There is no denying that fingerprint sensor readers are increasingly being integrated into mobile devices such as mobile POS terminals, mobile ID devices and smartphones.  According to a Feitian Technology report, the number of fingerprint sensors shipped in 2026 is expected to reach 1.2 billion units, representing a significant increase over the estimated number of shipments in 2017 (322 million).

When use cases for mobile ID are added, the total number of fingerprint sensors shipped in 2026 is expected to reach 2.4 billion units, a significant increase from the estimated number of shipments in 2017. (158 million).

A mobile fingerprint device, also known as a mobile fingerprint scanner or portable fingerprint device, is a type of biometric authentication equipment that has long been used for a wide range of security applications, ranging from military and immigration control to retail payments and identity management. But is it known that there are a few things that can be done to get the most out of a mobile fingerprint device in order to improve the mobile biometric applications? This article, shows some amazing tips.

Fingerprint sensor

Before getting into these tips, one may be wondering why a fingerprint sensor reader is used in so many handheld mobile devices ranging from retail to law enforcement industries. The answer is straightforward: convenience and security.

Many on-the-job applications, such as police and military, require the ability to accurately and securely identify a person. The fingerprint sensor acts as a tool for biometric verification and identification, allowing the person to be identified without jeopardizing security. The fingerprint sensor readers provide a safe, quick and convenient way to verify identity in order to process more services that require people's identities to be verified.

Using mobile fingerprint devices in the field, staff can identify and verify a person in less than a second with high accuracy and a great level of security.

Utilising fingerprint recognition

Once these tips are mastered, processing jobs gets quick and easy

But, as a user, how to utilise the fingerprint recognition functionality on a mobile device correctly and effectively? 5 tips to get the most out of a mobile fingerprint device Here are some tips to help making the best possible use of your built-in fingerprint sensor or external fingerprint reader on any type of mobile device hardware in a variety of mobile applications.

Whether a police who needs to use them for patrol or a merchant who uses a mobile POS android device to sell products, once these tips are mastered, processing jobs gets quick and easy.

The tips

Following are the tips:‍

  • Keep fingers clean and dry: One of the most common causes of slow recognition or false rejection is a dirty or wet finger. This is because dirty or sweaty fingers can interfere with the image capture of the built-in fingerprint sensor or external sensor reader. For example, if there is too much perspiration or water on the fingers, the capacitive fingerprint sensor will not work well because the tiny capacitor array circuits will not conduct electricity efficiently and will be influenced by the water or sweat, resulting in fingerprint identification failure. In brief, before using the fingerprint sensor reader on a mobile device, one needs to keep their or their customer's fingers clean and dry. If one is sweating, one can wipe fingers with a clean cloth and dry them before scanning the fingerprints.
  • Keep fingers in right position: When using a mobile biometric device's fingerprint sensor, put fingers in the correct position, which means that the user or their customer's fingertips should be placed on the biometric sensor surface without a vertical or horizontal angle to ensure that the acquired fingerprints are flat and centered. If the angle between finger and the sensor surface is greater than 15 degrees, the sensor may fail to recognise the
  • Pressing finger with correct pressure: If the user’s finger does not make a good enough contact with the sensor, the sensor may not recognise the To obtain a proper fingerprint image, one should keep the finger flat on the sensor surface and gently press in it until the finger touches the sensor with the appropriate amount of pressure. Without the correct pressure, the captured fingerprint image will fail image quality control and cannot be used as a fingerprint biometric template for further accurate fingerprint authentication process.
  • Keeping hand still when scanning the fingerprint: The external or built-in mobile fingerprint sensor readers need a short time to capture a fingerprint image and authentication, one must keep their hand motionless while scanning fingerprint during this process. If the acquired data is not clear due to a moving finger, the mobile biometric device will reject it and notify by flashing red. So, when scanning a fingerprint, one should keep their hand still until the mobile fingerprint device's indicator light turns green or one hear the voice prompt that the scanning process is complete. If one moves the finger on the sensor surface before the scanning process is complete, it may make a faulty contact with the built-in or external sensor in mobile devices, resulting in the capturing process failing and one having to scan again.
  • Clean the scanning surface area of fingerprint sensor: If the scanning surface area of fingerprint sensor reader is dirty, one will have trouble when scanning fingerprints during fingerprint authentication process. To avoid this, clean the capacitive or optical fingerprint sensor surface with a soft cloth. One should not use a hard, sharp object or water, alcohol or any other chemical liquid to clean the fingerprint sensor.

Conclusion

‍Getting the best fingerprint recognition performance of a mobile fingerprint devices is important. From the above information, one can learn the correct way to scan fingerprint on external or built-in sensor reader in order to get a better scanning results. With the right approach, one can improve fingerprint recognition performance while maintaining convenience and security.

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