14 DAY TRIAL // Face ID issues on some iPhone X units might be caused not by the front-facing TrueDepth module, but by the rear camera, according to documentation that Apple has sent to authorized service centers.
Cupertino has reportedly submitted documentation on how to diagnose Face ID issues to service providers, explaining that the first thing to check in case the facial recognition system isn’t working is whether the rear camera is in perfect condition or not.
While this sound awkward at first, it looks like Genius Bar engineers have revealed for a number of iPhone X customers that Face ID is connected to the rear camera.
“I was talking to the Genius Bar guy and he said that the cameras are connected. The lenses differ on what they do. The wide angle did the ones that worked and is connected to the front facing camera. The telephoto is connected to the true depth and was not working,” one user explained after sending in the iPhone X to the Apple Store for repairs to the Face ID system.
Broken rear camera features
iPhone X owners whose units are suffering from faulty Face ID indicate that features of the rear-facing camera like slow-motion, panorama, and time-lapse recording worked flawlessly, but on the other hand, the rest of the camera capabilities were completely broken down. Facial recognition typically fails with an error saying “Face ID is not available, try again later.”
Authorized service providers who can’t repair the rear camera, or in case any other damage is causing Face ID to fail, are being told to replace the iPhone X completely.
The facial recognition system on the iPhone X was one of the reasons Apple eventually had to delay the launch of its anniversary model. Due to the complexity of this feature, suppliers had a hard time reaching the demanded production output. Face ID will be available on all new iPhone models launching this year.