Samsung S10 owners report Tap to Wake feature bug drains batteries quickly

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Samsung launched the Galaxy S10 lineup on February 20 in an event in San Francisco. It has not been a month and the phone is already having some issues. It is reported that a feature is draining the smartphone’s battery very fast.

According to a Reddit post, Samsung Galaxy S10’s Tap to Wake feature activates even when it is not held up. A Reddit user stated that the feature activates even when the device is kept inside a bag or a pocket. Once the device got ‘activated’ in his bag or pocket, he experienced vibrations that indicated incorrect fingerprint. 

“I have an S10, and I keep my phone in my pocket with the screen towards my leg (since my leg is far less likely to damage the screen). The only issue with this is that I started feeling the "fingerprint rejected" vibrations while the phone was in my pocket.”, the user said.

The issue could be due to a software bug that activates the proximity sensor used for the Tap to Wake feature. The bug is also causing the camera app to activated, making it worse for users who are facing the issue. This leads to a lot of sensors getting activated which drain the battery even faster.

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Another user commented that he too was facing a similar issue. “I have been having issues with this too or even the screen turning on. I turned off lift to wake as I didn't really care about it and hope that helps a bit. I am sure turning off double tap to wake would help too but I use that quite a bit and don't want to lose that”, the user stated.

When a user posted the problem on Samsung US’s community blog, the company’s moderator replied stating users who are facing the problem can turn off the feature on their smartphones.

The issue has been reported only by US-based customers. It could mean that the bug is only present in the region and Samsung US could solve it with a software update.

Previously, it was reported that the face unlock feature on the S10 has a major flaw. Popular YouTuber Lewis Hilsenteger on his channel Unbox Therapy uploaded a video showcasing and stated that one could easily unlock a device with a photo or a video of the registered person’s face. The company issued a statement recommending users to unlock the S10 using the new in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner that unlocks only with your physical fingerprint. 

The company had then issued a statement saying, "Face recognition is a convenient action to unlock your phone. For cases requiring strong security, Samsung recommends using the new in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner that unlocks only with your physical fingerprint. The Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner has been certified by FIDO Alliance with the world’s first Biometric Component Certification that recognizes its vault-like security and industry best-practice for biometric-enabled devices".

"Also, a fix to prevent this is to toggle off 'Faster Recognition' in the settings for more secure face unlocking," it added.