Home Forums Peripherals & Multimedia iTunes, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV ipad, iphone what rule of logging in?

I get annoyed with my ipad always asking me to log in, as I'm at home! Leave me alone.

ANd get it too with iphone.

Conversely, if you lose your iphone, it's good to know no one can get into it. So what it right balance to strike?

You have a couple options, the first might be what you want, but is the least secure. Settings>Display & Brightness>Auto-Lock>Never. Alternatively you could set it to "5 Minutes" and then as long as you do something to your iDevice, like tap the screen, within 5 minutes, it won't lock.

More secure options would be to set your iDevice to unlock with a fingerprint or Face ID, although I found that with Face ID my iPhone was unlocking at times I did not want it to. With either of these unlocking is not too much of a chore. I find the right balance for me is to lock after a few minutes; I still like to use a passcode to unlock the iPhone, something I can quickly tap out with one finger.

Thanks Ira, I had 15 min on ipad and never on iphone, and why I don' know..why I suppose becuase don't want to be hassled 10 times day on phone. ipad use 1-2 times day..

So... then lose iphone that real bad right?

I don't see options for asking for fingerprint where is that? But is it glitchy? Still iphone be unbearable to have any lock, no as you would have to deal with that 20 times day right?

Try Settings > Passcode. Fingerprint is NOT glitchy.

Some are. I tried 6 or 7 times the other day with my iPhone and got nowhere. As I recall, the phone finally asked for the passcode instead.

Yeah definitely it's been hard sometimes with fingerprint; but even if was more consistent, nothing like never having to log in so nice. How dangerous Joe if iphone was stolen and not locked?

I would assume 99% would not care about my phone contacts and the few files accessible in icloud. oh and I think you can tell Apple to lock the phone or something like that if lost?

Finally question: even if I set to "Never"; I still often get asked to log in with password? Why is that and anyway to nuke that from happening?

Your phone could be used to spam everyone in your contacts list, by phone, email, and text which would not make you very popular. Depending on your phone plan you could easily find yourself responsible for big bucks in telephone calls. Your phone could be used to spam a lot of people. You might be forced to get a new telephone number. If you have any credit cards in Wallet those could be quickly maxed out. Enough information could be assembled from data on your phone to take out a mortgage, open credit cards and accounts, spend lots of money you don't have, and leave you to deal with the creditors, lawsuits, etc.

If you have an iCloud account and the phone is registered to that account, you can find the location of the phone, lock it, and even brick it but you have to do that yourself. If not too bad, so sad, Apple cannot help you. I know of a person, living in public housing, whose phone was "lost". It took the better part of four years and a bankruptcy to get out from under the $500 K in debt she found herself under based on information gleaned from her phone.

Any time your phone reboots, you have to log in with your password. Changing that would require hacking the firmware and voiding any warranty or support. It is intended to prevent the unauthorized use of your phone. If that really bothers you, switch to a dumb phone from the convenience store on the corner.

RE: Fingerprint security The one time fingerprint authentication ever failed me was when I forgot to take off my gloves 🤦🏻‍♂️. My current iPhone uses facial recognition which does not work when I am wearing an anti-virus mask. Because of the covid masks, the next iPhone (12 X? 13?) is already rumored to have both fingerprint and facial recognition and the fingerprint can be detected anywhere on the screen, not just a button. Apple has patented fingerprint recognition by touching the side button, so it is reliable enough that it is apparently here to stay.

Wow great post Joe appreciate it.

Ok just the spam thing alone nauseating. Cannot change my number as had years business.

Ok for someone who uses it throughout the day on in the house, 30 times day; and then goes outside with it, 2 to 3 times day. What is your recommended settings?

And what / where is that fingerprint setting? Can't find it.

(What about set to Never when at home?, and then each every time leave house and come back set to 30 sec?) Super new hassle but I could get used to it.. Ipad, in living room, but has same info, so yeah, I should put that that to 30 sec too.. Is there an even shorter setting, where criminal got it they would not even have 30 sec?)

Your iPhone is aware of your location so it should be possible for it to recognize different locations and adjust the security settings accordingly, but that feature is not there. I suggest you submit a request to iPhone Feedback and ask that it be added. In the meantime, you are simply going to have to come up with a solution that is workable for you. SInce I have facial recognition, and it is almost instantaneous, when and if I am actually looking at my IPhone, I just pick a reasonable length of time for the iPhone to lock, which for me is 4 minutes.

If you are trying to find any setting, go to the top of settings and then swipe down a short distance to reveal the search bar. Then simply enter the term you are looking for such as "passcode" to find the setting you are looking for. NOTE: both your phone and the iOS version must be capable of the feature. (If I am correct, you have an iPhone 6, which is capable of fingerprint and either iOS 13 or 14.) In either of those iOS versions it is in Settings > Accessibility > Fingerprint & Passcode. Once you enable Fingerprint identification you can then turn on firgernprint identification for any number of secure apps such as bank, insurance, password managers, etc.

I presume that you are as human as I am. That means relying on anything you have to remember to do every time you leave or enter your home will be forgotten, overlooked, or neglected and therefore a pointless hassle.

Thanks JOe, I'm on 7, so the new / next phone I'll get have this facial, and that is way better/ faster than finger?

4 min. every if criminal get it in one minute, it's shut off or they can keep it on for long time?

Thanks never noticed search before in settings. Well I have fingerprint enabled but many times after log in / reboot, I don't think offered right, just see keypad?

"I presume that you are as human as I am. That means relying on anything you have to remember to do every time you leave or enter your home will be forgotten, overlooked, or neglected and therefore a pointless hassle."

But Joe you can't think in my house, I'm going to push the fingerprint log in 20 times a day? Maybe so?

If they get your phone while it is active they can keep it active simply by touching the screen periodically.

Logging in after a restart or reboot requires the passcode to activate fingerprint access and there is no way around that.

When I had an iPhone that used fingerprint ID, I probably touched the fingerprint button that many times a day or more without thinking about it. It was just an automatic gesture to open the phone. I did set my thumb and forefinger prints on both hands as alternate IDs because one might be more convenient in one orientation or another.

Thanks JOe/ Ira

I wondering if my phone is broke or I don't understand the Lock feature.

I set it to one minute, and I'm noticing the screen go dark, but never locks. Phone is still on.

The Lock phone after 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, 4 min etc..... means after that time you are locked out. If I'm not locked out then feature broken correct?

If screen just goes a bit dark, that is weird too right?

( I'm also still having that issue of screen going dark when I'm on speakerphone, which I need to call apple about- nothing has worked to fix that, installing compass etc other things... case...)

BTW if you phone crapped out.. and needed a new phone fast, what do? Go closest Apple store and buy phone.. so don't have not have phone for 3 days..?

You do not understand the lock feature and it is working as it is designed. Locking does not turn the phone off, rather it deactivates the screen and thereby prevents accessing or entering information via the screen. While it prevents you from performing most functions, there are others, such as Siri and answering a telephone call, that can be accessed when the screen is locked.

That is a design feature with two functions. First it warns that the screen is about to lock and second it conserves battery power.


That is normal, just touch the screen and it will relight, or touch it periodically to keep it from going dark.

That would be my first choice although most major cell phone carriers stock iPhones as well, but they tend to be bottom of the line in features with minimal storage 😠. Just be sure you either backup your phone to your Mac (I suggest daily) or you have it set to automatically back up to iCloud. (The iCloud backup is automatic and takes place while your phone is charging overnight so it is invisible to the user. The ability to restore from a backup can save hours even days of setup and restoration in the event of a lost or damaged phone.

I would add that when setting up a new iPhone, the newer iPhones/iOS's have the ability to restore from proximity. That is, put the old and new iPhones next to one another during the set-up process and the option to "duplicate" the old one will be available on the new one. Very cool if not almost magical.

Thank guy, Joe:
Wow the thumb actually does bring back, unlock quite efficiently so much so I thought that it was not unlocking. So you find 4 min is best trade off for you?

I do must, have icloud setting for backup. I once had some glitch years ago, and it was backed up from icloud.

Yeah, so I'd go to Apple store..

Speakerphone thing.. well, in past screen would never go dark, so now going dark.. I think even with set to never, but now that I've decided to set to 1,2 or 4 min, then that is the norm? You have someone on speakphone and it was always then go dark.ok