Thinkpads Forum

I'm going nuts trying to use this feature on my X61. Sometimes it works other times it doesn't. I make sure my finger is dry, is there anything else I can do? I realize it's probably how I touch it sois there any thing I can do to make the initial inputs easier to recognize later?
Thanks
Henry

henrym wrote:I'm going nuts trying to use this feature on my X61. Sometimes it works other times it doesn't. I make sure my finger is dry, is there anything else I can do? I realize it's probably how I touch it sois there any thing I can do to make the initial inputs easier to recognize later?
Thanks
Henry

I own two T60 units with fingerprint readers. One is really fussy and inconsistent, the other is quite reliable. The fussy reader might be suffering from component aging (my amateur theory) most likely caused by changes in the capacitors within the circuitry. As they dry out, the values change, taking them out of spec.

Re-registering the fingerprints does not correct the problem.

Heck, for all I know, there may not even be any capacitors in the fingerprint hardware, so I could be wrong....

Other factors are finger skin conductivity, moisture on the finger, etc...

My machine is only 3 months old. I hope I didn't get a "fussy reader"

Just a dumb idea: are you sure you swipe the finger correctly? I.e. not just the tip.

I've been swiping from the first joint to the tip. I've tried ssiping lightly and firmly. Lightly seems to work sometimes.

You're sure you didn't register your fingers in a weird way? with only a part of your finger print? I've never had this problem with my T61 so it's just a guess Good luck.

maybe. I'll reregister tem and see what happens.

It doesn't like dry fingers. I find that if I have just washed my hands--I can't swipe in.

Get in the habit of either running your finger on the side of your nose, or licking it (your finger, not your nose<G>) before swiping it. That seems to do the trick.

Perhaps just a coincidence, but I seem to do better with fingers on my "off" hand (for me, as a righty, the left hand), perhaps because one has to work harder to keep the motion in a smooth continuity.

Once in a great while, the reader gets so ornery that I'm forced into conceding defeat and typing in the password.

Art

Off-Topic: The fingerprint readers on the X200/s units are better than perfect -- they are every bit as good and reliable as the X6x/s units (all of them; there aren't any "good" ones) are frustrating and exasperating.

I seem to have better luck when I scan my finger ober the reader a little lighter, but I'm still guessing what exactly is the 'right" pressure.