The Samsung A52 series is faster than its brother predecessor, the A51—-that’s also true for the fingerprint scanner feature. But then, I’ve already encountered people who had issues with their fingerprint scanners.
So why does this happen and can you fix it?
The Samsung Galaxy A52/A52 5G fingerprint scanner issue usually happens due to a dirty touchscreen. To clean your phone’s touchscreen, use a cleaning cloth to remove any dirt that prevents its sensors from recognizing your finger.
But that’s just one of the many proven techniques you can apply to deal with the issue! In this post, I’ve gathered eight practical solutions to help deal with your Galaxy A52’s faulty fingerprint scanner with all the details you need to DIY them.
FIX 1. Restart your phone
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A52 |
Whenever your Samsung Galaxy A52 phone encounters a minor system error, it can likely cause its fingerprint scanners to fail. Unfortunately, this problem may persist unless you troubleshoot its system by conducting a force-restart sequence.
This action will let your Galaxy A52 phone correct the minor errors by refreshing its system memory while it reboots. With this, you can fix the fingerprint scanner issue and unlock the device using its in-display sensors.
You can also perform this restart method even when your Samsung Galaxy A52 has a frozen or unresponsive screen, making it a reliable solution. After all, most touchscreen errors may affect how well your phone’s fingerprint scanner works.
Step 1: Hold your Galaxy A52’s volume down and power buttons simultaneously. |
Step 2: Release both buttons when the Samsung logo appears on the Galaxy A52 screen. |
Step 3: Wait for the Galaxy A52 to complete the bootup sequence. |
FIX 2. Clean its touchscreen
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 to 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A52 A soft microfiber cleaning cloth Distilled water 70% or higher Isopropyl alcohol solution |
Since the Samsung Galaxy A52’s fingerprint scanner is in-display, you must keep its touchscreen clean. After all, it can’t recognize your fingerprint if there are layers of dirt between its surface and your finger.
Unlike older phone designs where it was at the back or on the power button, a clean touchscreen is a primary concern for devices with in-display sensors. It’s a significant factor in deciding whether your Galaxy A52 will recognize your fingerprint.
As such, we suggest cleaning your Samsung phone’s touchscreen regularly. Doing so should fix the issue with your Galaxy A52/A52 5G fingerprint scanner and also sanitize the device for health-conscious Samsung users.
When cleaning your phone screen, Samsung recommends using a lint-free microfiber cloth for scratch-free wipes. You can moisturize the cleaning cloth with distilled water, isopropyl, or ethyl alcohol according to your preferred sanitation level.
However, it’s important to note that only 70% and higher alcohol solutions are safe for your Galaxy A52. A low percentage of alcohol solution means it has too much water content, which is harmful to electronic devices.
It’s also advisable to keep your finger clean and moisturized before scanning it for better recognizability. A dirty and dry finger may be difficult for your Galaxy A52’s fingerprint scanner to recognize.
FIX 3. Remove or replace its screen protector
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 to 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A52 A replacement screen protector |
Some screen protectors are incompatible with in-display fingerprint scanners, especially low-quality ones. As such, you must only apply screen protectors compatible with your Galaxy A52 to prevent sensor-related issues.
Although screen protectors are essential accessories, sacrificing your Samsung phone’s built-in feature for it isn’t worth it. Find screen protectors that developers make specifically for Samsung Galaxy A52 phones without this downside.
Ultimately, you decide whether to remove the screen protector and keep the fingerprint scanner active or find a suitable replacement so you don’t have to compromise.
FIX 4. Increase touch sensitivity
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A52 |
If you prefer keeping your Samsung Galaxy A52’s screen protector, we suggest increasing its touch sensitivity instead.
With this, you can continue using the built-in fingerprint scanner while you look for an excellent screen protector. Thus, you won’t have to compromise by letting your Galaxy A52’s touchscreen go unprotected.
Step 1: Go to Settings. Note: You can also go to the quick settings panel from the notification bar to click the gear icon and open the settings menu. |
Step 2: Go to Display. |
Step 3: Scroll down and click the Screen Sensitivity switch to turn it on. |
FIX 5. Stop wireless charging your Galaxy A52
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 to 20 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A50/A51 A wireless charging adapter |
Although wireless charging is unsupported on Galaxy A52 devices, Samsung users find ways to enable this feature using adapters. Sure, it’s a cool feature, but it’s not as reliable since it causes fingerprint scanner issues.
Because these gimmicky wireless charging adapters emit electric waves, they can mess with your Galaxy A52’s fingerprint scanner. As such, it might be better to stop using them whenever you’re scanning your finger, at least.
FIX 6. Re-do your fingerprints
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A52 |
If nothing you try helps your Galaxy A52 recognize your fingerprint, it’s likely because the one you set wasn’t good. Therefore, it never hurts to re-do your fingerprint registration if it means making the feature work optimally.
Also, re-doing your fingerprints is the most straightforward way to fix the Samsung Galaxy A52/A52 5G fingerprint scanner issue. It’s a good idea to double down and register multiple fingerprints to increase the odds of your phone’s recognizing you.
| Step 1: Go to the quick settings panel from the notification bar and click the gear icon to open Settings.  |
Step 2: Scroll down and open the Lock Screen menu. |
Step 3: Scroll down and select Fingerprints. |
| Step 4: Press and hold the saved fingerprints to make a selection and click the remove option at the top-right corner.  |
Step 5: Click Add Fingerprint to register a fingerprint on the Galaxy A52 again. Note: Follow the Samsung Galaxy A52’s on-screen instructions for fingerprint registration. |
FIX 7. Wipe your Galaxy A52’s cache partition
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 9 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 1 minute and 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A52 |
Sometimes, the real culprit behind the Samsung Galaxy A52/A52 5G fingerprint scanner issue is the temporary data stored in your device’s cache partition. It’s not surprising since these cached data may become corrupted over time.
When that happens, your phone is suddenly more prone to system malfunction. Unfortunately, these malfunctions and errors can negatively affect how the fingerprint scanner recognizes your finger.
Thus, wiping the cache partition in such cases should do the trick.
Step 1: Drag the notification bar and tap the power icon. |
Step 2: Click Power Off. |
Step 3: Click Power Off again to turn your Galaxy A52 off. |
Step 4: Hold your Galaxy A52’s volume up and power buttons simultaneously. |
| Step 5: Release both buttons when the Samsung logo appears and wait for your Galaxy A52 to boot into its Android Recovery menu.  |
Step 6: Select “Wipe cache partition.” |
Step 7: Select Yes to confirm the cache wipe. |
Step 8: Wait until “Cache wipe complete” appears at the bottom of the Galaxy A52 screen. |
Step 9: Select “Reboot system now” and wait for the Galaxy A52 to boot its system. |
FIX 8. Reset your phone
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 3 minutes |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy A52 |
If nothing helps, you can always count on a factory reset to resolve the Samsung Galaxy A52/A52 5G fingerprint scanner issue. After all, this method is the best troubleshooting trick for everything system or software-related.
However, after the factory reset, you must ensure you’re ready to lose your user data. Effectiveness aside, this method has a significant caveat since it will wipe all saved data and installed apps.
WARNING: A factory reset deletes all your saved files and smartphone preferences, so ensure you save a copy before proceeding.
Fortunately, Samsung offers a cloud service that lets you backup your essential user and account data. The only downside is that you must still re-download your favorite apps after factory resetting your phone.
| Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Go to the General Management menu and click Reset. |
Step 3: Click “Factory data reset.” |
Step 4: Click Reset. |
| Step 5: Click Delete All to restore your Samsung Galaxy A52’s factory settings. |
