Finger pointed at Pixel 6 fingerprint reader again as an empty battery will break it

Google’s pesky Pixel 6 series fingerprint issues just won’t go away. While the company has tried to explain away the relatively slow nature of the fingerprint scanner, it may have a little more trouble explaining the latest glitch. A number of users are reporting on Reddit that the fingerprint scanner breaks should a Pixel 6 series user let their battery run flat.

Reading the thread, most users that are experiencing the issue appear to have run out of battery. When trying to use their fingerprint reader on restart, users are getting an error message. Digging deeper into the device settings shows that the fingerprint scan profile has been erased. In at least one instance, a user claims they have experienced the issue without the battery running dry.

Users can work around the issue by using their pin, but at this stage, a full factory reset is required to resolve the issue -- both of which is hardly ideal. Google has, however, set up a “Fingerprint Enrollment Failure on Latest Security Update” bug report page, although it is targeted at Pixel 6 Pro owners, suggesting the issue might be limited to that model. Given the title of the bug report, it sounds like the initial post-launch patch may have introduced the problem. If so, it should mean that Google can address the matter in a future update. 

Hopefully, Google can also boost the speed of the Pixel 6 fingerprint recognition system as well. Given the Google Tensor SoC is focused on machine learning, one would think Google can accelerate the additional layers of security algorithms it says it has added to the mechanism that it also says has been slowing the unlocking process.

Buy the Google Pixel 6 Pro from Amazon.