What you need to know
- Claims are being made about Google’s new Pixel 6a with fingerprint sensor issues.
- The screen sensor does not recognize fingerprints properly, which could be a cause of phone security issues.
- Google has yet to issue a statement on the claims.
Early claims seem to suggest that the Google Pixel 6a’s fingerprint sensor is already experiencing issues ahead of its official launch.
Google is gearing up for the launch of its new budget phone, which will hit store shelves later this week. With all eyes on the phone, a few early birds got their hands on it for review purposes, including our own Nicholas Sutrich, who gave a glowing review of the Pixel 6a. However, according to some reports, the new Google Pixel 6a might have problems with its fingerprint scanner to recognize unregistered fingers.
It is nothing new that our fingerprints are unique. However, Reddit users (via Phandroid) point to several cases showing the Pixel 6a’s fingerprint scanner unlocking with unregistered fingerprints.
Phandroid points to YouTube channel Geekyranjit who delves into this discovery. The YouTuber has only registered his right-hand thumb for the fingerprint scanner, but his left-hand thumb also unlocks the phone. This is not something that should be happening, as evidenced by another phone.
As shown in some videos, the Pixel 6a allows anyone to unlock the phone, even if they’re not registered to your phone. It becomes a security issue that, if widespread, needs to be fixed sooner rather than later.
In our review, Nicholas discussed the fingerprint scanner, noting that while it’s faster than the Pixel 6 Pro, it still has its issues and can be unreliable at times. However, in this case, the Pixel 6a might be a little too reliable. Android Central has reached out to Google for comment on these claims, but did not hear back in time for publication. That said, we’ll give it a try to see if we can replicate the issue.
So far, these claims have not been confirmed by Google, with much up in the air about the seriousness of the situation. The Google Pixel 6a could easily be one of the best budget Android phones to launch this year, and a security issue like this could hinder its success.