Previous Samsung Galaxy models allowed us to press the home button and briefly leave a finger on the sensor to unlock these devices. Galaxy S8 is an amazing device, but the fingerprint scanner is now on the back and not even centered. Luckily, there are other ways to unlock your Galaxy S8 faster than with the fingerprint scanner.
While I do consider fingerprint authentication being as secure as possible, if you prever a faster solution you should check out these alternative methods of unlocking your Samsung Galaxy S8.
Faster ways to unlock your Galaxy S8 than with the fingerprint scanner
With Galaxy S8’s rear-mounted scanner you can no longer authenticate with your fingerprint without having to pick up your phone. You also need to focus a bit when aligning your finger with the sensor, since it’s not centered.
But it’s not all bad. We have alternate ways to quickly access our Samsung S8 devices thanks to the new facial recognition and iris sensors.
Unlock your Samsung Galaxy S8 with the iris scanner
The iris scanner lets you simply wake the screen and look at your Galaxy S8 to unlock it almost instantly. Since aligning your eyes with the device can be tricky, Samsung made this easier by providing a smart feature.
Go to Settings -> Lock screen and Security -> Iris scanner and tap on “Preview screen mask”. Select one of those funny-looking masks and it will be used as an overlay to the iris-scanning screen allowing you to align your eyes with the iris scanner with less effort.
Unlock your Samsung Galaxy S8 with facial recognition
With facial recognition, you can unlock your phone by double-tapping the virtual home button or by pressing the power button to wake the device then allow it to see and verify your face.
You can enable the feature from Settings -> Lock screen and Security -> Face recognition. There, you will simply need to register your face. If you favor speed over security for unlocking your S8, then it’s definitely worth using it. However, keep in mind that facial recognition is the least secure of all biometric security systems provided by Samsung.
Use Smart Lock
“Smart Lock” is a feature that enables you to quickly access your phone when you’re in a secure area. Now, there are several options available in this feature.
Go to Settings -> Lock screen and Security -> Smart Lock and you will find four options: On-body detection, Trusted places, Trusted devices and Trusted voice. “On-body detection” detects when you’re holding the phone in your hand or keeping it in your pocket and keeps it unlocked for that time. Be aware this feature is not able to detect the times when you hand over the device to someone else.
“Trusted places” lets you add locations you can trust where your S8 will remain unlocked. This feature requires GPS to be enabled so you might not want to use it if you’re trying to save battery.
“Trusted devices” can keep the phone unlocked when nearby any Bluetooth accessory you’ve paired with your S8. “Trusted voice” makes it possible to unlock your device using Google Assistant. Once you enable the feature and train your phone to recognize your voice you’ll be able to wake and unlock the screen by saying “OK Google”.
As you can see, Samsung Galaxy S8 comes with various methods of unlocking your phone and while they might still need some polishing, at the very least we have multiple choices. However, I do hope the next Galaxy S flagship will have the fingerprint sensor in the front since this is still the most secure way to lock your phone.
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