iOS 12 brings a host of subtle refinements to daily iPhone use. One of these is the option to retry Face ID after a failed attempt instead of being forced to enter your passcode. Follow along for how this change works.

Whoosh! Screen Cleaner

With iOS 11 and Face ID on iPhone X, users get two attempts to unlock their device from the Lock screen before the software forces the passcode to be used.

Now with iOS 12 after one failed Face ID attempt, the system will present the keypad if you’d like to use your passcode, but you can just swipe up if you’d like to retry Face ID.

Note: iOS 12 is currently only available as a developer beta, however, a public beta will likely be released sometime soon.

How to retry Face ID after a failed attempt in iOS 12

1. After a failed attempt, make sure your face is in view of your iPhone X’s notch
2. If you have Require Attention for Face ID turned on, make sure you’re looking at your iPhone
3. When you see the passcode option, skip it and swipe up

In my experience so far I’ve found sometimes I don’t even need to swipe up from the passcode screen once my face is readable by the camera. But here’s how the new process looks:

Notice the new Lock screen reads “Swipe up for Face ID or Enter Passcode” in iOS 12. In iOS 11, the screen simply reads “Enter Passcode.”

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