Iris Scanner on Anniversary

[Sean N]

Im really happy for those of you who are successful. I received a note 7 review unit for my company, and the first thing I noticed was how much better and more reliable samsungs implementation is. If MS is able to replicate that speed and consistency, I won't have any more gripes. Unfortunately, no matter how much I train the lumia, it always requires holding up the phone and adjusting the distance and position and looking bugeyed to get a successful recognition. Time to unlock is simply too long for the average person based on the ratio of complaints to success stories. What's acceptable is clearly subjective, but it seems more people are unsatisfied than are. I hope they continue to work on the technology, and I hope its not a hardware limitation. I wouldn't buy another windows phone just for this feature, or just to see how its supposed to work.

 

[cnashx]

I use the Iris Scanner probably 98% of the time. It is fast enough for me. The only times I don't use it is if I am in direct blinding sunlight since it doesn't recognize me there.

 

[archigos]

I saw Samsung's implementation and was impressed as well. However, as far as MS's implementation I would hazard a guess that it is model specific (h/w and s/w). I've tried the Iris unlock on a Surface Pro 4 and it's crazy fast.

 

[Martin Zone]

I would say that different anatomy of eyes in persons play a big role in an overall experience with the iris recognition on Lumias. But in general, in a current state it's just a not very useful gimmick, especially if you often unlock your phone on the move.

 

[Joe920]

I've tried the Iris unlock on a Surface Pro 4 and it's crazy fast.

That's actually facial recognition, not iris scanning. But yes, from what I read that system is really fast.

 

[fdruid]

I actually find it to be faster, though it was working really well before. But in Anniversary something about the animation or the unlocking process makes it a little slower, even after successfully being identified by the scanner.
In most situations though, it's perfectly fluid and transparent, a good way to login securely.

 

[miodrage]

One more trick for a quicker iris unlock - hold the phone with the front camera looking between ur eyes. For me it means holding it a bit to the left (with my right hand) and about 30 cm from my face. The success rate even when walking is as much as 90%. Also i make always a little stare to the front camera, so my eyes become a bit larger and easier to recognise for the sensor.
After reading this thread, I immediatelly turned on the Iris scanner, and my wife accused me that I was hiding something from her, although she knows the PIN, lol.

 

[slyronit]

For me, the scanner itself takes less than a second to recognize. It's the slow animations and transitions that take time.

 

[Martin Zone]

One more trick for a quicker iris unlock - hold the phone with the front camera looking between ur eyes. For me it means holding it a bit to the left (with my right hand) and about 30 cm from my face. The success rate even when walking is as much as 90%. Also i make always a little stare to the front camera, so my eyes become a bit larger and easier to recognise for the sensor.
After reading this thread, I immediatelly turned on the Iris scanner, and my wife accused me that I was hiding something from her, although she knows the PIN, lol.

There is the problem, that you need so many lines to describe successful (for yourself) unlock. Can I hold it with my left hand? Not a hater, just saying, currently most of the time just annoying gimmick...

 

[Joe920]

For me, the scanner itself takes less than a second to recognize. It's the slow animations and transitions that take time.

Same here. I push power, after one second the screen comes on, one second later the red Hello light comes on, and half a second later the phone is unlocked. I wish they would at least remove the delay before turning on the light.

 

[fdruid]

The first time I calibrated it I did it looking at the sensor, after a hard reset I did it looking more at the screen, or rather, it's how it detected my eyes correctly. Now it detects my iris just by looking at the middle of the screen, and further than before. I think it's improved with the latest updates.

 

[vader42]

I use the iris scanner all the time. It works well. I subliminally stare at the Microsoft badge, well stare through it more like it. I can unlock from a comfortable arms distance. It is quick and accurate. Iris scanning is highly secure - I tried to use a photo, and it didn't work. I would far rather use iris than fingerprint. You don't leave your iris print on anything

 

[br00ksh0t]

I really appreciate the responses. I am finding it very hard to fight the urge to jump to the 950XL. I've had a 640 LTE since they had that $30 deal at Wal-Mart... and I've been playing around in the slow ring. Love the Win10 UI.

 

[anon(8648115)]

What I've noticed is that if you haven't used the phone for a while, it'll take an extra half a second after waking to activate the iris scanner, then its a fast unlock.

HOWEVER, if you then quickly lock the phone and wake it again, the iris scanner awakens instantly and you're in the phone in half a second. I never understood this. This little 'inactivity delay' is present in touching the screen as well. If you haven't used the screen for like ten seconds (e.g. reading), and you scroll, there'll be a fraction of a second of delay before the UI responds. If you continue to scroll, it's instantaneous.

Again, same idea with the iris scanner. Just tested this multiple times.

 

[slyronit]

I tested this multiple times in different environments, using a stopwatch next to my 950XL.

1. Press the button, screen turns on and Iris scanner turns on (by red LED) - 1.2 seconds
2. Hello recognizes your Iris - 1.5 seconds average (Red LED turns on to red LED turns off)
3. The stupid animation welcoming me and saying Hello, screen fades away to start screen 800ms

Simply optimizing steps 1 and 3 would save almost 2 seconds.

I don't have another device at the moment to make a video with, will do later and share if I find the time.

 

[SlightlyDum]

I've notice that looking at the Microsoft logo helps a lot. Works every time and super fast.

 

[miodrage]

And turned iris scanner and PIN off again. I do not need such a security, for me its more of a playing with it then actual need.

 

[fdruid]

I've notice that looking at the Microsoft logo helps a lot. Works every time and super fast.

You mean down at the bottom of the phone?

 

[SlightlyDum]

The Microsoft logo right below the ear piece up top.
I don't see a Microsoft logo at the bottom, I see a Windows logo.

 

[fdruid]

The Microsoft logo right below the ear piece up top.
I don't see a Microsoft logo at the bottom, I see a Windows logo.

Right. Well, I get good results even looking at the top of the screen where the smiley face is. I think we're talking about the same thing. But I wonder how much it depends on how you do the initial recognition.