New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….
Original story (published on October 17, 2022) follows:
The new Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are already in the hands of many lucky users. This means that there are already some opinions about the user experience offered by these devices.
Among the multiple opinions, the first issues that users are finding are also emerging. Here we have covered the criticisms on the quality of the Pixel 7 series speakers and the fast charging speed.
Now, multiple Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro users are reporting that the lock screen notifications are not showing and that the fingerprint sensor performance is poor or unreliable.
Pixel 7 and 7 Pro lock screen notifications not showing
Many Google Pixel 7 users are finding that the notification previews do not appear on the lock screen when ‘face unlock’ is enabled.
Unlike last year’s Google Pixel 6, the new Pixel 7 and 7 Pro support face unlock. However, this only works to unlock the devices from the lock screen.
This means face unlock can’t replace your fingerprint, pattern or PIN for sensitive things like unlocking apps or approving payments. This is because this version of face unlock is the classic and insecure ‘2D face scan’.
Returning to the issue, reports confirm that lock screen notifications are not showing whenever face unlock is activated. So, you just need to disable the ‘face unlock’ feature for notifications to reappear.
There is no official acknowledgment of this issue from Google yet. So, users will have to wait for further updates on the topic in the future.
Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro poor fingerprint sensor
The other reported issue will be very familiar to many previous Google Pixel 6 users. More specifically, Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro fingerprint sensor behavior is poor and unreliable for many.
As a reminder, Google Pixel 6 series fingerprint performance was erratic and unreliable for many months. Also, those phones don’t support face unlock (even after Android 13 update).
That said, the cause of the problem could be incompatibility with certain tempered glass protectors. Some users report that the Pixel 7 series fingerprint sensor behavior improves a lot by removing the screen protector.
So, it is likely that, currently, the fingerprint sensor only works properly with official Google screen protectors.
Also, Google is reportedly aware of the issue according to a Redditor. The company could be working on a fix to improve the Pixel 7 series fingerprint sensitivity in a future update.
However, there is still no official word from the company on this issue. We will update this story as events unfold.
Update 1 (November 14, 2022)
12:35 pm (IST): A user reports that a friend was able to unlock his Google Pixel 7 using the fingerprint scanner, which is a serious security issue.
It’s worth pointing out that a similar problem was reported on the Google Pixel 6a in the middle of this year.
Showed my friend my new pixel 7 and as he is holding it he intuitively presses the fingerprint sensor, and to both our surprises, it freaking unlocked!
We tried again, and every time it unlocked first time! Though only with his right thumb. Source
Update 2 (December 01, 2022)
02:15 pm (IST): Just ahead of the December security update’s rollout, we are still seeing plenty of disgruntled Pixel 7 owners who are still not happy with the performance of the fingerprint scanner.
All they can hope is that the upcoming update improves it, but there’s no guarantee.
Update 3 (December 07, 2022)
12:30 pm (IST): Pixel 7 users are now getting December 2022 update which brings potential improvements for the fingerprint sensor.
Update 4 (December 22, 2022)
03:38 pm (IST): Although Google released improvements for fingerprint scanner with December update, users are still reporting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) that it isn’t working properly.
Update 5 (January 4, 2023)
06:23 pm (IST): Google has released some potential improvements for fingerprint scanner with January 2023 update.
So if you are still facing problems, then try updating your device to the latest firmware and see if the issue persists.
Update 6 (January 5, 2023)
01:02 pm (IST): It seems that the January update has enhanced the fingerprint recognition for some Pixel 7 users.
NOTE: You can also check the Google Pixel 7 series bugs/issues and updates tracker.
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