Nokia 9 has found itself in a rather embarrassing security issue over its in-display fingerprint sensor, with HMD Global now also confirming that it is investigating the malfunction. The latest flagship users are complaining that their in-screen fingerprint sensor is accepting any unregistered fingerprint to unlock the phone. The sensor, for that matter, is also accepting chewing gum wrappers and other random objects to unlock the phone. HMD Global has responded to these reports, and says that it is investigating it. Whether the issue is related to hardware or software has still not been identified.
Twitter use DecodedPixel has shared a video on Twitter unlocking his Nokia 9 PureView with a chewing gum. He said that he is able to unlock the phone with someone else’s fingerprint as well. He was also able to unlock it with a coin and leather gloves as well. Other Twitter users and one Reddit user also confirmed that they were able to unlock the Nokia 9 using unregistered fingerprints and other random objects.
HMD Global Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas responded to DecodedPixel confirming that the matter was being investigated. He said that his team in the UK will reach out to him as they weren’t able to reproduce the issue on their unit. They would take the user’s affected handset to investigate the problem and look for a resolution.
If it’s a software issue, HMD Global should roll out an update soon and fix the issue. Samsung Galaxy S10 users reported of a similar less-secure experience with face unlock, and it turned out that a turned-on option in the Settings menu was causing it. All they had to do was turn the setting off.
If it turns out to be a hardware issue, then HMD Global might replace the affected units. More details on the matter should be out soon.
