• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

AppleToolBox

Tools and Fixes for Mac, iPad, iPhone & iPod

Search posts

  • About
  • Contact

CONNECT WITH US

CATEGORIES

  • All
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Mac/MacBook
  • Apple Watch
  • How-To’s
  • Reviews

SITE

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Advertise

Search posts

You are here: Home / iPhone / How To Add and Create Multiple Face ID Users With iOS & iPadOS

How To Add and Create Multiple Face ID Users With iOS & iPadOS

By Andrew Myrick 4 comments Last updated December 8, 2019

We love that iOS and iPadOS include a Face ID feature called Alternate Appearance! Testing this setting out allows you to create multiple Face IDs, either for yourself (like one with and one without glasses) or even for two different people!

Contents

    • Related Reading
  • One Device, Many Users
    • We Love Touch ID For Supporting Multiple People
    • Face ID Limited Users to One!
    • Does Face ID Recognize Two Different Faces in iOS or iPadOS?
  • How-To Add Multiple Users to Face ID
    • Can I Delete or Change An Alternate Appearance for Face ID?
  • What about syncing Face ID between devices?
    • Related Posts:

Related Reading

  • Face ID Not Working on iPhone? How-To Fix Today

One Device, Many Users

If you share your iDevice with others, authenticating can be a big pain especially for folks with devices that support Face ID.

We Love Touch ID For Supporting Multiple People

Back in the days of using a fingerprint scanner, Apple made it possible to register multiple fingerprints. It’s one of the biggest reasons our family loves Touch ID. Add a Fingerprint to Touch ID for family and friends and spouses

Being able to register one of my fingers on the devices of my kids iDevices is awesome. Plus, it makes it a heck of a lot easier to unlock.

Face ID Limited Users to One!

With the release of new models of iPhones & iPads that support Face ID, Apple allowed us to register a single face to Face ID. That limit of just registering one user was an annoyance and pain point (especially for my partner who can never remember passcodes!) Face ID Enroll Face in Settings for iPhone

We know that a lot of folks out there share or swap devices

It’s only natural in a busy household that partners, husbands, wives, and children use each others’ devices throughout the day and week. When your out and about and need to distract that fussy child, the last thing you want to think about is Face ID!

For that reason, as soon as Face ID released to the public, users asked Apple to add the ability for Face ID to record multiple faces, just like Touch ID allowed numerous fingerprints. But for most of its first year, Face ID and Apple disappointed us.

But iOS & iPadOS finally change that.

Does Face ID Recognize Two Different Faces in iOS or iPadOS?

The short answer is yes!

While Apple designed the feature to help folks who had trouble with Face ID recognizing them in different dress situations or conditions, like with/without glasses and so forth.

But our tests show that the feature works with two completely different faces too! 

With iOS 12+ and iPadOS, you can have up to two total Face IDs–not an earth shattering change.

But for those of us that share iDevices with our partners or children (maybe even a co-worker), this alternate appearance is a welcome change indeed! set up Face ID in Office

How-To Add Multiple Users to Face ID

If you want to add a new user to Face ID on your iPhone, the steps are pretty straightforward.

Here is what you will need to do:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Scroll and select Face ID & Passcode
  3. Enter Passcode
  4. Tap Set up an Alternative Appearance 

After you have selected Set up an Alternative Appearance, you or that one other person need to follow the same process as you did the first time–like moving your head in circles to capture its contours.

But once complete, you have two multiple appearances ready for Face ID to use.

Can I Delete or Change An Alternate Appearance for Face ID?

Once you enter an alternate appearance, there’s no option to delete it!

Instead, you need to Reset Face ID to change your alternate appearance. Unfortunately, that also means you must re-enter all Face IDs!  Alternate Appearance has been set up. Reset Face ID

When you tap Reset Face ID, your device removes and deletes all your Face ID data–including your original Face ID and your alternate appearance.

We love this multiple Face ID feature in iOS and iPadOS!

It’s made our lives sharing an iPad Pro so much easier–especially for my partner who never seems to remember the numeric passcode!

What about syncing Face ID between devices?

So far, we don’t have device syncing of Face IDs–so you need to create your face recognition on all your devices indivudally.

But it would be awesome if Apple created a unified experience across both the iPhone and iPad. Having multiple Face ID users registered syncing across multiple iOS and iPadOS devices is something we hope Apple releases in future updates.

To learn what models currently support Face ID, check out this Apple list.

Andrew Myrick

Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.

He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.

Related Posts:

  • iOS 13 or iPadOS problems and how to fix them - Troubleshooting Guide
    iOS 13 or iPadOS problems and how to fix them -…
  • Taking Photo But iPhone Says Storage is Full?
    Taking Photo But iPhone Says Storage is Full?
  • iMessage not working iOS 13 or iPadOS? Fix it today
    iMessage not working iOS 13 or iPadOS? Fix it today
  • iMessage Not Working iOS 12? Fix Message App Problems
    iMessage Not Working iOS 12? Fix Message App Problems
  • Apple iOS 10.2.1 Problems: Touch ID, Bluetooth, Contacts, Battery Drain, Grayscale Images
    Apple iOS 10.2.1 Problems: Touch ID, Bluetooth,…
  • How to use Books in iOS 13 & 12 and iPadOS, essential tips
    How to use Books in iOS 13 & 12 and iPadOS, essential tips
  • AirPods Pro---The Complete Guide
    AirPods Pro---The Complete Guide
  • Common iOS 11 Problems, How-To Fix
    Common iOS 11 Problems, How-To Fix
  • How To Reset the Screen Time Passcode on iOS, iPadOS, or macOS
    How To Reset the Screen Time Passcode on iOS,…

Reader Interactions

Write a Comment Cancel reply

Show 4 Comments

  1. Ric howard says

    March 2, 2020 at 1:13 AM

    Cannot see alternative appearance

    Reply
  2. stema says

    December 8, 2019 at 7:27 AM

    Limiting to a single Face ID is missing the requirements, but limiting to two Face IDs is idiotic.

    In our family we constanly have quarrel about which kid may have a Face ID stored on the devices. Thank you Apple!

    Reply
  3. luap says

    November 1, 2018 at 7:11 AM

    This still doesnt work. we have multiple ipads that our 4 kids all share. noone “owns” one. there are 6 users in the house. the kids all share one old iphone. this works for us as the kids are 12 and under. but, with face id, there are only 2 faces able to be registered? i have a beard. what if I shave it? This just doesnt work for us. still. there is too much switching and chaos to have only 2 faces on one device. with all this technology, this shouldnt be a problem! figure it out!

    Reply
    • Keepin' Rifles says

      March 31, 2019 at 8:11 PM

      I got a solution! Buy SAMSUNG!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • How to Quit All Apps at the Same Time on Your Mac
  • Fix: Mac Time Machine Not Deleting Old Backups
  • Fix: App Is Damaged and Cannot Be Opened on Mac
  • Do Third-Party Camera Apps Work On iPhone?
  • Fix: MacBook Not Importing Photos From iPhone
  • How To Add Playback Effects To a Live Photo

Connect with us

Related Posts

  • How To Fix Messages and iMessage Problems in iOS 11
  • Is your mouse or trackpad not working with your iPad…
  • Common iOS 12 Problems - A Comprehensive…
  • How to fix Apple Music not working on iPhone / iPad
  • Sidecar not working in iPadOS and macOS? How to fix…
  • No text or message notification alerts or sounds on…

Footer

ABOUT

  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

DEVICES

  • iPhone
  • Mac & MacBook
  • Apple Watch
  • iPad
  • AirPods
  • Apple TV
  • iPod Touch

GUIDES

  • iOS 13 & iPadOS
  • Apple ID
  • iCloud
  • App Store
  • iTunes
  • FaceTime
  • iMessage
  • Siri
  • Books and iBooks
  • Game Center
  • AirPlay

CONNECT

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • FeedBurner
  • YouTube

© Copyright 2010-2021 AppleToolBox · All Rights Reserved

This site and its content are in no way affiliated or endorsed by Apple, Inc. · Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited