Nokia 9 PureView fingerprint reader unlocks the phone for everybody? *Update*
HMD addressed the list of software issues in Nokia 9 Pureview, and with the latest Pie Build, most of them were sorted out. The laggy camera app and bad JPEG files were corrected, together with the screen color calibration, but so did the slow fingerprint reader. Everyone was so happy until the video of Nokia 9’s fingerprint reader unlocking the screen to unregistered fingers and objects showed up on twitter.
Here is my Nokia 9 Fingerprint sensor issue, phone can be unlocked using a chewing gum packet or someone else's finger. Even unlocked with a coin or leather gloves. Please do help me get my Nokia 9 sorted. pic.twitter.com/Thce3nB2fr
— Decoded Pixel (@decodedpixel) April 21, 2019
It seemed a bit unbelievable that HMD would sacrifice the reliability of the scanner for quicker read recognition of the fingerprint, so we contacted a few Nokia 9 PV owners and asked them to test their beloved device for this issue. Some of them told us that the latest update did speed up the fingerprint reading process and that unregistered fingerprints are not read (at least by their device). The interesting video was shared by one owner of 9PV that evidently registered the pack of gums, similar to the one we saw at the first video, as a valid fingerprint.
This could reveal how was the device opened with a pack of chewing gums, and also raise a question about the security issue there. If that sensor can register any object as a fingerprint than what is the purpose of fingerprint scanning?
Damn, mine just let me get in with a random unregistered fingerprint as well… @sarvikas @NokiaMobile you have another serious security flaw here. Any comments?
— TechAltar – mas.to/@Techaltar 🇺🇦 (@TechAltar) April 21, 2019
I don’t know if this issue is widespread, but some other folks are also reporting the same error. It would be nice if some more owners of Nokia 9 Pureview could test and see if their fingerprint reading sensor is unlocking the screen with unregistered fingerprints. Let’s hope HMD will get on to this right away, otherwise Nokia 9 PV will become a secondary device that current owners will be using just for taking photos. In the meantime use some other way for locking your 9 PV if you are worried about the safety of your personal data.
*Update* Some owners of Nokia 9 PureView started reporting that their fingerprint scanner is working as it should have and that it doesn’t recognize the unregistered fingerprints. Could supersensitive face unlock system that is also running in the background be the guilty party for this issue, or just some devices are affected by this particular problem we saw in the video above? OK, that would maybe explain the unlocking of the screen by unregistered fingerprints of just one person, not the unlock by the finger of some other person standing next to you. Anyway, HMD should address this issue asap.
