I’ve been using phones with Face ID for a year and a half now, the phone I currently have is a 17 Pro. For the longest time I too have struggled to get Face ID to reliably work. By accident last week, I discovered that a big part of the problem is that I’ve been holding the phone too high. I have recognition turned off, also I don’t use Raise to wake. So if I bring my phone up to a point where the bottom is directly in line with the bottom of my chin, then press the side button, I can get Face ID to recognize me just about all the time. I’m guessing this is because the camera used is located at the top of the phone so that positioning just works, at least for me. I realize no two faces are alike, and different phones have different sizes, but maybe give this position a try and see if that helps.
Pete De Vasto From: 'Adrienne Chalmers' via MacVisionaries <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2026 6:35 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Apple Pay Hi I have a 16 E with the latest iOS. I have attention switched off. This sounds a bit weird but I think my main problem is that, while I am completely blind, one eye is like there's just nothing there and the other eye is dark. This means I can't tell where the centre of my face is. It makes parting my hair in the right place completely impossible as well. Besthis makes it seem like my head is Sent from my iPhone Please note, I often use dictation when writing emails on my phone and sometimes it doesn’t work out the way I think it has. On 22 Jan 2026, at 13:29, Suzanne Erb <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Hello, I’d be curious to know which iPhone model you have. I have been having similar problems with my iPhone 17 basic model. I know many blind people who have not experienced this behavior, but they all have older iphones. I have heard of some one else who just received an iPhone 17 who has noticed this face id issue, as well. I had no problems setting up face id, and can use it for operating my phone. However, I can not use it for banking or other apps that require face ID. Of course, I am not using attention aware features, so it should be working okay, but it isn’t. I escalated the problem to Apple Care, Apple Accessibility, and finally had to return my iPhone for another one. While the problem has been less severe, I still can not rely on face id to work properly all the time. So, for those of you who are experiencing this, I would be interested to know which model phone you are using, as well as which software. ersion. Happy Thursday, Suzanne Erb On Jan 22, 2026, at 00:36, 'Adrienne Chalmers' via MacVisionaries <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Hi Mohammad So glad you said that about Face ID. I find it almost impossible and not just with Apple Pay. I have asked other blind friends and they say they have no bother at all. it is a particular pain with banking apps, as I have had to switch it off and that is not a very good idea. Any suggestions as to a reliable way to activate Face ID when you can't see it all would be very gratefully received TIA Adrienne Sent from my iPhone Please note, I often use dictation when writing emails on my phone and sometimes it doesn’t work out the way I think it has. On 22 Jan 2026, at 04:07, Mohammad Fazil <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: I am having difficulty with Apple Pay payment since I started using Face ID. Sent from my iPhone On Jan 22, 2026, at 4:51 AM, Lorie McCloud <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: normally when using Apple Pay with my phone I lay the phone face-up on the recepticle, it makes the connection and then I lay my finger on the home button and the transaction goes through. lately there have been a couple times when I needed to put it on there face down. does that have to do with how I have my camera set or something else? it’s not as convenient as face-up because it’s harder to get to the home button to complete the transaction. is there any way to tell when to lay it face-up and when to lay it face-down? thanks. Lorie -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/D357E9F4-B646-4F86-AC26-326409BC0E8D%40gmail.com. -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/DM6PR12MB38664AC79F316C51A40B8F14C997A%40DM6PR12MB3866.namprd12.prod.outlook.com. -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/D32144FF-B56C-4701-8C27-6881E15961DC%40googlemail.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/D32144FF-B56C-4701-8C27-6881E15961DC%40googlemail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/6825C42E-B60F-4DE0-B6E0-2DFD6EF19FA5%40gmail.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/6825C42E-B60F-4DE0-B6E0-2DFD6EF19FA5%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/14DD155B-7737-47E1-B061-625194989050%40googlemail.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/14DD155B-7737-47E1-B061-625194989050%40googlemail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: [email protected] and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/macvisionaries/00c601dc8bb6%24db7f1600%24927d4200%24%40gmail.com.
