Apple iPhone’s Face ID facial recognition isn’t made for use with masks, including N95 face masks, which the CDC now recommends we all wear in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. “Face ID is designed to work with your eyes, nose and mouth visible,” an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.
Worldwide Marketing, Philip W. Schiller, explains Face ID during Apple’s September 12, 2017 event
Joanna Stern for The Wall Street Journal:
Naturally, I saw this as a challenge. I began trying to register my face with the system wearing just about everything—an N95 mask, a bandanna, a homemade mask, a diaper. Nope. Nada. None of it worked. And no, Samsung fans, it didn’t work on the Galaxy S20 either.
Some have figured out elaborate workarounds for using Face ID with masks (as you can see in my video above). Others, especially doctors who have been dealing with this frustration for years, have some useful tips to counter this new inconvenience…
People who have been wearing masks in areas of Asia over the past few months told me that Face ID seems to have learned their “mask face.” Apple’s Face ID system does learn changes to your face over time—say, growing of a beard—so there’s a chance the longer you wear a mask this might work. I haven’t seen a change yet.
MacDailyNews Take: Here’s how to unlock your iPhone while wearing a face mask:
1. Enter your passcode.
2. There is no step 2.