The new Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and S10 created quite the uproar on their release. They are high end phones with great specifications that impressed a substantial number of reviewers. However, recently The Sun discovered a glitch that could allow anyone’s fingerprints to be used to unlock an S10 with certain types of screen protectors attached. This created an even bigger uproar that caused many reciprocal reactions in the community.
In their defense, the company previously warned users that unsanctioned screen protectors could cause issues. Samsung’s official support site already notes that “unofficial, scratched or dirty screen protectors may cause the fingerprint sensor to malfunction.” But there’s a big difference between malfunction and allowing anyone to get into your phone, which likely explains the speed at which Samsung is getting this update out.
However, these faulty ultrasonic fingerprint scanner have gathered an outrageous level of criticism in the past week. Many enterprises reacted accordingly, to save their clientele.
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The said fingerprint sensor has caused massive security concerns around the world considering that almost all security-critical applications including bank apps require the use of the phone’s fingerprint scanner. Hence, in light of the unstable situation, banks around the world are removing support for Samsung’s Galaxy S10 and Note 10 from their apps.
The first bank to take action was the UK bank Nationwide Building Society; they disabled the fingerprint sensor accessibility of S10 and Note 10 users to their bank app. They were further followed by NatWest that has completely removed all support for both the smartphones.
@NatWest_Help why isn't my brand new Galaxy S10 compatible with your app? pic.twitter.com/CGu360k9Vu
— Robert Merriman (@robmerriman) October 20, 2019
Soon after, the Bank of China, Israel’s Hapoalim Bank, and South Korea’s KaKao Bank also sent their users a notice explaining that they are dropping support for Galaxy S10 and Note10.
Samsung soon responded to widespread concerns and has reportedly fixed the glitch through an update. According to Android Central, the update is only available for S10 and Note 10 devices in South Korea for now, although it should be rolling out to additional countries in the near future.
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Samsung previously explained the problem by noting that the ultrasonic fingerprint was mistakenly “recognizing 3-dimensional patterns appearing on certain silicone screen protecting cases as users’ fingerprints.” As a temporary solution, Samsung recommends that users either remove the problematic screen protectors in question and re-register their prints or use a different authentication method (like a regular password) until the patch is released.