Unlocking your iPhone with a face mask on isn’t as rare as it once was. Even after the pandemic has receded to cases few and far between, you might still find yourself staring at your iPhone screen with your face obscured by a face mask.
Face ID on iPhones works by scanning your face and then comparing it against that stored reference whenever you try to unlock it. But with the increased use of face masks in recent times, Face ID doesn’t work as intended, at least until you enable the new features added by Apple to tackle this issue.
Let’s find out how to enable your iPhone to recognize you even with a face mask on.
How to Enable ‘Use Face ID with a Mask’
On iPhone 12 or newer running iOS 15.4 or later, you can enable this new feature and easily unlock your iPhone with or without a mask on. Simply follow the steps below:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap Face ID & Passcode.
- Enter your passcode on the prompt and then toggle Face ID with a Mask to turn it on.
- Now tap Use Face ID with a Mask when prompted and scan your face on the prompt that follows.
- You will see a Face ID is Now Set Up message. Tap Done.
And you’re all set. Now you can unlock your iPhone even when wearing a face mask.
How to Unlock Your iPhone when wearing a face mask and glasses
If you wear glasses, you can further enhance the accuracy of Face ID with a Mask by adding your glasses to your scan. As with the previous feature, this also works only on iPhone 12 or newer running iOS 15.4 or later.
Also, make sure you have set up Face ID with a Mask as shown in the previous section before attempting the following steps (otherwise you’ll not find the Add Glasses option):
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap Face ID & Passcode.
- Enter your passcode on the prompt. Scroll down and tap Add Glasses.
- Tap Continue and then scan your face on the prompt.
- When the scan is completed, you’ll get a confirmation message and you can go back and see 1 pair of glasses added displayed under Use Face ID with a Mask.
How to Unlock Your iPhone With Apple Watch
There’s a way for you to unlock your iPhone with a mask on without using Face ID with a Mask. It works if you have an Apple Watch running iOS 7.4 or later and an iPhone running iOS 14.5 or newer. You’ll also need to be wearing your Apple Watch on your wrist in the unlocked state and have Wrist Detection turned on. Then, simply follow the steps below:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap Face ID & Passcode.
- Enter your passcode on the prompt. Tap Unlock with Apple Watch.
- Confirm that you want to turn this feature on the prompt that appears by tapping Turn On.
You can now unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch when your phone detects you have a mask on.
Wrapping Up
Unlock your iPhone is an action you probably perform countless times a day. It comes in handy if your iPhone can recognize you even with your mask on. If you’re having trouble with your front camera while unlocking your iPhone, you can book a repair on our website and get a hassle-free solution to the problem.
