Touch ID setup cannot be completed. Couldn't complete Touch ID setup on iPhone or it stopped working

Apple provides users of its technology with a large number of functions designed to ensure complete security and protect the device from unauthorized persons. One such add-on is Touch ID.

What is Touch ID

Touch ID is a password that can be set to unlock the device or access certain applications. Unlike previous passwords, which were a combination of numbers or a key character, Touch ID checks the fingerprints of the person trying to unlock the phone or tablet and compares them with the fingerprints stored in the device's memory. If they match, then the unlocking is successful, but if Touch ID suspects that they are trying to hack the device, it will go into lock mode. The user has three attempts to prove their identity using unique fingerprints.

The advantage of this technology is that it is the most reliable way to block access to your device or individual programs. If a phone or tablet is stolen, it will be very difficult for an attacker to remove it from the locked state.

Touch ID first appeared on the iPhone 5S and is present on all subsequent phone models. This technology is also available on iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.

How to enable, disable and configure Touch ID on iPhone

Before activating Touch ID, it is recommended to restart your device, close all applications and wash your hands, since the first time you turn it on you will need to add your fingerprints, and if they are unclear, you may have problems unlocking the device in the future.

1. Open the Settings application.
2. Go to the “Touch ID and Passcode” section.
3. Click the “Add fingerprint” button. Detailed instructions for adding a fingerprint will appear on the device screen. It will be necessary to apply your finger several times, raising and lowering it at the right moment. Hold the device the way you normally hold it. Don't place your finger straight or at a certain angle; place it on the Home button the way you most often place it during everyday use.
4. If you think that the fingerprint is inaccurate, then find it in the “Fingerprints” block and swipe it from right to left. A “Delete” button will appear, which you must click to erase the fingerprint.
5. You can click on the name of the resulting fingerprint to assign any other name.
6. Now we activate the “Unlock iPhone” function if you want the device to unlock only after touching it with your finger.
7. Activate the "ITunes Store, App Store" feature if you want your fingerprint to be required when entering the store.
8. If you want to disable Touch ID technology on your device, then deactivate the two features above.

What to do if a function stops working or crashes

Some users experience problems immediately after enabling Touch ID, while others experience problems after a few days or months. The problem may be the following: Touch ID does not work, has stopped working, does not work the first time, does not work correctly. To get rid of all the above problems, you need to do the following:

1. Reboot your device by pressing the Lock and Home buttons at the same time for 8-10 seconds.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Go to the Touch ID and Passcode section.
4. Delete any existing prints. To do this, first click on the name or fingerprint number.
5. In the tab that opens, click the “Delete fingerprint” button. Repeat this operation with all prints.
6. Click the Add Fingerprint button. Follow all instructions that appear on the device screen: remove and reapply your finger, rest the tip or middle of your finger, rotate, and others. Repeat this process with each finger.

What to do if the fingerprint scanner is not working well - video

If restoring fingerprints does not help fix problems with Touch ID, you need to take the device to a service center to get advice from a qualified specialist and possibly send the device for repair, since the problem is most likely in the hardware of the phone or tablet. If you hacked the firmware of your device using Jailbreak, then this may be the reason. Also, the reason may be in the IOS version; you need to install the latest firmware on your device for Touch ID to work correctly.

The release of iOS 11 will take place only in early autumn, but the operating system is already available in beta version. Users discovered that iOS 11 introduced an “anti-police button” feature. The fact is that law enforcement officers often force users to unlock the device using Touch ID, but in the West, law enforcement officers cannot force a person to enter a password to unlock the device, since this would already be a violation of the law.

It is precisely this legal subtlety that Apple engineers apparently decided to use. In iOS 11, just press the power button five times in a row, and even on a locked device, the emergency call screen will appear, and to unlock the device you will already need to enter a password instead of using a fingerprint.

iOS 11 is a game-changer for Touch ID. Press power button rapidly 5 times and it opens the 2nd screen, but it also forces passphrase entry! pic.twitter.com/uvWbM04lyk

Speaking about disabling Touch ID and iOS security, we cannot fail to mention another important event in recent days. Information security specialist, known under the nickname xerub, published on GitHub, on Twitter and on the iPhone Wiki website a key for decrypting the firmware of the Secure Enclave Processor (SEP) coprocessor. To explain what we are talking about, we quote the official description of the technology:

“Secure Enclave technology is designed to protect password and fingerprint data. Touch ID does not store images of fingerprints, but only uses mathematical representations of them. From such a representation it is impossible to obtain a real image of the fingerprint.

Fingerprint data is encrypted and protected with a key only available to Secure Enclave. They are used exclusively by the Secure Enclave system and only to verify that the fingerprint matches the stored data. The Secure Enclave system is separate from the rest of the processor and iOS operating system. This way, fingerprint data will never be used by iOS and other programs, stored on Apple servers, or copied to iCloud or other storage. This data is used only by Touch ID and cannot be used for comparison with other fingerprint databases."

The key published by the specialist does not give access to the Secure Enclave itself and user data, but allows you to decrypt and study the software code under which it operates. Along with the key, the specialist presented two tools: img4lib and sepsplit. The first allows you to decrypt the iPhone 5s IMG4 SEP (Secure Enclave Processor) image, and the second is used to process the result.

Xerub says that he has long been confused by the fact that the code associated with SEP remains encrypted, even though Apple “opened up” the kernel with the release of iOS 10. The specialist believes that publishing the key and decrypting the firmware will help improve SEP security in the long term. It is not known whether the Apple developers agree with this position, but the researcher is definitely right about one thing: the publication of the key is of great interest to both information security specialists and hackers, and the season for hunting for vulnerabilities can be considered open.

The iPhone 5S debuted biometric Touch ID sensors. After this, this technology began to appear on all subsequent mobile gadgets of the company.

Constant additions have turned the fingerprint scanner into a reliable tool for protecting access to both the mobile device and applications. Now Touch ID is an integral part of the Apple Pay payment system. However, this tool does not always work the way users want: there are errors in recognition and malfunctions.

In this article, we want to tell you how to calibrate and configure Touch ID on the current iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, as well as iPad Air 2 and mini 3. We believe that this article will be relevant for subsequent Apple products.

Setting up Touch ID using the example of iPhone 6

Configure the settings on other gadgets in the same way. Let's get started.

1. First of all, we erase all fingerprints in the memory.
2. Then you need to restart your smartphone, first ending all active applications.
3. Then go to “Settings” - “Touch ID and Password” and here, at your discretion, enter a password.
4. After this, a menu opens in which the user’s fingerprints are stored.

Increase

You need to be especially careful at this step. The phone should be held in its normal position. You should not make any more transitions or manipulations, but simply touch the scanner in the same way as is done to unlock the iPhone screen.

If a finger that the system already knows lingers on the sensor, it will be highlighted in the list of fingerprints. Now it will be the standard for this finger and an additional scan has just been carried out. The iOS system stored the result on the chip in a protected area. Up to five fingerprints can be stored here. Each fingerprint can be assigned a unique name (if several people will use the gadget).

Increase

All these simple manipulations train Touch ID and additional data from the user’s fingerprints is transferred to it. In the future they will be used for unlocking. It takes about 5-7 minutes to scan and save your fingerprints well and thoroughly. You need to place your finger on the button while being in this menu at the time.

If one of the fingerprints is highlighted, this means that this procedure was carried out successfully. The device’s memory will be replenished with additional scans of the user’s finger, and the Touch ID sensor will work much more efficiently. As a result, the operation process will noticeably speed up.

Touch ID setup fails or fails to complete after updating iOS? This guide contains the most common Touch ID problems and their solutions to help you.

If problems with Touch ID started immediately after updating to a new version of iOS, you may need to roll back the version. While you have a chance, either stay with the problem until the next update comes out. We have seen that some iOS updates introduce bugs and subsequent ones fix it.

While it may seem like a problem with Touch ID, there's a reason why your iPhone asks for a passcode more often after updating. If you haven't used your passcode in six days, and haven't entered Touch ID to unlock your phone in eight hours, you'll be prompted to enter your passcode. This is an Apple policy and is for your safety.

How to fix the problem of unable to activate Touch ID on iPhone?

Whether your Touch ID settings weren't set up correctly to begin with, or you think it's becoming unreliable over time, there are all sorts of reasons why Touch ID on your iPhone or iPad might not be able to recognize your fingerprint as well as it used to, or as well as it should. . Sometimes in such cases it is best to start over.

Unlock your iPhone or iPad and set up Touch ID again to fix most issues. Before doing this, make sure there is no dirt or sweat on the Touch ID sensor and dry your hands.

Step 1: Settings → Scroll down and tap on Touch ID & Password.

Step 2: Then enter your password and turn off iPhone Unlock and iTunes & App Store features.

Step 3: Press the Home button to return to the Home screen, and then restart your iPhone by pressing the Power off button.

Step 4: Settings → Scroll down and tap on Touch ID & Password. Enter your password.

Step 5: Turn on iPhone Unlock and iTunes & App Store features.

If you are unable to complete the Touch iD setup using the above method, please enable the "Open with finger" feature. To do this, follow the steps below:

Step 1. Go to Settings → General.

Step 2: Click Accessibility.

Step 3: Select Home.

Step 4: Turn on “Open with finger.”

After that, restart your phone and check if the “Touch ID setup cannot be completed” error is fixed.

Recalibrating the Touch ID sensor

The easiest way to fix Touch ID errors is to recreate your fingerprint on your iPhone. iOS updates have done a lot of work over the last year, fixing most Touch ID errors including "Touch ID setup can't be completed," and there are general performance improvements on iOS 8 and above.

This may help if your fingerprints have changed slightly over the past few months due to wear, dry skin, etc. To do this you need to follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Launch the Settings app and open Touch ID & Passcode, enter your password when prompted.

Step 2: Select the fingerprint you are having trouble with, then click the Remove Fingerprint button.

Step 3. Click the “Add fingerprint...” button to begin rescanning the removed finger.

Step 4: Place your finger on the Touch ID sensor in different ways - from right to left, from top to bottom, and from side to side - until the fingerprint icon is completely colored.

Step 5: When asked to adjust your grip, scan the edges of that finger until the fingerprint icon is fully colored.

Note: Scan the front, back, and sides of this finger in the manner in which you think you will apply it to unlock if the grip is not the most comfortable.

Step 6: Click the Continue button when the process is complete to save your fingerprint.

Lock your device and make sure the fingerprint works; Congratulations if everything worked out! If not, reboot your device according to the instructions below and check if the problem is resolved.

Force a device restart

The next option is a forced reboot. Hold down the Power and Home buttons simultaneously for about 10 seconds and release when you see the Apple logo. These instructions are intended for owners of iPhone 6 and previous models.

For owners of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, you need to hold down the “Power” and “Volume Down” buttons, and for new iPhone X phones. First, press volume up, then volume down and hold the “Power” button for 10 seconds. Otherwise the process is the same.

After rebooting, your fingerprint should work fine.

If after following these steps to recalibrate Touch ID, you still can't unlock your iOS device with your fingerprint, there may be something else at play besides iOS bugs. Take these troubleshooting steps:

Wipe the Touch ID sensor with a microfiber cloth to remove fingerprints and dirt.

Use another finger; Perhaps the finger you are trying to use does not have a clearly visible imprint.

Note: According to reviews, many iPhone owners have encountered the problem “Touch iD setup cannot be completed.” Official Apple support says that this is a hardware problem and that you should either replace the Home button (or screen + Home button) or the entire phone.

Conclusion

If the Touch ID issue continues to plague your device, you should either wait for the next iOS update or you should contact Apple for help. Also, if your iPhone is still under warranty, contact an official Apple service.