icon in place of the fingerprint sensor. Other times I get a Lock icon indicating Smart Lock is expired. Other times I get no icon there at all.
If the fingerprint sensor is there and I'm on the dimmed screen, sometimes it'll just light up and deny, and other times it won't even acknowledge that I've put my finger on the sensor.
If the Unlock icon is there, it requires a tap to unlock (no holding!). So that means I have to actually look at the screen and discern which icon is there to know whether I need to tap or hold.
And Lift to Check Phone would be even more problematic for me, since I'm trying to avoid accidental screen interactions and this would only cause more.
On all my other Pixel phones I just touch the back fingerprint sensor and the phone is on. I don't have to think about a dozen different possible states the phone could be in every time I want to turn it on.
Have you tried to recalibrate it via the Pixel tool thing Google has?
Google Pixel - Update and Software Repair
gavingt said:
The simple user experience of unlocking the device on is so bad on Pixel 6. There's just no winning option.
Smart Lock randomly kicks in, so I can't be sure that a single tap of the screen will turn on the phone.
The fingerprint sensor sucks, and requires a tap on the screen just to bring it up. And sometimes I don't even get the option to use my fingerprint.
I don't even like the single-tap gesture to begin with. It means I'm accidentally turning my screen on all the time just when carrying the phone. It almost started a call with my deadbeat father, who I haven't talked to in 20 years
I could go with no screen lock but then I'm locked out of several key features (like viewing my account passwords). Also, pressing the Power button at all on a phone this big is cumbersome, since I then have to reposition my entire hand to go from pressing it to then interacting with the screen.
I'm already rooted because I absolutely needed the Back button to be on the right side. Now I'm hoping modders can fix the unlocking experience because it's the next big issue in my mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like smartlock working as intended (which I find useless, and poor security). It will give you an unlock icon instead of the fingerprint. Maybe you simply don't want smart unlock, which is more useful for password only. This seems like more of a matter of figuring out what features you want to use.
If you changed the Animation Scale in Developer Settings then the AOD fingerprint icon can disappear.
turbosrrgood said:
It sounds like smartlock working as intended (which I find useless, and poor security). It will give you an unlock icon instead of the fingerprint. Maybe you simply don't want smart unlock, which is more useful for password only. This seems like more of a matter of figuring out what features you want to use.
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Click to collapse
I never used to use Smart Lock, but on this phone it means I don't have to deal with the inconsistent fingerprint sensor as often.
gavingt said:
I never used to use Smart Lock, but on this phone it means I don't have to deal with the inconsistent fingerprint sensor as often.
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Click to collapse
Try setting up the fingerprint scanner again, slightly moving your finger with ever press during set up to get every angle and view of the print. It's been pretty much perfect for me. I suppose Google could have helped instruct people to do that better in the process.
turbosrrgood said:
It sounds like smartlock working as intended (which I find useless, and poor security). It will give you an unlock icon instead of the fingerprint. Maybe you simply don't want smart unlock, which is more useful for password only. This seems like more of a matter of figuring out what features you want to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just restarted my phone, and then repeatedly unlocked and locked it (sometimes by fingerprint, sometimes by tapping). By the end of the video, the fingerprint sensor icon disappeared completely and wouldn't come back until after another restart:
Streamable Video
Watch this video on Streamable.
streamable.com
This is just one example of the inconsistencies. I haven't changed the animation settings either.
I did see it happen a couple of times in your stream. I don't recall seeing that on mine, but I haven't been looking for it. The only other thing I can suggest is make sure you have the latest updates and/or factory reset.
Edit - I tried to replicate your stream, and the sensor showed in all 30 attempts for me. For whatever it's worth, so might be something specific to your device, maybe settings or software issue
turbosrrgood said:
I did see it happen a couple of times in your stream. I don't recall seeing that on mine, but I haven't been looking for it. The only other thing I can suggest is make sure you have the latest updates and/or factory reset.
Edit - I tried to replicate your stream, and the sensor showed in all 30 attempts for me. For whatever it's worth, so might be something specific to your device, maybe settings or software issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be a bug related to my specific settings:
Rooted device, still on the October update
Lock after screen timeout: 30 minutes
Power button locks instantly: Off
gavingt said:
I just restarted my phone, and then repeatedly unlocked and locked it (sometimes by fingerprint, sometimes by tapping). By the end of the video, the fingerprint sensor icon disappeared completely and wouldn't come back until after another restart:
Streamable Video
Watch this video on Streamable.
streamable.com
This is just one example of the inconsistencies. I haven't changed the animation settings either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what are you going on about lol. this is the kind of nonsense that is so irritating. you had 100% success rate unlocking your phone. what's the problem. looks to me like it works. so what's the big deal. and then you have the gall to complain that the sensor icon disappeared after you repeatedly locked and unlocked your phone? yea. try starting your car repeatedly. see what happens with the engine.
kramer987 said:
what are you going on about lol. this is the kind of nonsense that is so irritating. you had 100% success rate unlocking your phone. what's the problem. looks to me like it works. so what's the big deal. and then you have the gall to complain that the sensor icon disappeared after you repeatedly locked and unlocked your phone? yea. try starting your car repeatedly. see what happens with the engine.
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Click to collapse
Sure, ignore my multiple posts on the subject. It's not nonsense. I have no idea why you're trying to minimize this, and why you feel the need to be so combative.
gavingt said:
I'm already rooted because I absolutely needed the Back button to be on the right side.
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Click to collapse
You know gesture navigation is a thing now right? Back buttons are so "last decade".
sic0048 said:
You know gesture navigation is a thing now right? Back buttons are so "last decade".
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Click to collapse
Yes, I know and I hate it. It's extra motion that tires out my hand and I often trigger the gestures when I don't mean to.
gavingt said:
Sure, ignore my multiple posts on the subject. It's not nonsense. I have no idea why you're trying to minimize this, and why you feel the need to be so combative.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i will just apologize and go on with my day. good luck with the phone.
I went ahead and updated to the November firmware, and wiped my data as well. Now my phone won't show the fingerprint sensor while unlocking under any circumstances. I also found an interesting bug wherein I'm still able to turn my screen on by tapping it repeatedly even with "Tap to check phone" disabled:
screen-20211102-164842[1]
Watch "screen-20211102-164842[1]" on Streamable.
streamable.com
EDIT: And, of course, as I was typing this the fingerprint sensor just magically came back. And it still doesn't work unless I tap the dimmed screen to wake it first. Watch as it straight up ignores my finger the first time:
screen-20211102-171057[1]
Watch "screen-20211102-171057[1]" on Streamable.
streamable.com
I can recreate this 100% of the time by just setting my phone down for a second and picking it back up, then trying to unlock it. And you can't see it in the video, but the sensor doesn't even light up the first time I touch it. This is clearly a software bug.
gavingt said:
I went ahead and updated to the November firmware, and wiped my data as well. Now my phone won't show the fingerprint sensor while unlocking under any circumstances. I also found an interesting bug wherein I'm still able to turn my screen on by tapping it repeatedly even with "Tap to check phone" disabled:
screen-20211102-164842[1]
Watch "screen-20211102-164842[1]" on Streamable.
streamable.com
EDIT: And, of course, as I was typing this the fingerprint sensor just magically came back. And it still doesn't work unless I tap the dimmed screen to wake it first. Watch as it straight up ignores my finger the first time:
screen-20211102-171057[1]
Watch "screen-20211102-171057[1]" on Streamable.
streamable.com
I can recreate this 100% of the time by just setting my phone down for a second and picking it back up, then trying to unlock it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but at least we know you like dunkin donuts, dominos pizza, and your mom forgets stuff
kramer987 said:
try starting your car repeatedly. see what happens with the engine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess you don't know anything about cars. You can start and stop a fuel injected car until the battery dies, and nothing will happen to the engine or fuel system. (Yes, the battery will die if you keep starting the car and tuning it off right away) Just as proof of this, most modern cars shut off the engine when you come to a stop, and restart when you let off the brake. If you're in stop and go traffic, the engine will shut off and turn on repeatedly in a short amount of time nd distance.
Now with classic cars and motorcycles, you my flood the carb with repeated starts. Not a big deal, and not any kind of damage.
The only "damage" in repeatedly starting a car would be normal wear and tear on the starter. They do have a finite lifespan. But again, not damage, just use.

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