How To Fix Samsung Galaxy S9 Iris Scanner Not Responding

The #Samsung #Galaxy #S9 is one of the flagship devices released last year which comes with several outstanding features. This phone has a solid build quality made of an Aluminum frame with Corning Gorilla Glass on both the front and back. It has a beautiful 5.8 inch Super AMOLED Iris Display while under the hood you will find the Snapdragon 845 processor combined with 4 GB of RAM. Although this is a solid performing device there are instances when certain issues can occur which we will be addressing today. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Galaxy S9 iris scanner not responding issue.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S9 or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to contact us using this form. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do contact us try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment can be made and the correct solution can be given.  

How To Fix Samsung Galaxy S9 Iris Scanner Not Responding

Problem: Hello. My Samsung Galaxy S9 has recently started playing up. I first discovered that the iris scanner was “Not responding, then I saw that the Auto-brightness also was not working, as well as the manual brightness slider. I tested the rest of the sensors by dialing *#0*# into the dialer, and found that the Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyroscope, Iris scanner, and the Barometer are not getting any data. Everything was working as expected. In an attempt to fix these issues I first rebooted the device, when that didn’t work I cleared the cache partition, that didn’t work either so I did a factory reset. That also did not solve the problem, so I flashed some older firmware  using Odin. That also did not work. I checked the water damage indicator in the SIM tray slot, however it has not been activated. Could this be a physical problem? Or is it Software?

Solution: The first thing you will want to do in this case is to make sure that that the phone is running on the latest software version. If an update is available then I suggest that you download and install it first. Since you already flashed your phone with an older firmware then I suggest that you flash the latest firmware if the OTA method of updating your phone does not work.

Perform a soft reset

The first thing that you will need to do in this particular case is a soft reset. This will usually fix issues caused by minor software glitches as it will refresh the phone software. This is also called as a simulated battery pull as it disconnects the phone from the battery.

  • Press and hold the Power and Volume down key for up to 45 seconds.
  • Wait as the device restarts.

Check if the issue still occur.

Delete any registered Iris data then register your Iris data again

There’s a possibility that the problem could be caused by a corrupt Iris data which is why you should try to delete then add it again.

To delete the Iris data

  • On the Settings screen, tap ‘Lock screen and security’.
  • Tap the ‘Iris Scanner’.
  • Unlock the screen using the preset screen lock method.
  • Tap ‘Remove iris data’.
  • Tap ‘Remove’. Once the registered iris data has been deleted, all the related features will also be deactivated.

To add the Iris data

  • Open ‘Settings’.
  • Tap ‘Lock screen and security’.
  • Tap ‘Iris Scanner’ and set a pattern, PIN or password.
  • Read the disclaimer, the click ‘OK’.
  • Read the on-screen instructions and tap ‘Continue’.
  • Hold your device 25 to 35 cm away from your face with the screen facing towards you and look at the screen. Keep your eyes open fully and look at the top of the screen. Position your eyes inside the circles on the screen and open your eyes wide. The iris recognition camera will scan your irises.
  • When an iris unlock screen appears, tap ‘Turn on’ to use your irises to unlock the screen.
  • When you swipe in any direction on the locked screen, the iris recognition screen will appear.
  • If your irises are not recognized, unlock the device using the pattern, PIN, or password, and then re-register your irises.

Check if the issue occurs in Safe Mode

One factor that can cause this problem is an app you downloaded and installed in your device. To check if this is the case you should start the phone in Safe Mode as only the pre-installed apps are allowed to run in this mode.

  • Turn the phone off.
  • Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
  • When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  • Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  • Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  • When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.

If the problem does not occur in this mode then it could be caused by a downloaded app. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.

Wipe the cache partition of the phone

There are cases when the cached data that the phone stores in its partition can become corrupted. Once this happens certain issues can occur on the device. To eliminate the possibility of this issue causing the problem you should wipe the cache partition of the phone.

  • Turn off the phone.
  • Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  • When the Android logo displays, release all three keys.
  • An ‘Installing system update’ message will show for 30 – 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options appear.
  • Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
  • Press Power key to select.
  • Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and press the Power key to select.
  • When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
  • Press the Power key to restart the device.

Perform a factory reset

One last troubleshooting step to consider is a factory reset. This will revert the phone back to its original factory condition. Make sure to backup your phone data before performing this step.

  • Turn off the phone.
  • Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  • When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  • Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  • Press Power button to select.
  • Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  • Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  • When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  • Press the Power key to restart the device.

If after performing a reset the issue still occurs then this is most likely caused by a faulty hardware component already. The best thing you can do right now is to bring the phone to a service center and have it checked.

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