AARP Hearing Center
![a man wearing a mask and a blue vest at the airport looks at his phone a man wearing a mask and a blue vest at the airport looks at his phone](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/home-family/personal-technology/info-2022/face-id-mask/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/home-and-family/personal-technology/2022/03/1140-smartphone-mask-id.jpg)
IPhone owners who have models with Face ID and people with select Android devices can unlock their phones through facial recognition. But how do you show your face when part of it is covered by a mask?
Apple answered that question for many of its users with the free iOS 15.4 software update that recently became available. But more than likely you’ll have to remove your mask to unlock an Android phone with your mug or ditch face recognition altogether for other secure methods.
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Here’s how to proceed.
![group of screenshots that show how to set up facial recognition on an iphone group of screenshots that show how to set up facial recognition on an iphone](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/home-family/personal-technology/info-2022/face-id-mask/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par4/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/home-and-family/personal-technology/2022/03/1140-iphone-face-recognition.jpg)
iPhones need iOS 15.4
You’ll need to download that iOS 15.4 software update. If it’s not already on your phone, grab it by going to Settings | Software Update.
But before going any further, know this important caveat: Face ID while wearing a mask only works with the iPhone 12 or later models but not the recently released third-generation iPhone SE, which has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor instead of Face ID.
If you have a compatible model, visit Settings | Face ID & Passcode. You have to enter the phone’s passcode. Next, tap Set Up Face ID, or Reset Face ID if you previously set up the feature, and tap Get Started. You are instructed to position your face within a camera frame on the screen and slowly move it in a circle to have all the angles of your face recognized. An arrow may appear in the frame to guide you.
After this first scan is completed, you are given the option to use Face ID with or without a mask. Keep in mind that Face ID is more accurate when your entire face can be scanned. But if you go with the mask option, the phone will try to recognize you through the unique features around your eyes.
Either way, you do not have to wear a mask to complete the setup, which involves scanning your face a second time the same way you completed the first scan.
You can also tap Add Glasses in Settings to help the accuracy of Face ID while wearing a mask by having it recognize glasses you wear regularly. If you choose this option, which will only show up if you have enabled the Face ID with a Mask switch in Settings, you’ll have to scan your face again while wearing your favorite glasses. This mask option does not work with sunglasses, however.
In Settings, you can also tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance to have your device recognize you with a different look or even have a family member unlock your phone with their face.
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