Some Pixel 4 users are complaining about Face Unlock problems

Some Pixel 4 users have reported potential problems with unlocking their phones via facial recognition — here’s all we know so far about the apparent issue.

Some users of Google’s flagship smartphone, the Google Pixel 4, have reported that their phone’s Face Unlock feature has failed to work. It’s an especially pertinent problem given that the device doesn’t have a fingerprint reader of any type, meaning that affected users must instead resort to entering their PIN manually, like we had to in 2013.

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Android Police reports that the problem isn’t thought to be especially widespread at this point, but suggests it may have been triggered by a bug in a recent software security update.

Anyone affected may receive a notification reading either “Can’t verify face. Try again”, or “Can’t verify face. Hardware not available.”

At the time of publication, there’s no known solution to this frustrating problem, as some users even experienced the issue after performing a full factory reset.

In our review of the Pixel 4, we praised the phone for its excellent camera, compact design, and efficient software.

Photography is regularly a highlight of the Pixel series, and this entry is no different thanks to a speedy shutter speed, brilliant low-light performance, and attractive portrait images.

However, there were a couple of flaws with the device, not least its severely underwhelming battery life, which simply isn’t good enough for a flagship-priced smartphone.

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We expect the search giant to release another new device not too far from now − the lower-budget Google Pixel 4a. Seeing as we loved the combination of a lower price with a flagship-standard camera offered by last year’s Pixel 3a, we have high hopes for this new device too.

But you’ll have to stay tuned until after its release (expected to be May 2020), to read our full verdict on the device.