Only in South Korea for now, but it’s rolling out to other countries soon
Samsung has released a patch for the Galaxy S10 and Note 10’s fingerprint reader, fixing a problem discovered by The Sun that could allow anyone’s fingerprints to be used to unlock an S10 with certain types of screen protectors attached.
According to Android Central,
the update is only available for S10 and Note 10 devices in South Korea
for now, although it should be rolling out to additional countries in
the near future.
The update should be available soon
The
company previously warned users that unsanctioned screen protectors
could cause issues. Samsung’s official support site already notes that
“unofficial, scratched or dirty screen protectors may cause the
fingerprint sensor to malfunction.” But there’s a big difference between
“malfunction” and “allow anyone to get into your phone,” which likely
explains the speed at which Samsung is getting this update out.
Samsung previously
explained the problem by noting that the ultrasonic fingerprint was
mistakenly “recognizing 3-dimensional patterns appearing on certain
silicone screen protecting cases as users’ fingerprints.” As a temporary
solution, Samsung recommends that users either remove the problematic
screen protectors in question and reregister their prints or use a
different authentication method (like a regular password) until the
patch is released.
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