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This has happened on every Android phone I've had including my current phone, a Pixel 7 Pro. My fingerprint unlock stops working after a few days and I have to reregister my fingerprints to get it to work again. Not specific to any one finger, happens on all fingers. It is not forgetting the fingerprints, they are still showing as saved. I think the subtle variations in dryness of my skin from week to week cause them to become invalid but I am not sure.

Note that this is not affected by my fingers being wet or dry. I have also tried registering my fingerprints when my skin is at different levels of dryness (e.g. summer and winter profiles), but that does not seem to solve the issue either.

What are the possible causes, and how to fix it?

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    Do you use makeup? Or do you work with chemicals like cleaners or developing agents for film photography, anaethetic agents, or paints ? \
    – Criggie
    Commented Dec 15, 2022 at 0:59
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    No, I don't use makeup. I don't normally use chemicals and when I do I wear gloves. I am a software engineer so I type a lot with my fingers but that is about it.
    – Nathan Owen
    Commented Jan 15, 2023 at 17:09
  • Question reworded to prevent open-ended discussion (soliciting someone else's experience), which is not ideal for a Q&A-based site.
    – Andrew T. ♦
    Commented Apr 20 at 2:41

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Maybe you can try a couple of things, like washing off the screen and your hands and registering again, or maybe you can try to register one finger multiple times.

From experience, the software learns to recognise the biometric unlock methods when using them. So usually, when I set my fingerprint, I lock the phone, use biometric unlock, then lock the phone and unlock again and repeat that a couple of times which usually makes it read my finger better. Maybe you are trying to unlock it in a way that's different from how you held the phone while registering.

I don't see how it would forget the fingerprint data. Maybe you can just try to unlock using your finger a bunch of times in a row for a couple of days and see if it still stops recognising your finger. I hope it helps.

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  • My hands and screen are clean when I register the fingerprints. I have tried registering the same fingerprints multiple times. Honestly my suspicion is that my fingerprints are more variable than the average user due to my skins tenancy to dry out and crack but I am not sure. My mother has the same dry hands as me and has similar issues with her iphone.
    – Nathan Owen
    Commented Jan 16, 2023 at 3:40

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