Unlocking a Xiaomi smartphone by face is in full trend. Xiaomi face unlocking - How to enable Face id and what it is

To unlock an Android smartphone, there are several popular methods. For example, a PIN code, a pattern or a fingerprint. Previously, we already wrote an article about that, considering each of the methods separately. Modern Xiaomi smartphones have a face unlock feature.

For the first time, users heard about such terms as “face id” or “face unlock” after the presentation of the iPhone X.

Xiaomi Face ID

Facial recognition on Xiaomi has become another problem for developers. At the moment, you can count on your fingers all the Xiaomi smartphones that officially support face unlock.

The Chinese company always tries to offer advanced technologies to its users. Therefore, developers continue to work on the face unlock feature. So that as many users as possible around the world can take advantage of the new security feature.

After extensive testing, the developers have published a list of Xiaomi smartphones that officially support Face ID. This is a face recognition system that can fully replace the standard one.

Xiaomi Face ID– list of telephones:

(year of release: 2018, May).
(year of release: 2018, March).
Redmi Note 5 / Pro (the global version is already officially sold in Russia).

At the moment, it is indicated that the face unlock function is supported in 5 regions:

Russia,
India,
Indonesia,
Hong Kong,
Taiwan.

Regarding Ukraine and other countries, the developers’ message does not indicate anything. As soon as new information becomes available, we will definitely add it to the article.

Which smartphones do not support Face unlock?

List of popular Xiaomi phones that do not officially support biometric facial recognition technology:

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus,
Redmi 5,
Redmi 4X,
Redmi Note 4 / 4x,
Mi 6,
Mi 5,
Mi A1,
Mi Mix 2,
Mi Max.
Mi Note 3.

Note: This feature is not yet officially supported. But this does not mean that some custom firmware does not implement an analogue of the facial recognition function for unlocking a smartphone. You can find instructions for each phone on the list on YouTube.

An interesting fact is that the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 smartphone does not have facial recognition. This model, introduced in September 2017, was supposed to be the first to officially have functional Face ID.

Many people do not want someone else to be able to use their phone. For such users, developers are coming up with new ways to block mobile devices. At first, the phone information was protected by a PIN code, then a pattern key appeared, then a fingerprint scanner, and finally face unlock. Xiaomi decided to keep up with the new standard and therefore, with a firmware update, added this function to many of its devices that did not initially support it. You can learn more about the technology in this review.

Features of Face ID from Xiaomi and differences from Apple

The main features of Xiaomi's face unlock technology are that it does not require any additional scanners other than the webcam itself (front camera). Face Unlock works using neural networks; this feature appeared on devices with Miui 9 and higher. The accuracy is quite high, but still Xiaomi Face ID is inferior in quality to a similar system on the same iPhone X.

The facial recognition technology on the Apple device, in addition to the standard front camera, uses special infrared sensors and other technologies, which allows it to process 30 thousand facial points. The software creates a detailed structural map of the face, as well as its image in the infrared spectrum. A piece of the neural core of the Bionic microprocessor converts the depth map and infrared image into a mathematical representation that is compared with the recorded facial data. The technology will work even if you lose stubble or wear glasses.

The scanner on Xiaomi smartphones, although it does not use all these sensors (with the exception of the released Mi 8, which also has an infrared sensor), is still able to see the depth of the face and recognize the presence of hats, scarves and other things, but there is a problem with facial hair. If you take the first picture without it and then try to unlock the device, for example, with a mustache, then there may be an error. However, it's not all bad. The program perfectly detects when a person's eyes are closed; in this situation, the scanner will not work. This is done so that it is impossible to unlock the device by the face of a sleeping person. It’s also impossible to unlock using a photograph, which means the protection is working.

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How to teach your smartphone to recognize faces

In order to use facial recognition technology on any Xiaomi smartphone that supports this feature, you need to:

Go to the settings of your smartphone;
Scroll down and find " System and device»;
Below it you need to find the line “ Screen lock and password"and click on it;
Next, click “ Add face details", then you need to confirm the password and continue;
After this, you need to follow the instructions on the screen: the camera will be turned on and you need to place your face in the circle on the screen;
Scanning and saving will last 5–10 seconds, you need to wait until the procedure is completed.

It's worth noting that there are instances of face saving being incorrect, so you may be asked to try again.

The Face ID feature is available on smartphones such as Xiaomi Redmi S2, Redmi Note 5 and Mi Mix 2S. And of course, an improved version of face unlock is present in the new flagship Xiaomi Mi 8.

Which smartphones do not support Face Unlock

As we have already said, unfortunately, not all recent Xiaomi mobile devices support face unlock technology. In addition to the devices noted above, Face Unlock will not work in the following Xiaomi:

Redmi 5;
Redmi 4X;
Redmi Note 4/4x;
Mi 5 and 6;
Mi A1;
Mi Note 3;
Mi Max.

It is worth saying that the function can work with subsequent firmware updates or using custom builds.

An interesting fact is that the Mi Note 3 model disappeared from the list of gadgets in which Face Unlock will work. This smartphone was the first device from the company where the described technology was supposed to work. The developers promised to roll out the function in the next firmware update, but this has not happened so far. Many users are storming the company's forums to find out when face unlocking will appear in Mi Note 3, but there is no clear answer yet. Representatives of the company only say that the firmware for this phone is under development.

As a result, we can say that face unlock technology is one of the most interesting features. We hope it will work on more Xiaomi devices in the future.

They will not subside until the presentation of the next generation iPhone in September. The technology of data protection using fingerprints is very popular among users and a possible abandonment of it will be problematic.

Most likely, in the first versions of the Face ID system it will be wildly buggy, recognize the owner’s photo instead of a living person, or completely refuse to let the owner through the lock screen.

Of course, over time all this will improve and polish, you just need to wait a few months.

What will be the problem with FaceID?

Let's remember what we most often use Touch ID for on the iPhone and think about how Face ID would work instead.

1. Unlocking your smartphone

Very often we just need to look at the time or information from widgets that are located on the lock screen.

To do this, we turn on the display with the Power key, by simply lifting the device (on models with the Raise to Wake feature) or by pressing the Home button with a finger whose fingerprint is not saved in the system.

How this will work with Face ID is unknown. Perhaps every time the screen is turned on in front of the user's face, the device will unlock.

2. Payment via Apple Pay

Now, to pay using a contactless method, we bring our smartphone to the terminal and place our finger on Touch ID. This system makes it impossible to withdraw funds without our knowledge.

Even if an attacker secretly brings the terminal to the device, it will not work without a fingerprint.

Changing Touch ID to Face ID. To begin with, we get rather vague prospects for payment through terminals. For the NFC + user identification combination to work, you will have to lean towards the device along with the smartphone. And at ATMs you will literally have to bow down to make transactions.

It is likely that a new fraud scheme may emerge. Imagine a user looking at the screen of his new iPhone, an attacker runs up with a terminal and brings it to the smartphone. The device receives a request to pay the bill and immediately confirms it with the “face” of the owner.

Most likely, the system will be protected from such operations, but this gives rise to certain thoughts.

3. Payment in the App Store

And again we try to replace the convenient Touch ID with the incomprehensible Face ID. You lie down before going to bed and look through the top applications in the App Store. One awkward click on the price button and the system proceeds to confirm the payment.

Now it’s enough to click Cancel and not put your finger on Touch ID, the user’s face identification will see us in the frame and make the payment.

What will Apple do?

Of course, there are no fools working at Apple; such failures are simply unacceptable. This means that you will have to come up with additional steps and steps when logging in with Face ID.

These could be unnecessary dialog boxes or messages. In any case, simple and familiar processes will become more complex and confusing.

We can only hope for the magic of Apple and that the developers will somehow fit the usual Touch ID sensor into a new generation smartphone.

For the first time, the function of unlocking the screen using pictures taken with the front camera of a smartphone appeared in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. More precisely, not even in a smartphone, but in the Android 4.0 operating system.

So Xiaomi and Apple are not pioneers. But the Cupertino people set the standard for the future. Will a copyist from the Middle Kingdom be able to at least bring his result closer?

Why does Xiaomi need its own Face ID?

Unlocking using the front camera often appears among the specifications of Android smartphones. This is usually a simple photo comparison that can easily be fooled with a simple, average quality photo. For example, by bringing up another smartphone with a photo on the screen. In addition, it requires you to turn on the screen.

The iPhone is not like that at all. Xiaomi does too.

Xiaomi's own Face ID was presented as a killer feature of the sub-flagship Mi Note 3 (). Somehow it was necessary to show that a strange mid-range smartphone could really lay claim to a place in the top echelon. The camera is excellent, the appearance and screen are beyond praise. But it turned out not to be a flagship, but a long-lived mid-ranger with an excellent camera. Although I really liked it.

Face ID could save the smartphone: a feature worthy of a flagship. They swung at the sacred thing, the iPhone X! In its current form, Xiaomi Face ID was received first by Mi Note 3, and then by all other Xiaomi smartphones. How? With a system update (for Mi Note 3 the function appeared in MIUI 8.5).
It’s a little strange, because real Face ID doesn’t work without a hardware base, a special camera and unique software. Has Xiaomi really managed to get by with just a neural network that scans photos? Apparently yes.

How does real Face ID work?

As you know, Apple Face ID- not just a software function. Complex, and above all - hardware. To recognize the owner's face, TrueDepth cameras are used, scanning the structural map of the face.

To create it, 30,000 are used, created into the TrueDepth system by the projector. They are scanned with an infrared camera and then an IR image is created. Then it is transferred to a separate module of the Secure Enclave processor, in which the match is checked and the face is compared with the previously specified point structure of the owner’s face.

Thanks to this, iPhone X will recognize the owner, even if he grows a beard, and will add glasses to his image. Whatever - twilight, poor lighting or darkness are also not a problem for real Face ID.

There are very few conditions for Apple's facial recognition system to work correctly: the gaze must be directed towards the camera. That's all. You can change clothes, makeup, grimace. The smartphone will be unlocked no matter what.

What can Xiaomi answer to this?

How does Xiaomi's Face ID work?

Initially, you need to enter information about your face into the database. After this, the system will ask you to enter the password that you set earlier or create one. After which a warning will appear that this unlocking method is less secure compared to a finger scanner or password.

After this, the system will ask you to enter the password that you set earlier or create one. After which a warning will appear that this unlocking method is less secure compared to a finger scanner or password.

The last step is to configure the unlock. The first switch allows you to use your face to unlock the smartphone, and the second will allow unlocking at the moment when the screen lights up with a new message.

You can use face unlocking either in conjunction with a finger scanner or independently as a separate system.

I checked it, it works. Convenient, but...

Once the image has been entered into the settings, you can begin testing. The test took place in 2 stages, a month apart: for the sake of the experiment, I had to grow a beard.

The first feature of Xiaomi Face ID is that you don’t need to turn on the screen. All you need to do is point the front camera at your own face. I picked up the phone, didn’t do anything with it - and the first time the photo was not recognized. The second attempt was successful. Unlocking is instant.

As expected, facial hair became an insurmountable obstacle. Subsequent tests showed that it was the mustache. If you cover your chin with a scarf, the screen will unlock. The mustache, which grew after the first frame was taken, turned out to be a hindrance.

If you close your eyes, Mi Note 3 also refused to unlock the screen. Apparently, this is how the unlocking protection works when the owner is sleeping.

But if you add a photo of yourself wearing oversized glasses to your smartphone and then take them off, the recognition system refuses to recognize the owner. Both the first and the second time. Interestingly, on the contrary (the picture was taken without glasses, the unlocking attempt takes place with glasses) the unlocking is almost instantaneous.

I was not able to deceive the system using a photograph. A similar face also does not produce results. Although the twins will probably be able to use each other's smartphones.

The only real enemy of Face ID created by Xiaomi is poor lighting and darkness. It uses a regular front camera, which does not work in the IR spectrum. Therefore, to unlock the screen you need enough light to take photos. Bringing the screen close to your face is a bad option.

For the necessary illumination that the proprietary Face ID requires, a completely different measure. Can you take a clear selfie? Then the smartphone will be unlocked. Otherwise, only a fingerprint or password.

Instead of results. Everything works, but Xiaomi is ashamed

Unfortunately, less than ideal work ruined the innovation (one might say) in the bud. Xiaomi has cut out the facial recognition function from all global (multilingual international, for the European market) firmware

Xistore

The path of modern technology is becoming wider and more intricate every day. The fork in modern progress are various methods of identity authentication. We are all accustomed to using identity verification systems: for example, not so long ago, an overwhelming number of users used a password or PIN code to enter the system, but now, instead of a password, most of us simply put our finger on a fingerprint scanner and the system instantly reacts and recognizes the “owner” "

Technologies do not stand still and Xiaomi is moving in parallel with them. At the September presentation, the Mi Note 3 smartphone was shown. One of the main features of this device was facial recognition of the owner. This feature works together with older systems, in other words - you can combine a fingerprint, the good old password and a face scanner.

Initially, you need to enter information about your face into the database. To do this, you need to go to “Settings”, then select “Lock screen and fingerprint”, and after all these steps click on “Manage facial data”.

As soon as we read the warning and click on the “Next” button, the system will launch the camera and the process of scanning the user’s face will begin.

Unlock speed and ease of use

In terms of response speed, face unlock showed the result of the first generation Touch id, or the speed of the fingerprint scanner, as on the Redmi line. These results show that even though it is slower than the finger scanner in the Mi series of smartphones, its speed will be sufficient for most users. I would also like to note that even though the function is in Beta test, it still works correctly and clearly. During testing, the sensor worked in 10 out of 10 cases.

You can use face unlocking either in conjunction with a finger scanner or independently as a separate system. No matter how our editors tried, we were unable to unlock the device using a photo. Another advantage of the system is that it will not work if the user’s eyes are closed. In other words, while you sleep, you can rest assured that the device will not give away your secrets. A nice bonus is that the scanner’s operation does not depend on whether your mouth is covered with a scarf or not - your warmth and comfort in winter will not suffer. But in the summer you will have to take off your sunglasses, since due to the fact that your eyes are closed, the system may not react. However, owners of glasses with diopters do not have to worry - the smartphone will catch every ray of your gaze.

I would like to note that this feature will not be exclusive to Mi Note 3... This feature will be supported by devices of the Mi line, namely Mi5, Mi5c, Mi6. And this is probably not the whole list! The number of supported devices will only grow.

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