Banks Blacklist Samsung Galaxy S10 Due to Fingerprint Flaws
Last updated September 25, 2021
- Owners of the latest Galaxy S10 and Note 10 won’t be able to use some banking apps.
- The culprit for the blacklisting is the recently discovered flaw in the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.
- Users report that it’s not a matter of silicone protectors, but any thin film of material.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 fingerprint problem may be a lot worse than we initially anticipated, as banking applications are starting to blacklist the device. This indicates that the problem is quite serious, and Samsung will have big trouble fixing it via an update, no matter what they claim. The story started last week, when some users reported that their ultrasonic fingerprint sensor would unlock the device no matter what finger was used, apparently due to a $3 screen protector. The problem affected the Galaxy S10 series, as well as the Note 10 devices.
Samsung acknowledged the problem and attributed it to the silicone material of the protectors, acting as a pseudo-universal fingerprint for the sensor’s ultrasonic waves. The official advice to its customers was to remove the protector and register a new fingerprint without it. A software update to help the device recognize such practical problems was also scheduled for this week, allowing people to get back to using silicone protectors after all. However, as demonstrated in the below video, the problem isn’t just silicone, as TPU cutouts work like a charm if someone wants to use an unregistered fingerprint on an S10 device.
The phone on the video is an Exynos-powered device, while some users that have the Qualcomm version report no problems with their sensors whatsoever. Others dispute this claim and present the opposite. That said, there might be a connection with the specific hardware, or this may purely be a software issue. Whatever the case really is, banks are starting to blacklist Samsung Galaxy and Note 10 owners, as they consider the security of the biometrics system in the devices way too poor to be trustworthy. For now, NatWest has removed the S10 from the list of supported devices, while the Nationwide Building Society has confirmed that the fingerprint log-in functionality on Samsung S10s has been disabled on its app.
@NatWest_Help why isn't my brand new Galaxy S10 compatible with your app? pic.twitter.com/CGu360k9Vu
— Robert Merriman (@robmerriman) October 20, 2019
Samsung could have done a better quality assurance job here, especially when it comes to the pinnacle of its product range. Then again, this is the company that released the pioneering “Fold” without testing it properly first, so they have screwed up more than once this year. Still, they remain a top tech product maker, and people who buy superior devices that belong in the S10 series expect to enjoy them across the full range of possible utilization scenarios, including banking apps of course.
Do you own a Galaxy S10 or Note 10 device? Can you confirm the above? Share the details with us in the comments down below, or on our socials, on Facebook and Twitter.
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