Face ID may require a passcode if the battery charge falls below 10%

Apple clarifies in a support document published on its website that your iPhone X may temporarily disable the new Face ID facial recognition system for power reasons if the battery charge falls below the 10% mark.

In addition to outlining a few cases when a passcode is required to re-enable Face ID, which are all exactly the same as with Touch ID, French blog iGeneration.fr noted Monday (Google Translate) that Apple’s support document states that Face ID will get temporarily disabled and require your passcode “if there is less than 10% charge remaining in the battery.”

According to iGeneration, Face ID can work even with an almost empty battery, but Apple Pay can temporarily disable it and require your passcode.

Aside from this, Apple cautions users that for security reasons they may need to enter their passcode or Apple ID instead of using Face ID in the following situations:

  • The device has just been turned on or restarted
  • The device has not been unlocked for more than 48 hours
  • The access code has been used to unlock the device for six and a half days and Face ID has not unlocked the device within the last four hours
  • The device has received a remote lock command
  • After five unsuccessful facial recognition attempts
  • After initiating a power off / SOS contacts by holding down the volume and side buttons simultaneously for two seconds

Again, just like with Touch ID.

To make the most out of Face ID, Apple reminds us to be sure that the TrueDepth camera is not covered by a case or screen protector. “Also check that no residue or dust is clogging the TrueDepth camera,” reads the document.

The company also offered some interesting highlights regarding the Super Retina display on iPhone X: in another support document published last week, Apple called that the screen burn-in and off-angle color shift characteristics of OLED technology, saying it’s “normal behavior.”