Here’s the best way to access the Lock screen on your iPhone 6s without triggering Touch ID

BY Gautam Prabhu

Published 28 Sep 2015

iPhone 6s - Touch ID

iPhone 6s Touch ID is so incredibly fast that it is annoying some people. It doesn’t matter how hard you press the Home button while the iPhone is sleeping, it will bypass the Lock screen, and take you to the Home screen. 

I personally don’t think it is an issue. The fact that iPhone 6s’ Touch ID also works better with greasy and slightly damp fingers makes it one of the best improvements of iPhone 6s. I agree with John Gruber, I think Apple is underselling it.

However, in the new world of the super fast second generation Touch ID, it also means that iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users who have been used to pressing the Home button to access the Lock screen need to change their habit. They can no longer press the Home button to wake up the iPhone to check the date, time or Notifications on the Lock screen.

How to access the Lock screen on your iPhone 6s

There are four different ways to access the Lock screen on your iPhone 6s without triggering Touch ID, and landing up on the Home screen.

Method 1:

  • Press the Sleep/Wake button. This will wake up the iPhone, and give you access to the Lock screen to see the date, time and Notifications.

This method is probably how we should have been accessing the Lock screen from the beginning. The next three methods are a hack.

Method 2:

  • Press the Home button with a finger that is not registered with Touch ID. So will get an error saying “Try again”, and indirectly give you access to the date, time and Notifications on the Lock screen.

Method 3:

  • Swipe from left to right or right to left over the sensor and press the Home button while moving across. While the new Touch ID is very sensitive, it doesn’t seem to register the fingerprint when you swipe across the sensor. It just activates the screen and doesn’t end up unlocking the iPhone and taking you to the Home screen. This method was suggested by Muntazir, one our readers.

Method 4: The Best one!

  • Press the Home button with your finger nail. It is the best workaround, as it doesn’t seem to trigger the Touch ID sensor, but wakes up the iPhone, giving you access to the Lock screen. This method was suggested by 8lias, one of our long time reader.

Using the Sleep/Wake button is Apple’s recommended method. However, on the iPhone 6s Plus, it is not very convenient for one-handed use, in which case method #4 is the best alternative.

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Have you been using the Lock screen a lot lesser with iPhone 6s or have you changed your habit of accessing it? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks Muntazir and 8lias for the tip!