Finger scanners are the must-have feature right now, but no one is doing it perfectly. / © AndroidPIT
First off you need to register your fingerprints in your device. / © AndroidPITYou'll also be prompted to enable the finger scanner as the unlock method once you've registered your fingerprints (they only stay on your device, Samsung won't get ahold of your precious fingerprints). Once your prints are registered you can simply switch the scanner on and off like any other unlock method. Once these steps have been done, you can choose to use your fingerprints to unlock your device as well as verify your Samsung account or use PayPal services. Be careful with these features though if you have other people's prints registered as well.
Once your prints are registered, you can set finger scanner as an unlock setting like any other. / © AndroidPITQuick tip: try to register your fingerprints in natural ways – ie. the way you actually hold your S5. If you do the awkward down swipe with your pointer finger it's not likely to be a very familiar way to unlock your device. While you can't see it in the video, my recent experience with unlocking the device in a natural position has been quite good (although it hasn't for my fellow editors). But then as soon as we tried shooting the video it all went to hell. I'll assume it was the slightly awkward position I held it in whilst having our cameraman leaning over my shoulder, but it's really more accurate than it might appear.
Registered prints can be used for verification, and deregistered quickly and easily. / © AndroidPITIt's still far from perfect though, as the funny memes and GIFs all over the interwebs will attest. Just like the Apple TouchID scanner, the S5's scanner has been hacked already too. It's safe to say that the Galaxy S5 has done no better or worse of a job of a finger scanner than any other Android manufacturer, but sadly, all of the Android attempts fall way short of the intuitive and accurate Apple sensor. Yes I said it, but it's true. I suspect most Android owners with finger scanners no longer use them, whereas the TouchID sensor is a daily feature for most iPhone owners. No matter what the case, they are far from secure and shouldn't be relied on as a solid security feature.Have you used a fingerprint scanner before? What do think the future of smartphone security will be?










