I don’t read directions very often—unless I get myself into a pickle, and then it’s usually a bit late. I recognize that this habit is a personal failing, but why change now? So…when I traded in my iPhone 5 for a 6 I figured I didn’t need to watch any tutorials or read any online articles. I teach others to use iPhones and iPads, for goodness sakes. I know how to use an iPhone. The new ones look pretty much the same as they always have. Therefore, it was out of the box and into my purse without a second thought.
When I got home I decided to try out the fingerprint feature that everyone talked about. Evidently, you could unlock the phone with just your fingerprint. Sounded promising — I usually don’t have the passcode turned on because it is a pain in the neck to be always tapping in numbers. Not good practice, I know! If I lost my phone, all of my info would be easy to access without the security feature activated.
It was pretty easy to set up this feature. You go to settings and tap on Touch ID and Passcode.
The prompt appears on your screen and asks you to place your finger on the home button. Your partial fingerprint shows up on the screen.
You receive several more commands to touch the home button and roll your finger around until all of the swirls and ridges fill in. It’s pretty cool to watch. The prompt tell you when the process is complete. So far so good.
The next time I opened the phone I see the prompt for the passcode (now six numbers long), but no directions on where to place my finger. I was expecting an outline of a fingertip. I stabbed my finger all over the screen and nothing happened. Did I go look for directions? No, I was too stubborn. “I can figure this out,” I thought to myself. I kept tapping everywhere trying to get into the phone. Finally, I gave in and tapped in the passcode.
The phone unlocked, and I went to settings. Surely I must have missed some prompt and left out a step to make this fingerprint feature active. I could have texted BoomerAdventures colleague, Chris Toy, for help. But I certainly wasn’t going to admit to him that I could not figure out this simple process. I must have gone back and forth to settings 10 times trying to unravel the mystery of the Touch ID feature. Suddenly, there was a bolt of lightning from the sky, a slap up the side of my head, and a voice that said, “Dah, Jill, maybe you just touch your finger to the home button and that will unlock the screen. After all, that is where you made the imprint.” Well, lo and behold that was the trick. Pretty obvious, you’re thinking. And it is, unless you are caught up in the moment. Anyway, I love the Touch ID feature. Now the phone is now locked all of the time and my information is secure. You will be happy to know I learned my lesson about directions. My next task with the new phone was to rearrange the icons more to my liking. It only took three or four tries of pressing down and having nothing happen before I did a google search to find directions. Hint, you only have to lightly press an icon to get them to jiggle so you can move them about. Maybe there is something to be said for reading directions after all…
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