It doesn’t work as well as Touch ID. On the iPad it is impossible to hold the iPad without covering the camera. It’s slower. If I have sunglasses on or it is sunny outside, it doesn’t recognize me. I think it is worse in every way.
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Agreed. I didn’t think Face ID on the iPad would be such a big deal, but it notably improves the speed of getting to my work, and really speeds up the process of entering passwords.
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@jcarucci sorry you are having trouble but I agree with the experience of others. Face ID has been far superior to Touch ID for the reasons cited above. If you have not done so already, you may wish to retrain it. And, if Face ID is new for you, remember, it “learns” as you use it, including each time you have to enter the passcode. I use the iPhone and the iPad in nearly every conceivable environment, including outside in the sun with sunglasses, and Face ID is nearly flawless—even in the dark. I hope things get better for you. As to covering the camera, that was a problem for me initially but I’ve learned to grab the iPad 12.9” below or above the camera location.
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I find Face ID more reliable inside than Touch ID was for me - although perhaps it’s worth mentioning that I’ve only used both of those on the first generation of hardware that supported them.
I agree with you about Face ID and sunlight. It either fails completely or is frustratingly slow for me most of the time in sunny conditions.
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It’s possible in FaceID settings to configure an “alternate appearance”.
I’m in the midst of configuring a new iPad, thus lots of opportunity to log into apps, sites, etc. FaceID has helped with this transition quite a bit.
I agree with the OP’s issue about the camera positioning. I tend to hold an iPad in landscape orientation with my left hand, and its easy to get too close to the forward facing camera. Can be frustrating in a hurry. Would be nice if future generations of iPad had a couple of FaceID cameras for different orientations.
Holding in landscape with the left hand gets me as well, occasionally. Also, when you double-tap the home button to use Apple Pay you have to pull your hand away quickly enough to not block the camera.
Overall, those are small prices to pay for the massive increase in speed and convenience. Face ID lets me use the device as if it has no passcode while keeping it more secure than Touch ID.
Sunlight hasn’t bothered me at all. I think it’s that I reflexively turn so my shadow covers my phone. I have not had issues in bright light unless I squint my eyes.
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Face ID works perfect and has tremendously increased my workflow and upped the security by making much easier to use strong passwords. A specially with the amazing integration of 1Password.
Its worth while to actually look at the iPad or iPhone for a second to verify its you who wants to unlock. At one point you will learn not to cover the lens when in portrait position.
I wrote this when I was outside at a baseball game. I had sunglasses on and a hat and face ID was barely working. Most of the time I had to enter my passcode. It works better inside. To me that is worse than touch ID. Touch ID worked equally well inside and outside.
FaceID + surgical mask = failure
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I like FaceID, and it works amazingly well indoors. However, outdoor when I have sunglasses on it almost always fails and I have to use my passcode.
I’ve tried the alternate appearance and it makes no difference,
There’s never an issue without sunglasses but I live in Spain, so 90% of days I use sunglasses.
Entering the passcode is no big deal for me, although it’s definitely slower than TouchID was, of course.
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It doesn’t work at all with mine, I’ve tried adding the extra appearance and resetting FaceID. My wife also has the same problem, it never works when she is wearing sunglasses.
I don’t wear unusual glasses either, just standard Ray Bans
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The problem I have is that I am near sighted and I have to hold these devices close to read. It is too close for Face ID so I have to move it back to recognise me
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I struggle with faceID, especially outside. I recently went to an iPhone 7 for a week and forgot how good TouchID was, aside from occasional misfire as I have wet hands it’s great having it back. Unlocked as I get it out of my pocket.
Yeah if that would have worked it would have been insecure and people would be complaining about that.
I do like FaceID, but I still find TouchID to be faster. Not in terms of processing speed, but in ease of use.
I could pull my old SE out of my pocket with my thumb already on the home button and it would be ready to go by the time I had it all the way out. With FaceID, I have to raise the phone and look at it before it’s ready.
Or with ApplePay, I could pull it out of my pocket and tap it to the payment terminal in one smooth motion with TouchID, but having to double-click the side button and let the phone see my face is more frictionful with my Xr.
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I am surprised how well it works with sunglasses on. I also where a big sun hat which covers part of my face. The phone recognises me most of the time.
Of course, everything has its edgecases. Your facial bone structure may be one of those edgecases. You really need to look at a sample much larger than 1, and need to expect that there will always be some fallout.
@Bmosbacker
We were in Spain in May- Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, Barcelona. May 13-June1
I have a thread elsewhere - Google offline maps flat out wouldn’t work, even though I had downloaded them before leaving the US.
In another thread, Encrypt.me in autoprotect mode kept dropping my wifi connection when I was in Spain (but I’ve had that problem in the US too). Once I figured that out, I just engaged it manually.
My wife has problems with it too. I find it works best when my iPad is in propped up on a desk in the Smart Keyboard. Double tap the space bar and I’m in. That works great! So I wouldn’t say it is a total regression, but outside on my phone is far less reliable.
I was there during that period, May 27-June 4. 
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