iOS 9.1 update causing Touch ID to malfunction in iPhones and iPads

Apple pushed the iOS 9.1 update last month to fix some bugs but might have created a bigger problem. The update appears to have broken Touch ID, with many users saying the fingerprint recognition system has become awfully slow, or sometimes doesn't work at all.

The issue has emerged on all iPhone as well as iPad models that feature the proprietary fingerprint sensor raising concerns about loss of biometric security. Apple Pay service, which uses Touch ID sensor to enable secure mobile payments, appears to be halted to some extent due to the issue.

As first spotted by Forbes, a large number of users have already started raising the issue across Apple's official Support Communities forum. It suggests a bug in the iOS 9.1 update slows down fingerprint recognition through the Touch ID sensor.

"I'm using an iPhone 6s 64GB and upgraded to iOS 9.1 a few days ago. My Touch ID has become very slow or either doesn't work after several attempts, and I need to input my passcode," a user wrote in a forum post.

IBTimes UK has separately confirmed the issue on a couple of Apple devices. Some users even tried "hard resetting" of their devices by holding the power and home buttons for 10 seconds but that has not always worked. Apple did not respond to our email seeking a comment on the issue. However, according to the Forbes report, the company said: "No comment".

You could resolve the Touch ID issue by rolling back to a previous iOS version but Apple recently stopped signing iOS 9.0.2. This means that you will have to wait for the next release by Apple to bring back the same fast Touch ID experience on your device.

iOS 9.2 beta 2 released

Apple has just released iOS 9.2 beta 2 that comes as an upgrade over iOS 9.2 beta 1, which was released last week. The beta release does not bring any new feature, but includes some bug fixes that might also have a solution for the newly emerged Touch ID bug. Moreover, it has been found that Apple is pushing new iOS updates sooner than before. This suggests the impending public release of iOS 9.2.