For some, Touch ID isn’t playing nice with iOS 7.1

Apple two days ago released its iOS 7.1 software update containing a host of bug fixes, performance improvements and a couple new features.

Among the enhancements: better Touch ID accuracy and reliability. For the vast majority of iPhone 5s owners, Touch ID indeed seems to be working better and faster after upgrading to iOS 7.1.

On the other hand, a growing thread on Apple’s support forums clearly indicates that a subset of iPhone 5s owners could be plagued with various issues with the sensor.

The hiccups vary from Touch ID not working at all or functioning only sporadically to having difficulty producing a match, saved prints in iOS Settings > Touch ID & Password mysteriously disappearing and more.

And how’s Touch ID for you in iOS7.1?

One poster wrote at Apple’s support forums:

After installing iOS 7.1 Touch ID stopped working. When I put my finger on the sensor nothing happens. I already tried rebooting and switching Touch ID on and off. None of that seemed to work.

Right now I’m trying to set up a new fingerprint but it doesn’t even start scanning when I put my finger on. It just doesn’t do anything. I have a feeling that the sensor might be broken…

Another poster reminded the user that Touch ID requires the passcode after a restart, to which the poster replied that he tried that, to no avail.

Another disgruntled user reported being unable to add a new finger in iOS Settings > Touch ID & Password. “It doesn’t even react to my finger,” the post reads. “No Vibration, nothing. After waiting a few seconds it worked again, but just until the next vibration. Now it doesn’t do anything.”

Some folks say Touch ID only works when their iPhone is plugged into the charger.

For starters, you should enable iPhone Unlock under the Touch ID & Password section of the Settings app. It would seem that iOS 7.1 had turned off the iPhone Unlock option for at least some affected users.

Next, try removing your saved prints from the Settings app and enrol them again.

That different people are having different kinds of issues with Touch ID – with the only commonality being malfunctioning or erratic behavior of the sensor – seemingly points to a software-related bug that should be easily fixable with a simple firmware update.

As per usual, Apple hasn’t yet acknowledged the existence of the problem.

Another thread related to the same issue has popped up here.