You can unlock your iPhone with Face ID when wearing a mask!

Everybody knows that COVID-19 is here and it seems it’ll stay with us over the coming months. In many countries wearing face masks is mandatory, in other countries it’s highly recommended not to mention the rising importance of cashless transactions in grocery stores, for instance.

If you are extensively using your iPhone and you’re using Face ID to unlock your phone or start a cashless payment you already know that wearing face masks and using Face ID is a real pain in the neck. I know, I know, this sounds like a first-world problem in the current circumstances, but well, modern problems require modern solutions.

This face-mask is my own face.

What is Face ID and wait… there are other solutions out there!

Apple introduced Face ID with the iPhone X, and it creates a depth map by projecting and analyzing more than 30,000 invisible dots over your face. It’s looking for areas all over your face including your nose and mouth every time it attempts to unlock your phone. If you try to unlock your phone when wearing a mask it will redirect (after some time) to the PIN authentication screen. And obviously, you cannot set up Face ID with a mask if your face is partially obstructed and will urge you to remove any coverings before proceeding.

I was super excited when I first saw Tencent Security Xuanwu Lab’s approach, if you missed it you can read about it here:

Unlocking your iPhone while wearing a face mask is difficult, but here's the 1 trick that made…

I tried it, and to be honest, it just doesn’t work in 90% of cases.

Later, I was super excited when I saw that my phone will recognize if I’m wearing a mask! Thanks, Apple, this is what I needed, or not?

With iOS 13.5 Public Beta 2, Face ID Can Recognize When You're Wearing A Mask

No, not at all. Apple’s update is about something else. Face ID will now default to PIN authentication immediately when you’re wearing a mask.

I couldn’t believe that there isn’t any better solution out there, so I built my own, 100% Face ID compatible mask. Let’s get started.

Everything you’ll need

• Plaster bandages, same as normal orthopedic cast, I used about 3 meters
• Body lotion or body oil to easily remove the plaster from your face
• Straw or another pipe to be able to breathe under the plaster
• About 100g two pourable silicone rubber + a few drops of activator
• Release agent to remove silicone mask from the plaster
• Frame, I used insulated single core copper wire (a soldering iron can be handy)
• Some thread and needle to sew the silicone mask to the frame

The overall cost of this stuff is under 20$.

The plaster cast

First, outline your future mask onto your face, that helps you identify the region that has to be covered with plaster bandages:

You don’t have to be too accurate though.

Using plaster bandages for the orthopedic cast is super simple, you have to dip it in cold water for 2–3 sec and you can apply it. It’s easier to work with smaller pieces so I cut the plaster bandage to small stripes. Make sure you apply some body lotion or body oil on your face before you put the plaster bandages, especially if you have any facial hair as I do. You’ll also need a straw or other pipe to breathe under the plaster bandages.

Straw, body lotion on my face and plugs in my nose.

The results should be something like this:

The plaster cast setting time is about 10–15 minutes, it’s a good idea to keep it on your face until the setting is done. I didn’t wait enough time:

The quality of the plaster negative is much worse if you remove it too early.

Pouring the silicone

Once your plaster cast is done you are ready to pour the silicone rubber into the cast. Before that, I suggest to apply some removal agent on the plaster, it helps to remove the silicone later.

Applying the removal agent before the silicone.

Now, you are ready to mix the pourable silicone rubber with the activator. If you apply more activator the setting time will decrease.

Once you poured the silicone into the cast, you should slowly rotate the plaster to make sure that the silicone is covering it everywhere. There isn’t any problem if the result is too thin in some areas, you can add more silicone anytime, it’ll adhere very well.

For the full curing, it might need up to 24 hours, but I’d say you can safely remove it from the cast after 10–12 hours.

About 10 hours later, I could easily remove the rubber mask from the cast.

As you can see, the biggest problem is that the rubber mask is too flexible, especially the nose region. It won’t cover your face well without a frame.

The frame

I used an insulated 2.5mm² single core copper wire. The insulation is necessary, I didn’t want the copper or any metal touching my face.

I bent 2 wires, one following the upper outline of the mask and the other one following the edge of my chin. I soldered the two wires but I think it’s possible to bend the frame without any soldering.

Sewing the mask

We’re almost done. In this step, we have to saw the rubber mask to the frame. It’s not too difficult to someone who can saw, but I cannot, and I only had a sewing kit from a hotel room so used all the colors I found in the small sewing kit:

The first test and finishing touches

After the first test, I wasn’t really surprised that Face ID won’t immediately unlock my phone, it’s not easy to cheat it.

But I was able to set up an alternative appearance easily that is not possible with a conventional mask. After setting up the alternative appearance Face ID could reliably unlock my phone, the experience is just the same as without a mask.

So it was almost ready for everyday use, but I wanted to cover the copper and solder material with some silicone. It’s very easy to add more silicone anytime, so I covered the soldering and the sewing with a thin layer of silicone:

Let’s cover the soldering with more silicone.

And the final result:

Wrap-up

With this silicone mask I, can easily unlock my iPhone using the alternative appearance, it’s much reliable than the useless method from the Tencent Security Lab. It’s also much better than Apple’s “solution”.

The overall project cost was less than 20$ and it took about 3–4 hours to finish it (plus the setting/curing time of the materials).

The rubber mask can be easily converted to a “real” mask if you put it on top of an existing mask or if you apply some clothes inside, behind the mouth and nose region. However, the people look at me strangely on the streets, but this is the price I’m glad to pay to use Face ID again outside or in grocery stores.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you’ll do your own silicone mask, too!

Cheers, and don’t forget to give me a clap!