When unlocking your iPhone with Face ID, you must look at the device with your eyes open. It helps the TrueDepth camera to identify your face perfectly. But what if you want to unlock your device even when you are not clearly looking at the screen, or your eyes are closed? Worry not; you can choose to turn off attention detection for Face ID on your iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max, and iPhone XR.
Keep in mind, it’s less secure and if you don’t want to compromise with the security factor; you shouldn’t disable “Require Attention” for Face ID. Being part of the Accessibility suite; it can be helpful for the people who have visual impairments. That’s why it’s automatically turned off if you enable VoiceOver (a feature that lets you make your iPhone speak the on-screen content) during initial set up. Any way you want to disable it? Let me walk you through the quick steps!
How to Turn Off Attention Detection for Face ID on iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max, and XR
Step #1. Launch Settings app on your iPhone ⟶ Tap on General ⟶ Tap on Accessibility.

Step #2. Next up, tap on Face ID & Attention.

Step #4. Finally, turn off Require Attention for Face ID.

That’s it!
From now onwards, you can unlock your iPhone X series using Face ID even without paying much attention. If you ever want the facial recognition system to require the full range of focus, follow the same steps explained above and turn on Require Attention in the end.
Wrapping up
Accessibility has long been one of the most significant features of iOS. And the ability to let people with visual impairments use Face ID has made it even richer.
You might want to catch up with these posts as well:
- Disable Face ID on iPhone
- How to Use Apple Pay on iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max, and XR
- Get Virtual Home Button on iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max, and XR
- How to Force Quit Apps on iPhone
What’s your take on attention detection? Share your thoughts about it.
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Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com, who has a keen eye for news, rumors, and all the unusual stuff around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting content on social media.