Mastodawn

So I have an interesting issue here with L's phone. She is using an iPhone SE model.
Her dexterity with one hand is not very good. It requires Touch ID to unlock it, or a passcode, none of which she can now use. We have tried to calibrate Touch ID a number of times and it no longer seems to be very reliable.
Fortunately despite not being able to unlock it she can call me using Siri.
What options do we have for unlocking the phone?
1. Can the passcode be removed? I know there are security issues there but can it be disabled entirely?
2. Can I get a keyboard with large numeric keys so at least it could be unlocked?
3. Failing that, I could try to swap the phone out for a model with Face ID, which may or may not work.
Thanks.

Darrell Bowles Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Okay, I would try a numeric keyboard first. As long as it can be connected through bluetooth it should work. I don't think you can remove the passcode on the phone though I have not tried it.

Thomas Mattock ✝️Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Yes, you can turn off that feature. I understand your nervousness on doing that to get away and get rid of all your security. I don’t know if the keyboard would work in that case or a Face ID would work, but you do have 10 days return of phone if you trade it in and try and get a phone with Face ID.

Harry Bell Feb 26

@brian_hartgen I use my Hable one to unlock my iPhone when it is sped up in my pocket and you can do everything on your iPhone using Hable one so long as you have an ear earpiece in your ear whether wired or Bluetooth. Voice control can also unlock your phone but that is unwise in public settings. Fingers crossed for you both! Harry.

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@BrailleHarry You can unlock the phone using one hand can you with that keyboard?

Harry Bell Feb 26

@brian_hartgen If the Hable one can be placed on a flat surface, then one hand would be sufficient because you only need to press some of the vertical braille cell dot and sometimes them together with one of the vertical bars of.7 or eight so that should work I use VoiceOver and therefore think of it as a braille device.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen I'm no expert but once unlocked you can then disable use of the pass code and I can't think of any features that will become unavailable to her beyond Apple Pay and wallet which I suspect she doesn't use.

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@robini71 I will try disabling it and see what happens. Thanks.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Yes sir glad to help if I can.

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@robini71 Robin, I've tried it on my phone, and that does work. So I can do that for her tomorrow.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Ooh squee yay I'm ever so glad I'd hated to have given you incorrect information. Yay yay yay.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen You might ahve missed it but a couple of days back I asked something about Chat GPT. I'm wondering if you have experienced it or have thoughts. When using it in a browser it's suddenly speaking the prior response instead of its most recent response to a prompt when using Jaws For Windows 2026. Might you have a thought on what might cause this?

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@robini71 I did actually see that question, but at the time, ChatGPT was not behaving well anyway so I took it that it may be part of that. I'm pretty sure it was reading the correct notification this morning but I will try again now.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen I'm about to ask it a second question so I'll report back also. Ah didn't know it was being ornary.

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@robini71 No it's doing it correctly here unfortunately.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Strange lucky you. What browser are you in then or are you using their app?

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@robini71 I'm using Microsoft Edge.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen that's what I thought but doubted my own mind. I'll try it in there for fun.

Robin Frost Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Darn it's still doing it here. That is a shame it really is. I mean easy enough to get around but still mildly irritating.

Noel Romey Feb 26

@brian_hartgen @NicksWorld Brian, yes, you can remove passcode. If she is the only one using the phone, all she would need to do is hit home. On non button phones, you'd have face ID which has other issues. You'll have to look, but you could get a bluetooth numpad which could act as phone pad for her. I'd have to find a device that might work for her.

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@ner @NicksWorld Thanks, I've just tried temporarily removing the code on my phone, and that does work. So I can do that for her tomorrow.

Dennis long Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Yes you could disable the passcode. I wouldn't recommend it for security reasons but you go under face ID and passcode I believe.

Noel Romey Feb 26

@brian_hartgen Let me know if you can't find anything, she can't disable touch ID / passcode or you can't find a device, and I'd be happy to do some research. We have users who use switches, numpads, and keyboards with big buttons on iphones though I haven't helped with that much lately.

@brian_hartgen You can totally remove the passcode in definitely. Of course that disabled features like Apple Pay and such which I'm not sure if she will use

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@gb123geo She's not using that anyway. I've just tried it and it seems to work. Thanks.

@brian_hartgen the passcode can be removed but you have to unlock it furst but once you unlock the phone go to settings, touchID and pascode and there is an opption that says something along the lines of turn off passcode, once you double tap that you will be asked to enter the passcode and once you do it will be turned off

Caroline Toews Feb 26

@[email protected] You may have gotten a response to this by now, but yes, you can turn off the security settings so all she'd have to do is press the home button to get the phone working.

Brian Hartgen Feb 26

@technolass Thanks very much Caroline. Yes I've got that. I tested it on my phone and it works. So all I need to do is go back there tomorrow and apply the same and we should be good. Thank you.

Peggy Kern Feb 26

@brian_hartgen when you say you have tried to recalibrate touch ID, are you saying you have tried to set it up with a different finger, or are you just trying to redo the finger she was using before, which isn’t working? That would be the only thing I could think of to suggest, setting up touch ID with a different finger, but perhaps that is what you meant by recalibrating it? I can’t imagine doing this, but it seems to me that I heard about someone setting up touch ID with their nose, which sounds kind of goofy to me, but if she is feeling adventurous, it might be a way that would allow her to hold the phone as best as she can with what use she has of both hands, while unlocking it with her nose. Just brainstorming here. I am looking forward to reading other people‘s comments, and hoping something comes up that will work for her. Face ID works well for me, but I have heard that it doesn’t work well for other people. let us know how you work this out.

Brian Hartgen Feb 27

@kernsac It was the same finger that was being used. We certainly could try another one.

Lynn I 🗽Feb 27

@brian_hartgen @kernsac Hi, Brian! Perhaps I've had a very unusual experience with touch ID, but it has never worked well for me, and I had to redo my finger print every few weeks. Maybe this is not at all the problem here, but what I finally did was go to a passcode to unlock my phone, and when I'm at home and am in full control of my phone and who has access to it, I have it set to not require my passcode for a longer period of time. Perhaps that isn't something Lulu would want to do, but I wanted to mention it as a possible work around, just in case you hadn't considered that.

Brian Hartgen Feb 27

@Lynn @kernsac Thank you. That could well be the issue. The Touch ID used to work, and that hand is still operational, so I'm not sure what the issue is. We have to lock the phone each time she is not using it because it can very easily get disturbed when the nurses move things around as she only has limited space. I'll remove the code for now and see how she gets on with that.

Lynn I 🗽Feb 27

@brian_hartgen @kernsac I'm sure you'll eventually figure it out. These issues can certainly be perplexing. All the best to both of you. You're in my thoughts.