Face ID is a central and super important part of using some Apple Devices like iPhones and iPads for example so when it doesn’t work it can be a total pain. Face ID is used to unlock your devices, authenticate purchases, sign into apps, and just to make use of access easier and quicker for people so it’s super important to make sure that it’s always working.
What if you see a pop-up saying “Face ID Is Not Available. Try setting up Face ID later.” when you are trying to set up your Face ID? This article will help you if you are having trouble with Face ID setup.
How to Fix “Face ID Not Available”
There can be different reasons behind the “Face ID Not Available” problem. We will offer solutions according to the possible reasons.
1. Clean iPhone camera
The first thing you should check if you are having trouble with Face ID is your camera. Make sure that it is not dirty and doesn’t have anything blocking the camera hole that may be stopping the function of Face ID.
If you have a case on your device that offers 360 protection open up the case and check if there’s any dirt stuck under it that you can’t see. Take an alcohol wipe or a moist towel and wipe down your camera cutout just to be sure that it’s completely clean.
If you have a screen protector that may be getting in the way then try to rearrange the way it is placed. Get a dust blower and give your camera a little blow to push out any dirt or dust that may be stuck in between the crevices of your camera cutout. All these different things can be affecting your camera’s ability to use Face ID.
2. Set up Face ID correctly
Your Face ID also might not be working because you never set it up properly. Go back into your settings and redo the Face ID setup process. This time make sure that you are doing it in a nice controlled environment.
You should be inside somewhere that has really good lighting to make sure that your camera can pick up all the details of your face and has a very clear image to go with. Make sure that you don’t have anything on your face. Also when you do the part where you have to show all the angles of your face, make sure that you go slowly and get as good of a scan as possible so that when you use Face ID later you have a good image to work with.
3. Restart your device
Another thing you can try to do is restart your device to see if that helps. Open up your Settings app and tap on the General option. Then scroll down to the bottom and tap on Shut Down. Slide the slider when it pops up to initiate the shutdown. Wait for your phone screen to go completely dark and leave it off for a minute or two. After a few minutes, you can turn it back on to see if this helped.
4. Update iOS
Check to see if you are running the latest version of iOS on your device. If you are not then go ahead and update to the latest version because an outdated iOS may cause some system problems like “Face ID Not Available”.
This doesn’t take long and is not hard to do. Just open up the Settings app on your device then tap on the General tab. Once in the General tab tap on Software Update and this will open up a new menu. Download and install any new version of iOS that is available in the Software Update menu. You’ll need at least 50 percent battery to initiate the update installation so make sure your phone is plugged into the charger and connected to WiFi the whole time during this update.
5. Backup and restore your iPhone
If nothing is working then you can try to restore your iPhone. First, make sure that you back up your iPhone so that you don’t lose any of your data. For this method, you will be using iTunes so make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes installed. You can do this on either Mac or a PC.
- The first thing you should do is connect your iPhone to your computer through your USB/charger cable and open iTunes.
- In iTunes you will see a little Device button on the top left, click on it to open up your device menu.
- Next, you have to click on the Summary option in the pop-down menu.
- Click Back Up Now.
Once your iPhone is completely backed up to iTunes you can begin to factory reset it. Open the Settings app and then press General. Scroll down to find Transfer or Reset iPhone and then tap on the button. Next tap on Erase All Content and Settings and then tap Continue to confirm that you want to go through with this process. Wait for your iPhone to finish resetting and when you are brought back to the welcome screen you can begin to set it up as new.
At this moment just set it up on your iPhone without restoring your old backup yet just to see if Face ID is now working or not. If you finish setting everything up and see that Face ID is indeed now functioning properly then you can now restore your iPhone from the backup that you created.
- The first thing you should do is connect your iPhone to your computer through your USB/charger cable and open iTunes.
- In iTunes you will see a little Device button on the top left, click on it to open up your device menu.
- Next, you have to click on the Summary option in the pop-down menu.
- Finally, click on Restore Backup.
6. Check hardware at Apple Store
If none of the above methods have fixed the “Face ID Not Available” problem then your last choice is to get help directly from Apple. You can contact Apple and schedule an appointment to get a repair. If you are within your warranty period or you have Apple Care + then they should be able to fix your iPhone for free.
You can schedule to either mail your device in by contacting Apple or you can schedule an appointment for an in-person repair at an Apple Store or an Authorized Apple Service Provider. If you can’t afford to go without your phone then you should really schedule an in-person repair because it’s possible to get your phone back within just a few hours. If you mail in your iPhone it may take over a week before you get it back so keep that in mind.
