Android 7.1.2 update breaking finger scanner on some Nexus and Pixels

The final Android 7.1.2 update has only been rolling out to select devices for a bit over a week, but it seems like Google may have missed a spanner in the works. As first reported by Android Police, some users of both Pixel and Nexus devices have been unable to use their fingerprint scanners after the update.

What’s worse is that, in an attempt to rectify the problem, some users have deleted their saved fingerprints and tried to re-register them, only to find the Nexus Imprint setting has subsequently vanished. The notifications shade swipe gesture still works, indicating the hardware is still working fine, but something has clearly broken in the fingerprint recognition phase.

There doesn’t seem to be any particular rhyme or reason as to who is affected, with both OTA updaters, beta programmers and sideloaders experiencing the same problem. I’ve got 7.1.2 on a Pixel and a Nexus 6P and both of those are working fine, but I flashed the firmware manually. This has apparently fixed the issue for some users when even a factory reset hasn’t helped.

If you’re affected by this problem, I’d recommend doing a full backup and then manually flashing the factory image. If that still doesn’t work – or you’re simply not comfortable trying that – be sure to hit the relevant Google product forum and leave your details so Google can issue a fix to the problem:

• Google Pixel user community forum
• Google Nexus help forum