Use of biometric security with tablet devices

400ixl

Not sure why you have having issues with the Samsung then as it is a pretty robust fingerprint sensor. Saying that though, some people do just have fingerprints (or lack of) that do not work well. But you say they work with your phone, so that is unlikely to be the case.

Unfortunately it would need to be the P11 Pro to have the sensor I believe

Can only suggest trying to find one you may buy in store and asking to set up the demo unit to test it for you (just remember to delete them afterwards).

Molehusband

400ixl said:

Pixel is the Google product range which replaced the old Nexus range. At the moment that is just phones although there are rumours a Tablet may come later with the development of Android 12L which is in Beta at the moment.

Fire is the Amazon range of cheaper tablets which run a custom version of Android, but none support either finger or face login.

Samsung unfortunately are probably the leaders in Android tablets these days and one of the few that support fingerprint sensors. They are though one of the more reliable. Maybe make sure that your device is fully updated and try again as they have improved them over time.

Some other examples:
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro & older P10
Apple iPad
Huawei Mediapad M5 & older M3

Thanks for your input. As I mentioned earlier, I am very happy with my Galaxy tablet in all respects other than my inability to set up fingerprints. Since I have had no problem at all creating my fingerprints for all my phones (including a Samsung) I'm going to leave my Galaxy tab to do all things it does well.  However, my next tab purchase will need to work with fingerprints and needs to be a full Android, not an Apple or Pixel or Fire.

As I've found the Samsung tabs to be significantly more expensive than even my fast laptop running Windows 11 Pro (note the primum Pro version!) I'm hoping a more modestly priced tablet to suit my needs will appear under the radar in the not too distant future.

Molehusband

400ixl said:

Not sure why you have having issues with the Samsung then as it is a pretty robust fingerprint sensor. Saying that though, some people do just have fingerprints (or lack of) that do not work well. But you say they work with your phone, so that is unlikely to be the case.

I have had no problems at all with using fingerprints on numerous different phones (including Samsung) where full setup has taken just a minute or two. However, as explained earlier, I've tried setting up fingerprint on my Galaxy tab numerous times taking many hours. It never reaches beyond about 50% completion and then tells me it cannot activate fingerprint.

Can only suggest trying to find one you may buy in store and asking to set up the demo unit to test it for you (just remember to delete them afterwards).

I purchase my devices from Argos, Amazon & other mail order. I'd be interested to know the name of any seller who would spend the time to fully initialise a brand new device just to demo and test setting up my fingerprint.

400ixl

Someone like Curry's maybe who have demo units out. Granted the range is limited so you may not find the model you are interested in. John Lewis would be another example. I wouldn't expect them to go and get one out of a store room, but they do have demo devices out that you can try. Setting up fingerprints wouldn't be one of the things you could proabably do without asking first.

I do wonder if your Samsung tablet has some sort of hardware issue which is causing your problem rather than software. Has been known (not just with Samsung devices). Probably not something you can do anything about now easily though.

Although not relevant as they don't do a tablet, but you discounted Pixel as non Android. The Pixel is a Google device, it is as native Android as you can buy. As I say, not relevant today, but they may launch a tablet soon.

I would be careful with Huawei devices going forwards as they have been banned from using the main release of Android and all of the Google play store apps. This has led to them using the open source version and creating their own apps store which may not give you the experience you want. It is very similar to the Amazon Fire setup, its Android but not with the full experience.


Good luck in finding a device that meets your needs. They do exist, but the Android Tablet world is a bit of a wild west and has not been that well supported by manufacturers over the years

Molehusband

400ixl said:

I do wonder if your Samsung tablet has some sort of hardware issue which is causing your problem rather than software. Has been known (not just with Samsung devices). Probably not something you can do anything about now easily though.
...
Good luck in finding a device that meets your needs. They do exist, but the Android Tablet world is a bit of a wild west and has not been that well supported by manufacturers over the years

My Galaxy tab has a high class oled screen which shows excellent on-screen images. So no problem viewing.
When I go to the add fingerprint feature it tells me it is "secured by Knox". I've found something written here about Knox which I don't understand. Maybe someone can advise me if there's is something I need to configure to make it work for me?

https://docs.samsungknox.com/dev/knox-sdk/biometrics.htm

I agree with your last comment. The number of available tablets on sale has reduced over the years and Samsung seems to be taking advantage of their near monopoly by hiking up their prices. I hope that a reliable rival may appear on the scene some day soon offering good quality tablets at affordable prices.