Iris Scanner thoughts and issues

[Narr]

I've had my 950XL for a couple of weeks now and I'm surprised how much I like the size and feel of the phone; as a 1520 owner I always thought the XL would be too big but it's ok.

I'm really wondering about the iris scanner though and if this is because it's in beta or whether it will be improved; also if there are any advantages over fingerprint scanning.
Overall I find the scanner works well, it could be a little quicker and it's certainly quicker than typing in my pin but I've had issues when wearing sunglasses. One pair works but the other, darker pair, does not. I'll try training the system more and see if it helps.
Another issue is that as soon as the phone is on the iris scanner switches on, when I place it on the charger, anything that wakes the screen etc. I come back to the phone sometimes and I need to enter my pin as there have been too many attempts to open the phone using the scanner.

If I compare the scanner to a couple of fingerprint scanners I use the iPhone 5S just works everytime with no issues but the Samsung Tab S2 if more temperamental so it may just come down to the quality of components being used as to whether fingers or irises are better.

 

[Grodelj]

I agree with your thoughts. So far I couldn't find any advantage over fingerprint, only disadvantages

 

[bozza72]

I waer glasses full time so its a little pointless for me but i hope mS improve it

 

[Narr]

The only advantage I can see over a fingerprint scanner is for the winter when you're wearing gloves, but I think they've removed the super sensitive touch option so you'll be left looking like a crazy guy in the corner talking to the phone

@bozza72: I can wear one pair of sunglasses and not the other. Does it not work at all with glasses?

 

[travis_valkyrie]

In theory it should work if you're wearing regular sunglasses, not tinted or polarized as the ones equipped with these alter light waves coming into your eyes, so they don't become visible for the IR sensor to read your iris. Put it simply: as long as the infrared light can penetrate through the glasses, it should be fine.

The only annoyance I have is that I can't just stare at the screen to unlock it. It's either you have to stare at the Microsoft logo, or along the areas where the IR sensor is. And you can't even go through the training setup if you just look at the screen, you have to look at the top to get a reading.

I understand the 'too many attempts' I get that every morning, but I'm using a wireless charger. These things are constantly charging if a coil is present, so if the phone dips below a certain battery level it will start to charge which wakes up the phone and triggers Windows Hello, and it apparently sees something on the ceiling and marks it as an attempt. I never got this using the wall charger.

 

[bozza72]

The only advantage I can see over a fingerprint scanner is for the winter when you're wearing gloves, but I think they've removed the super sensitive touch option so you'll be left looking like a crazy guy in the corner talking to the phone

@bozza72: I can wear one pair of sunglasses and not the other. Does it not work at all with glasses?

it did on and off but more off, il keep trying and see if i can nail it down so its more reliable.
oh and im not knocking MS i think its awesome and the more James bod our phones get the better

 

[zei20t]

mine works fine with sunglasses (and reading glasses) perhaps people with different prescriptions have difficulties?

if you're into security, then the iris scanner is better (IMO) because you don't leave copies of your iris around - like you do with fingerprints with everything you touch.

 

[bozza72]

mine works fine with sunglasses (and reading glasses) perhaps people with different prescriptions have difficulties?

if you're into security, then the iris scanner is better (IMO) because you don't leave copies of your iris around - like you do with fingerprints with everything you touch.

So should i train the irs scanner with my glasses on or off ????

 

[zei20t]

maybe set it up without glasses

then do the re-training thing with your glasses on.

they did tests and used a 2nd person while re-training it and it allowed both people to unlock the phone. perhaps there is enough magnification in your glasses (or one) that it wont detect properly

thats my opinion though, i just hope that works for you if youre having difficulties.

 

[bozza72]

ok so ive been playing around with this irs scanner and if you press the unlock button and point the phone away from you so it cant scan your eyes you can still slide up the lock screen and open the phone with out a pin.......... so anyone can open my phone .....

 

[zei20t]

ok so ive been playing around with this irs scanner and if you press the unlock button and point the phone away from you so it cant scan your eyes you can still slide up the lock screen and open the phone with out a pin.......... so anyone can open my phone .....

the default PIN request time is 15 mins. perhaps set that to 0 mins and try again.

the iris scanner will unlock the phone no matter if a pin is required or not.

 

[bozza72]

the default PIN request time is 15 mins. perhaps set that to 0 mins and try again.

the iris scanner will unlock the phone no matter if a pin is required or not.

opps missed that setting
cheers

 

[patcherd]

the default PIN request time is 15 mins. perhaps set that to 0 mins and try again.

the iris scanner will unlock the phone no matter if a pin is required or not.

I didn't see this post. I discovered the same thing today, I was able to open the phone also, but I didn't reset the pin request time. Just set it to every time.

 

[zei20t]

i remember changing that setting, thats the only reason why i know

 

[Krystianpants]

Firmware 15506/.107 I never get this too many attempts error.

The scan works super fast and even from different angles and from pretty far. I trained it pretty well though in different lighting conditions and angles. It's easy to do because during training you can see your eyes and adjust based on angles etc..

It used to give me problems but now it's pretty quick.

It should however only trigger in scenarios where you want to use it. I do notice it going on when the screen wakes for an alert or what not. My guess is that it's not very battery friendly.

I also tested it with sun glasses and it worked great. Only one pair failed which are aviators that are chrome so light will bounce off of them.

The issue with people wearing glasses is that they need to do optimizations with both the glasses on and off. I could see the issue with taking glasses off as depending on eye site it may cause you to squint which is a natural response, this covers the iris. I find that sometimes when it tells me to move closer I just open my eyes wide and bam it goes in.

As far as iris scanning goes it is as secure as it can get. Airports use them. This is not at all easy to circumvent. It's basically almost impossible. And you can't cut someones eye out because the iris degrades right away when the eye doesn't sustain any blood. Yes, I read a lot about the tech.

There's retinal scanners too but Iris is actually considered the better version and less intrusive.

Now the fingerprint scanners are easy to unlock, you can find lots of videos of people doing it. You can even unlock an iphone 6s with a gummy bear if there's a perfect fingerprint left on the reader.

I know both have a backup pin which can destroy the security, but the idea is you don't use the pin much and no one in public will ever see you punching it in. And of course, MS needs to have the IR work after a reboot too, not sure why it requires a pin at that point.

I have been using it from the start and it has definitely improved over firmware updates and cumulative updates. My guess is that this stuff can be even better and it's already pretty lightning fast. The most time is spent turning on the IR. So MS needs to figure out how to get it ready when the user wants to unlock. A swinging gesture or anything like that would be cool, it would avoid requiring hitting the power button.

 

[wyabcp]

Mine work 99% of the time, very impressed with it. Could be a little quicker, but i've noticed you can pull it away before it says "Hello ***" and it will unlock, so even quicker if you get the timing right.
Also have you noticed it will work if you shut one eye....
They do need to remove it coming on when the phone is already unlocked though..
overall it 's super cool

 

[Vladimir Ka]

All these responses for how quick it is are getting me excited.. Last time I used Hello it was sooooo sloooowww..

Thanks guys, I'll re-enable it

 

[teiva]

It's pretty fast for me. Will try and teach it a few more angles though. I do agree with wyabcp they need to remove it if your still in the 15 min (or whatever time you set) lockout period.

 

[Narr]

I've generally only had issues unlocking in bars where there is a bright light behind or directly above me. I'll go through some extra training as well to see if that speeds things up.