Learn how to turn off Face ID authentication and only use a passcode to unlock your iPhone, approve purchases, autofill passwords, change advanced settings, etc.
Face ID is an utterly convenient feature. With it, you can unlock the device and apps, authenticate Apple Pay transactions, approve App Store purchases without typing your Apple account password, change advanced settings, authenticate password autofill, keep the screen awake when you’re reading something, reveal protected Locks Screen notifications, lower the alarm volume, and more—all with your glance.
But if you’d like to go back to using your passcode (which is less secure than Face ID) to do all that and switch off Face ID completely, follow the steps below.
Option 1: Don’t activate during iOS setup
When you set up a new or erased iPhone or iPad, you’ll be presented with the option to turn on Face ID. Instead, select the option to skip enrolling your face in Face ID.
Option 2: Turn off unlocking with Face ID
If you don’t want to unlock your iPhone or iPad with a gaze, turn off the unlock option in the Face ID settings while leaving intact the other options to use Face ID for Apple Pay transactions, App Store authentication, and other purposes.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad Pro.
- Tap Face ID & Passcode, then enter your device passcode to go in.
- Turn off iPhone Unlock under the “Use Face ID For” section.
Doing so will prevent device unlocking with Face ID. However, you’ll still be able to use Face ID for other things like iTunes & App Store authentication, Apple Pay payments, password autofill, app lock, and more.
Option 3: Unenroll your face from Face ID
If you don’t want to use Face ID for anything at all, unenroll your face before completely disabling the feature. Keep in mind that if you use the Stolen Device Protection feature, you’ll need to turn it off before resetting Face ID.
- Open the Settings app and tap Face ID & Passcode.
- Tap Reset Face ID.
Option 4: Reset all settings to erase Face ID
Resetting all device settings will also reset Face ID to factory settings along with your passcode, Apple Pay cards, and other settings. This step is unnecessary if you only want to stop using Face ID. But if you want to restore factory settings to troubleshoot issues, you can proceed with this approach.
Or, get a device without Face ID
If you don’t plan on using Face ID ever, maybe you should consider an Apple device without Face ID hardware? When it comes to the iPad, all models except the iPad Pro family are still equipped with Touch ID instead of Face ID.
Apple no longer offers Touch ID iPhones, but third-party retailers like Amazon may still have the iPhone SE with Touch ID in stock. Keep in mind that the iPhone SE has an LCD display and 64 GB of base storage.
If you can’t stand Face ID but want the best smartphone experience, your only option is a flagship Android from Samsung or Google (remember not to set up facial unlock on these devices). That said, here are 10 Android features I miss on my iPhone.