Biometric fingerprint reader working intermitantly ?

Has anyone else had the problem that, while on battery power, the fingerprint reader requires MANY swipes of your finger to even register ?

I don't mean I swipe my finger and I get a red X, I mean I swipe it and NOTHING happens... the Protector QL suite is in my taskbar, I've registered by fingers, it hasn't been disabled in any way, it's clean, my fingers are clean...

What the heck ? Kinda defeats the purpose of having it.

And no, I'm not using the Kensington power supply at the moment... I'm on battery power.

 

Are you sure you are swiping it properly and have your finger on it - only that way it will "register" for sure.

 

When Im plugged into the mains, it works every time... I swipe my finger as normal.

 

Check the Power Management...make sure its set to Always On (for battery and plugged in) and then try again.

 

I see the same. Its the way it works. Many thing effect the way it reads yourprint. Its not like a scanner. I thiink it reads heat. Which is why if your hands are cold it works less.

 

I like the extra level of security, but if it takes 10 tries to get it to work, its more of a waste of time

Moreover, the fingerprint system has a backup password in case the fingerprint stops working...

so whats' the point ? Why not just enter two passwords ? I type quickly.

 

Mine usually works fine. But sometimes it can take a couple of swipes.

The main advantage is when your in a foreign environment. On site for example.

When I walk away from the machine I have to lock it due to the sensitive data on it.

When I get back I can then discretely swipe my finger. This looks alot better then bangingin your passwordas people can easily spot your doing that. Also you don't have to worry about someone watching your keystrokes.

 

Hm, a few good reasons... thanks !

 

Weird...It took time for me to get used to it when I got the machine to get the finger right, but now it takes one swipe and it works without a problem as soon as I swipe it.

 

I also had the same problem with an intermittent Biometric Sensor on battery power. It was quite frustrating to me. Much to my surprise, I found out that after I removed Norton Security Suite, my Biometric Sensor problems seemed to disappear. Now my Biometric Sensor works about the same on battery or connected to AC. If you still have Norton installed, you might want to consider removing this and install something like Zone Alarm Suite instead.

Am I missing something here? I don't see any Biometric Fingerprint reader option in Power management. Can you tell me where you see this?

 

There is no option but what I mean is keep it to always on and try again...maybe some odd battery saving aspect, doesnt make it work properly.

 

Norton has been pissing me off (ccApp.exe !!!) in a variety of other ways too... so I may do that anyway...

 

let me guess a memory error when shutting down? ccApp.exe?

 

When I try to shut down I have a ccApp.exe error, and when I try to End Task it, my machine can't reboot anymore, and has to be forcefully rebooted.

 

guys dump norton. a friend of mine that works for symantec told me noone there using nav. In fact they use nod32 or just go without antivirus and are smart about things. But im not doing anything unguarded, so i chose nod32. The file is only 8mb. So it does everything symantec system works does with out all the system hogging.


Check it out

 

Actually, there is an option... If you go into your device manager, and enter the 'Biometric' section, you'll see a listing for "TouchChip Fingerprint Coprocessor." Enter the properties there, and the last tab should read "Power Management." Click on that tab and you'll see a checkbox that reads, "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." Clear that box and your fingerprint reader will always work, even when the battery is running low.

Oh, and PLEASE, BY ALL MEANS, DUMP NORTON. It's a terrible product.

Javier

 

Nice info, Jav.

I'll try it out and report back in a few days !

 

I have found that mine works perfectly as long as the body of is relatively flat.

If I prop up the body up to say a 20 degree incline, the reader will never work. It was frustrating the heck out of me till I figured out what was going on.

 

Whoa... that's not good.

Why would it do that ?

That may be my problem.

 

OK well after a bit of trial and error, I realized that I simply wasn't pressing firmly enough.

It seems to me now that the reason why it registers more under main power is that it is more sensitive at that point.

When its on battery it is less sensitive.

So, when you're on battery, press hard and swipe your finger... it should work fine.

Really strange...

 

just make sure when u swipe it, u need to press on it firmly. mine works even if i have my finger sideways, it's smart enough to figure that out.

 

Yeah, I was just being too gentle

Time to take the reigns and show it who's boss !

 

Thanks ikaris.

One less thing to be pissed off about now.

 

hey mines been working perfectly plugged in and on battery

 

Well, I found another problem with me is that I have dry hands... dry hands do NOT register on the fingerprint reader.

If you're having trouble getting it to work, wet your finger (yes, it sounds lame...) and it will work fine.

Either that or moisterize your hands first. It really works every time if my hands aren't dry.

I guess it makes sense, I mean, to leave a fingerprint you need oil, right ?

 

Moisture enhances the capacitive effect of the skin in contact with the sensor. I also have dry fingers which makes the touchpad a bit difficult to use as well.

http://www.upek.com/products/technology/active.asp

Skrunch.