Apple provides fix for degrading Touch ID Sensors on iPhone 5S

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Apple’s Touch ID, which arrived on last year’s iPhone 5s, has been greeted with mixed reviews. In some cases users claim that it has changed their lives, and made the iPhone so much easier to use. Some users claim that it isn’t used broadly enough, and should have third party app support; others claim that it doesn’t work. Something that a lot of people have claimed is that it seems to degrade over time. For those users, Apple has a fix coming.

iphone-5s-sensor-tear-down-pictures — Apple 5S Sensor

Apple is prepping an update that will improve the overall performance of Touch ID, and will attempt to eliminate the so called Touch ID “fade” which makes the Touch ID sensor fail over time. The good news is that they think that this is a software problem, instead of a hardware problem. It is much easier to fix a software problem than a hardware problem.

From AppleInsider:

After launching iPhone 5s last fall, Apple has continued to work with the original AuthenTec team to improve its recognition software and will release an update relatively soon, the source confidently reported. However, AppleInsider could not verify whether the update will ship as part of iOS 7.1, which is expected to drop in mid-March.

This fade problem has been the focus of many Apple Support Forum posts since the iPhone 5S launched in late 2013. Owners of the 5s complain that they receive an increasing number of failed fingerprint scans as time goes on. It seems that deleting the fingerprint in iOS 7, would temporarily fix the problem.

Many iPhone 5S users have come up with clever workarounds, including overtraining the fingerprint sensor and scanning the same finger more than once. These seem to be only stopgaps that work for some users.

There’s not any timeline for when this fix might get out to the public, or if it will be part of the iOS 7.1 update that we expect will be posted later this month.

Touch ID on the iPad

Most likely Apple will get this fixed sometime before WWDC or the fall announcement. They are rumored to be bringing Touch ID to the iPad line. If that’s the case, they will want to have the bugs worked out before they roll it out to millions more people.

They will also want to make sure people can rely on the sensor. That will especially be the case if they plan on expanding the places where Touch ID can be used in the operating system. Bringing an uneven technology to a bunch of app developers could cause many not to adopt it. So it’s almost certain they’ll get this fixed before they roll out the Touch ID feature further.

Let’s hope they do expand this technology. It’d be great to see what app developers can do with it, especially developers of banking and password management apps.

News

Apple to begin charging for online support chat

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Apple is a company known for its support. They win awards for it every year, and will continue to do so. Most of Apple’s support services come at a cost, but only when you want to take advantage of them when your device is outside of its original warranty. One of the things that that hasn’t been true for is first time chat support. That’s about to change.

apple-chat-support-charge-19-dollars — Screen capture of Apple support charge

According to several reports, Apple is about to charge a $19.00 fee when you want to chat with an Apple Representative when your machine is out of warranty. As has always been the case, they may ask you to pay for the full support after the chat if they can’t help you with the problem without looking at or working on the device.

If the problem turns out to be something the Apple knows about, and has a support program for, they will refund the money you paid for the chat.

Cases for Free Support

Apple hasn’t rolled this system out yet. They are expected to do so within the next few weeks. If you have a problem that you’ve been waiting to get assistance with, you should take advantage of the free chat now. The sources of this report say that Apple will continue to provide free support until the new system is in place.

Apple will also continue to offer free support to people who need help with iCloud, or with setting up a repair or replacement. And of course, Apple will continue to help Apple Care customers out without charging them anything extra.

Paid Support

In many ways, this change gives Apple customers an even bigger incentive to by Apple Care when they have the chance. While it is definitely more then $20, it could keep you in warranty longer, and could not only save you that $20, but any additional money it would have cost you to get the device fixed beyond the chat session.

$20 seems like a small price to pay, if they can help you with your problem during the chat, and in many cases they can. In the new system, Apple will offer users the ability to apply for an exception, should they think that their problem is going to be a covered hardware defect. They will also continue to support customers who have accidentally damaged their device, and just want to get their machine replaced or repaired. Normally those chats just end up with an Apple Store appointment, or a box to mail the damaged product into Apple.

Final Thoughts

Apple has never been a company where things come cheaply. They charge extravagant prices for their products, which enables them to provide the support they get awarded for year in and year out. Without the good support, their prices might not be warranted any more than Hewlett Packard, who’s support is less than desirable.

Mac

Top 3 docks for MacBook users

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Desktop computers, for the most part, are a thing of the past. Most people, when they are searching for a new computer, are looking for a laptop. The world is becoming more and more mobile, and desktop computers like the new Mac Pro just can’t be lugged around that easily. That doesn’t mean, however, that the usefulness of a desktop computer has gone away. If you’re looking for a way to get the best of both worlds, a MacBook and a MacBook Dock may be your best solution.

The point of a dock is to expand the capabilities of your MacBook so that you can attach a bunch of extra peripherals. You can then simply attach the dock to your laptop, and it transforms into a desktop. When you want to pack up and leave, just unplug the dock, and go. Everything else stays there for the next time you want the big screen experience. So we’ve searched long and hard for the best MacBook docking stations. Here’s what we found.

The Matrox DS1

This is a Thunderbolt-enabled dock, which makes it ideal for a plug and play desktop solution. Plug in your display, printer, and hard drives to the dock, and then plug the dock into your computer via Thunderbolt. Not only does this give you the advantages of the desktop computer, but also it allows you to keep the speed you’d see using internal hardware ($229.00).

LandingZone DOCK 15″ Secure Docking Station

The DOCK is an amazing piece of hardware. Unlike the DS1, it is actually a dock for your computer; slide the computer into the DOCK and it connects to all of your peripherals. Of course there’s a downside, in that you have to buy one specifically suited to your MacBook.

The benefit is that you get all the ports you’d get with a desktop computer. It has a ton of extra USB ports, VGA, and more. The DS1 has some ports, but is a bit limited since you have to expand it with Thunderbolt devices, plus there are cords everywhere ($199.00).

Henge Docks

We came to a problem when we found Henge Docks. They make some awesome products and we just couldn’t choose. They have a vertical dock, which you slip your MacBook into like a sleeve. They also have a horizontal dock, which allows you to keep using your Mac while it is plugged into the dock. They also make some wonderful docks for the iPhone that go along with their other products ($59.00-$79.00).

The downside of their products is they are a bit pricey. They start at around $250, and they are Mac specific, so you’ll need to make sure you buy the one that was made for your Mac.

Bottom Line

The Henge Docks are really cool, so we’d probably recommend those over the others, but it’s all going to depend on what form factor you like best. The Henge gives you more desk space, the DOCK is great for when you need to keep using your MacBook, and the DS1 is great when you just want to stick to a minimal profile and expand via Thunderbolt.

News

AirPlay mirroring could have issues on Macs with OS X 10.9.2

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Almost every OS X release has its problems, and OS X 10.9 Mavericks is no exception. From the security problem they discovered a couple weeks back, to the continued Power Nap woes of the new Mac Pro, Mavericks has seen its fair share of problems. A new problem has sprung up. There have been several reports that the latest Mavericks update, 10.9.2, completely breaks AirPlay mirroring.

Here’s one complaint from Apple’s support communities:

apple-airplay-error — Apple Forum Discussion

AirPlay Mirroring is something that many professionals rely on for presentations, and it is also something a lot of people use to stream entertainment to their big screen televisions.

There doesn’t seem to be an apparent cause of this particular Mavericks bug. It seems to work on machines that were updated to Mavericks from an old install, and ones that were wiped clean and had Mavericks installed fresh. Some are speculating that it is in the code of Mavericks itself.

Mavericks has had, it seems, an inordinate number of bugs when it comes to built in Mac features. 10.9.2 itself was meant to fix both the aforementioned security problem, and a huge problem they’ve been having with Mail.app and Gmail.

Slow Updates

It seems that this update cycle has taken longer than usual. By this time of the year we’re usually on the third update to a new version of OS X, while we’ve only seen two so far with Mavericks despite its problems. 10.9.2 does seem to have finally fixed the Finder problems on older machines, so there’s that.

OS X 10.10 or OS XI will probably get shown of at WWDC in June. Almost always in the past, most of the big problems with the previous year’s release have been taken care of by WWDC. The question is whether or not Apple will keep that tradition. They seem to be stretched pretty thin, what with the number of bugs that iOS 7 has, and Mavericks, they have to be trying hard, but things seem to be happening slower than usual.

With the AirPlay Mirroring bug, Apple hasn’t yet acknowledged the problem, but will probably take care of it in the next update, especially if users keep talking about it in the forums.

Have you had this problem? Have you found a workaround?

How-To

How to enable a guest user for Mac OS X

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Desktop computers aren’t the most popular anymore, it used to be that if you had one, you’d want a guest account on it so that visiting family and friends had access to the computer and Internet. Nowadays where we all use laptops the guest account isn’t as important, since you’re less likely to share your laptop. If you do want to set up a guest account so you can share your computer with a friend or a family member, Mac OS provides a great and easy way to set up and manage an account that doesn’t have a password or access to system files. Here’s how to set one up.

1. Open System Preferences by going to Apple Menu > System Preferences.

2. Next, click on the User and Groups icon in the System Preferences window.

3. Then, click on the lock in the lower left hand corner of the window, and enter your Administrator Password when OS X prompts you. This will allow you to make changes. Apple automatically locks things down so that you don’t change things unintentionally.

4. Next click on the Guest User item in the left hand pane of the window.

5. The next step is to check the box for “Allow guest to log into the computer”. This part will explain that a guest user will be able to temporarily log onto your computer. It does not require a password, or allow users to access any non-system specific files.

Below that, you will be presented with options to enable Parental Controls. If you choose to do so, you’ll have access to the Parental Controls panel. In that panel you’ll be able to control what files and folders, and more importantly applications, the guest account can access. This is great if the guest user on the computer will be a kid or someone you don’t trust with your info. You may want to access this panel just do get rid of access to the App Store.

Back on the Guest User panel, there is one more option: “Allow guests to connect to shared folders”. This, if selected, will allow people logged in as guests, to access any folders you have shared on the network while logged into your own account.

Conclusion

And that’s it. It is a relatively simple way to give someone temporary access to your computer. You’ll want to make sure you fully manage it with the parental controls in case your computer gets stolen. That way the thief won’t be able to access the App Store at all, which could save you loads of cash.

The Parental Controls are also great if you don’t want to enable full account access for your child. All they’ll have to do is access the guest account, and they’ll have access to whatever you permit. You can set parental controls for standard accounts as well, if you’d rather set up a full account for family members.