South Korean technology giant Samsung recommends users of different smartphone models to erase all digital fingerprints stored on their device. The cause is a problem with the identification system, as a result of which the devices can also be unlocked by someone else.
Samsung advises users of the smartphones Galaxy Note10, 10+ and Galaxy S10, S10 +, and S10 5G to remove all registered digital fingerprints and re-register them, the company said in a press release.
The problem is linked to certain silicone screen protectors that disrupt the fingerprint sensors, Samsung explains. The company is calling for those protectors to stop using the software until it is updated. That update would take place early next week. In addition to unlocking the screen, the software error also allows third parties to make payments with the smartphone.
The problem became known early this week, when the owner of a Samsung Galaxy S10 in the British newspaper The Sun said that someone else could unlock her smartphone if she used a screen protector.
Samsung is the largest player in the smartphone market, and had called its new fingerprint sensor at the launch “revolutionary.”
It is not the first time that the company has encountered problems with top products from its range. For example, in 2016 the Galaxy Note 7 was recalled worldwide, after the battery of various devices had exploded. And earlier this year, Samsung had to postpone the launch of the Galaxy Fold, one of the first two devices with a flexible screen, due to the fragility of the screen.