It seems that the March security update for the most recent Nexus phones, the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, is causing the handsets’ fingerprint scanners to act strangely.
A number of users of the two devices are reporting that they started encountering fingerprint sensor issues upon receiving the March update pushed out by Google.
A writer from Phandroid initially shared the issues he experienced after installing the update.
"The Nexus Imprint fingerprint reader has been flaky the past few days, possibly since I received the recent March OTA update, on my Nexus 6P," says Derek Ross on his Google+ account. "At random times, it won't work, giving zero haptic feedback, I'll then unlock with my code, then relock by hitting the power button, and then the fingerprint reader works."
He adds that his phone's Nexus Imprint was working perfectly prior to installing the latest update from Google. In fact, he says that he never had the issue before with his Nexus 6P. A few responses to his post from other users of these phones also confirm this particular problem.
Other users also took to Reddit and Google+ to vent their frustrations regarding this problem.
"Since the March update, I've had [three] separate instances in the past 24 hours that I used the fingerprint scanner to turn on and unlock the device and have it restart to the Google logo instantly after it unlocks," says redditor Infrared-Velvet.
Replying to a post about this problem, Nexus 6P owner Stef G. shares on Google+ that she is experiencing a similar problem. She adds that sometimes, the camera shows only a black screen and that she needs to “exit and reenter” to be able to use it.
A report from Phandroid provides a few steps to fix the fingerprint scanner issue, as recommended by some owners.
If the fingerprint sensor is not working, users simply have to unlock their device using their passcode, then relock it. This will bring the feature back to normal the next time Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X owners use their device. However, do note that the problem may still appear in the future.
Another quick fix is to disable the Doze Mode of the device, suggesting that users have to sacrifice the battery life of their device to fix this problem.
At any rate, there’s a possibility that Google could already be working on a fix on this problem and that it could already be on the way.
Let us know in the comments section below if you’ve experienced this issue and if the workaround helps.
Meanwhile, aside from general performance tweaks, the March update bestowed the Nexus 5X with a nifty feature called cool color temperature toggle. This new feature may have been designed to fix the yellow screen problem of the device.
