Faulty iPhone X facial recognition software allows woman's colleague to unlock phone

A woman sets up her facial recognition as she looks at her Apple iPhone X at an Apple store in New York on Nov 3, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

HONG KONG - A Chinese woman from Nanjing had the facial recognition software fail on not one but two of her iPhone X handsets, reported the South China Morning Post on Friday (Dec 15).

The faulty software allowed the woman's colleague to unlock and access both devices on every attempt.

The woman, who was identified only by her surname Yan, told the Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation that the software continued to fail despite activating and configuring each phone's facial recognition software.

The first time it happened, Yan called the Apple hotline, but staff reacted in disbelief.

She had to go an Apple store with her colleague in order to demonstrate what happened to staff there.

The South China Morning Post reported that Apple staff said the camera might be faulty and so gave Yan a refund, which she used to buy a new iPhone X.

But the new phone also had the same problem, which led the shop to offer yet another refund, said the report.

It is not known if Yan decided to buy a third iPhone X.

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