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Google Pixel 3 fingerprint gesture issues causing headaches for some users
July 23, 2025
One of the best reasons to get a phone with a rear fingerprint scanner is the ability to swipe on the scanner to view your notifications. TheGoogle Pixel 3indeed offers this gesture, but it looks like the functionality is causing problems for some folks.
Numerous Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL owners have chimed onGoogle’s Issue Tracker forumand areddit thread(h/t: Twitter user@DavePilotG2) to confirm that the feature doesn’t work as intended.
More specifically, the users note that swiping down on the scanner to view notifications is inconsistent and takes a few tries to actually work. Several users have also compared the function to earlier Pixel models, finding that the older models were more reliable.
Users have also been sharing a few workarounds, noting that either using your fingertip or swiping slowly might increase the odds of the feature working. Another mooted workaround was to swipe from just above the fingerprint scanner to activate the notification shade. Strangely, one usernotedthat they used a fingerprint gesture app from the Play Store to fix the issue.
It’s unclear just how widespread the problem is, but plenty of users have noted the issue on the forum and in the reddit thread. We’ve also contacted Google to find out what they’re doing about the problem, and will update the story if/when we receive a response.
Is your Pixel 3 suffering from this same problem or any other bugs? Sound off in the comments section!
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