Face ID with a mouth cap: does that work?
With iOS 15.4 you will soon be able to use Face ID while wearing a face mask. The big question is, of course, does that work? The new software is not officially available yet, but there is already a public beta (test version). We have therefore investigated it for you.
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Face ID tested with a mouth cap
Now that we have all been wearing face masks regularly for almost two years, Face ID is not always handy. Apple previously came up with a solution to still be able to unlock your iPhone if your face is half covered, but you needed an Apple Watch for that. The new method is much simpler.
After installing iOS 15.4 you will be given the option to use Face ID with a face mask. At least if you have an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13, because it unfortunately doesn’t work with older models (yet?). Apple does warn that facial recognition in this way is slightly less accurate than when your entire face is scanned. The new version only focuses on the area around your eyes.
If you can live with that, you’ll need to set up Face ID again. Glasses wearers even have to perform two scans: one with and one without glasses. The good news is that unlocking afterwards works almost as well as without a mask.
For example, Face ID with a mouth cap works just as fast as the normal version. In addition, you can also use facial recognition to enter passwords and to pay with Apple Pay. That was not possible with the Apple Watch method. It is very nice to simply pay again in the supermarket by holding your iPhone next to the ATM.
There are, however, a few limitations. For example, the angle at which you can use Face ID is slightly smaller if you wear a face mask. Simply put, you should hold your iPhone right in front of your face. If you’re wearing sunglasses, the new method won’t work at all. So you’ll have to turn it off for a while.
More about iOS 15.4
When Apple will officially release iOS 15.4, we don’t know at this time. That will probably take a while. After all, the first public beta has only just been released and Apple often spends weeks or even months on new versions of the software.
Unless you know what you’re doing and can live with potential bugs, we don’t recommend installing the betas. But it’s nice to know that Face ID with a mouth cap works well and will make life a little easier in the future.
iOS 15.4 also contains many more cool new functions. For example, consider Universal Control. This allows you to use your Mac’s keyboard and trackpad to control your iPad. You also get new emoji with iOS 15.4.
