Samsung acknowledges fingerprint reader errors on Galaxy S10, Note10

A user tries to unlock Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S10 smartphone by placing her finger on the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner of the device. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

By Baek Byung-yeul

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S10 5G / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Users of Samsung Electronics' premium smartphones ― the Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy Note 10 ― are warned about privacy risks as some of them raised questions over the in-screen fingerprint scanner, which can be bypassed by attaching a certain screen protector on the phone, according to reports Thursday.

According to recent reports from foreign media outlets, some Galaxy S10 owners were able to unlock their smartphones equipped with a third-party screen protector by simply touching the in-screen fingerprint sensor.

U.K. newspaper The Sun reported Lisa Neilson, an owner of a Galaxy S10 smartphone, registered her right thumb to unlock the screen, but she could also unlock the device with her left thumb when the screen protector was on the smartphone. She added the same thing happened with her husband as well.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 10 smartphone / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Given the screen protector can be easily purchased on eBay for about $3, owners of the high-priced device are expressing their concerns over device security.

Following a series of reports from both here and abroad, Samsung said it is investigating the issue and will be able to fix the problem as soon as possible because it can be solved by upgrading the smartphone's software.

"We acknowledged the issues regarding errors with the fingerprint reader of our smartphones. We will soon release a software patch to solve the issue," a Samsung official said.

Not only the Galaxy S10, but also the Galaxy Note 10, which was released in August, has been embroiled in the in-screen fingerprint scanner issue as numerous users reported the same error in their Note 10 devices.

Given the same biometric authentication is widely used for other features such as banking and other secure applications, users are expressing their worries.

The in-screen fingerprint scanner is one of the major selling points of the Galaxy S10 series, which hit the global market in the first quarter of 2019.

Samsung promoted its ultrasonic fingerprint scanner as a "new biometric authentication" and an "in-display fingerprint sensor fused into the Infinity-O Display, providing invisible yet vault-like security that keeps your data safe."

However, many media reports have warned that some protectors may prevent the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor from working because any gap between the fingerprint and the screen may disrupt the transmission of the ultrasonic signal.

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