DealNTech Mobiles, PCs, and All Things Tech
One key area in which several brands have improved in the past year is the software update situation. Many of the mainstream brands have started promising more extended software support. One of these brands in the Android space is Samsung. It now promises four years of major Android updates and five years of security patch updates for many of its lineups.
Many of the top-tier Galaxy flagships are currently being updated every month. The most recent update was the June 2023 update, which addresses several bugs and security vulnerabilities. However, this update seems to have caused a new issue for the latest Galaxy S23 series.
The fingerprint scanner icon vanishes from the lock screen
Soon after Samsung rolled out the latest June 2023 update to the eligible devices, several Galaxy S23 series flagship users took to Reddit and reported an issue. The issue is that the fingerprint icon you usually see on the lockscreen has started disappearing for many people.
If you are unaware, the Galaxy S23 series smartphones use an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner. Since users can no longer see the fingerprint scanner icon after it has disappeared, they have to use other unlocking methods or try to locate the scanner using muscle memory. This implies that only the icon goes missing sometimes and that the fingerprint scanner has no problems.
The severity of the issue is also not consistent. For some, the icon disappears after they press the power button twice in a row. For others, it vanishes after a restart. Some also report seeing it missing after they unlock their phone using the fingerprint scanner a few times. Furthermore, the icon just does not show up for the most part for some people. Do note that it can also disappear randomly.
Temporary workaround to resolve this issue
While Samsung has not acknowledged the issue yet, some users have found a way to get the fingerprint scanner icon working correctly again. If you want to give it a shot, follow the steps below.
Enable the Fingerprint Always On option from your device’s settings, lock it, and then unlock it. After that, turn off the Fingerprint Always On option again. This way, the missing icon reappears. It is worth noting that the device should be compulsorily locked at the mentioned step. Otherwise, this workaround will not work, or the user claims on Reddit.
Also, another user claims that disabling the Fingerprint Always On option is unnecessary. So, we would advise you to check this for yourselves. Besides all of this, do remember that the icon will most likely disappear after a restart. Carry out all of the steps mentioned above all over again if that happens.
If all of that still does not work for you, you must wait until Samsung notices this issue and fixes it soon. There is also no guarantee that they will do so before the next monthly update, the July 2023 security patch.
