Of the many iPhone parts that make up an Apple phone, a broken touch screen is one of the most common phone types of damage experienced by smartphone owners. The possibility of damaging your iPhone’s screen through everyday use is high, especially if you work in an environment where there is a high risk of accidentally dropping your phone. Equally, having a young person who has access to the phone can raise the risk of scratching, shattering or other drop damage. Though you can often continue using an iPhone with a broken screen, most people prefer replacing the screen to maintain the phone’s aesthetics and smooth functionality.
However, it’s not unusual to face a problem like Touch ID failure after replacing a screen. We decided to look at possible causes of touch ID problems after replacing the screen and some possible solutions to the problem.
Possible Causes
The phone can’t recognise the touch ID
This problem will most likely occur if you replace the screen without powering down the phone. Failure to power your phone off before replacing the screen is one of the mistakes that can cause touch ID failure. The solution to this problem is restarting the phone and then checking if the problem continues.
The phone can’t recognise Touch ID and back function failure
Some people also face this problem after replacing their iPhone’s screen. The touch ID won’t function, plus you cannot go back to your menu using the home button and set your fingerprint access. If you encounter this problem after replacing your iPhone’s screen, you could connect the iPhone to a computer, back up your data, and then Jailbreak the phone through iTunes (note this action is done at your own risk – read more about Jailbreaking).
If you restart your phone and Jailbreak it and the problem persists, you can, if you are confident and have the knowledge, disassemble it to check whether the home button flex cable is in good condition. Since the Touch ID feature is closely tied to the screen and home button assembly, some damage to the home button flex cable can occur when replacing the screen. This can lead to the home button and Touch ID failure problem. Therefore, if replacing your own screen, you should be gentle with the flex cable when replacing your iPhone’s broken screen and make use of good, online tutorials (see our guides). We offer a send-in repair service that can help you with a screen replacement if needed.
If you continue experiencing the problem after trying all the above solutions, then the problem can be the screen replacement itself. You could have purchased a screen replacement that is not fully compatible with your iPhone. Since Apple devices are sophisticated, most third-party accessories may not work well on them. We can offer advice if you are uncertain about the quality of any screen.
Possible solutions
Touch ID is a fingerprint recognition feature found in some iPhone models like iPhone 6/6plus, iPhone 7/7plus, and iPhone 8/8plus. This feature helps iPhone users unlock their iPhones, authenticate Apple Pay online, and make purchases in iTunes, Book Store, and Apple App. So, you cannot access these services if your phone’s touch ID is not working. Below are some possible quick ways to fix the problem.
If your touch ID can’t be recognised after screen replacement
As explained above, the solution to this problem is to restart the iPhone. Restarting the phone will most likely solve the problem caused by the failure to switch off the phone when replacing the screen.
Unable to activate touch ID
You can solve this problem by checking the touch ID settings on your iPhone. Go to settings>Touch ID and Passcode to change the settings.
Use software to fix the issue
Sometimes the touch ID failure can be caused by software problems, and the best solution is to use iOS Recovery software. The software will help you with your iPhone software issues and help you install the up-to-date iOS firmware on your phone. There are lots of such software in the market today, which you can download from the internet.
Restore the iPhone via iTunes
It is always advisable to restore your iPhone from a backup if stuck on a severe problem. Using iTunes to reinstall the software is a good option as it will restore the device to its default settings, thus eliminating any changes that may be causing the problem.
However, you should be aware that restoring the software will also delete the information on your device. Therefore, you should back up the iPhone before restoring and then restore it from backups to avoid data loss.
Final Comments
We’ve covered some of the issues with touch ID failure above and some possible solutions. However, there are other possible causes behind touch ID failure that require an experienced technician to diagnose. If you have encountered a touch ID issue and the tips above haven’t helped then get in touch. Our technicians can offer expert help or take care of the problem for you through our send-in repair service. If you are interested in replacing your own display then you can find our range of iPhone screen parts here in our online store.
