LG V30 Fingerprint Scanner Fails When Heavily Scratched

JerryRigEverything is back and he's got his own LG V30 in his hands. The last time Zack Nelson was seen with the smartphone was when LG flew him over for a sponsored teardown and look into the V30's prized cameras. Now the YouTuber has bought his own unit with no strings attached for the sole purpose of our entertainment education. He subjects the LG V30 to his usual trinity of stress tests and the smartphone survives as you would expect. Except for one minor, and unexpected, thing.

We'll get right down to what that thing is. The fingerprint sensor on the back, when scratched heavily, starts to fail in its recognizing abilities. The good news is that Nelson had to use a razor to do that much damage on the sensor. Hopefully none carry an opened blade in one's bag or pocket, but it's one thing to keep in mind.

For the first time, LG switched to an OLED panel for a phone instead of its usual LCD affair. While that has many advantages, the V30 does incur one penalty: a permanent white spot when exposed to fire. Again, hopefully most people don't encounter a situation that exposes their phones to 10 seconds of searing flame.

And finally, the bend test. Phones with glass backs deceptively look fragile but they are, in some sense, actually more durable than those with just plain metal. At least that does seem to be the case with the LG V30. A combination of tough glass, strong metal, and smart use of plastic padding makes the smartphone one tough cookie.

The LG V30 is durable and reliable, meeting the criteria LG set for itself with the LG G6. It is strange, however, that its fingerprint scanner should be so easily rendered useless, when almost all other smartphones passed that test no problem at all.