Develop Bugs

Can fingerprint scanner be disabled?

I just saw a good deal on this phone and am about to pull the trigger on it, but am creeped out by the fingerprint scanner, why on earth would anyone want such a thing? If disabling is not possible could the user tape over the nefarious thing to "disable" it? There is no way I am giving a phone my fingerprints, so this is a deal breaker for me.

memetix said:
I just saw a good deal on this phone and am about to pull the trigger on it, but am creeped out by the fingerprint scanner, why on earth would anyone want such a thing? If disabling is not possible could the user tape over the nefarious thing to "disable" it? There is no way I am giving a phone my fingerprints, so this is a deal breaker for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fingerprint scanner can be used for lots of things
Unlocking the phone instead of entering a pin
Signing into apps
Verifying payment
Its actually very useful
However you do not need to use it - You do not at any stage need to give it or record your fingerprint if you do not want to
You will find that most new phones now come with a fingerprint scanner as some apps like apple pay and banking apps may require fingerprint identification as well as a pin to avoid fraud

Hey thanks for the reply, I didnt say that fingerprint scanning doesnt have some applications, but the risks with it far outweigh any perceived momentary benefit. What happens when the fingerprint data is lost because you know it will be, its just a matter of time. The thing with fingerprints is they are not like passwords, you cant rescue your account with a security question and then change your fingerprints can you? No, once the fingerprint data is lost then that is it, your identity is compromised forever with no possible way of ever securing it again. Cell phones are just about the least secure devices you can buy today. Putting ones fingerprints into it is sheer madness and will all end in tragedy for many people I predict.
My understanding is that the fingerprint scanner button on this phone is necessary for everyday use of the phone, you cant use the phone without using the scanner. So although you may not specifically choose to store your fingerprints you can safely bet that it is scanning your prints and storing them somewhere onboard which means they are accessible to any semi skilled hacker if you lose/ misplace the phone or even just log onto the wrong "airport" wifi.
So again I ask the question, can this functionality be specifically disabled in the UI? If not then it is a deal breaker for me, I wont risk my lifetime identity when there are many many phones out there that dont have this silly ill conceived technology in them, I just happen to like motorolas, my old droid razr m is still goin strong, it just cant do all the latest google tech.

Like I said in my previous post
At no point do you need to enter record or save your fingerprint - If you don't use the fingerprint scanner then your fingerprint will not be stored!
If you are that concerned about it obviously buy a phone that doesn't have one because even if you disable it which you can do if you root the phone and muck about with the build.prop and other files - someone else can just enable it again but who cares because you don't use it and haven't stored your fingerprint so whats the problem?
Yes its theoretically possible for someone to steal your fingerprint - just watch mythbusters and they can fool any fingerprint lock by lifting someones fingerprint and doing some chemical magic to transfer it onto ballistics gel - but thats why you have two step authentication - Fingerprint and a password - much more secure

Thanks again for your continuing contributions, and apologies I must not have explained myself very well. I was hoping for a simple yes or no answer, I didnt really mean to spark a debate on this. You seem to be suggesting that no it is not possible to disable the fingerprint scanner via the UI, but it would be awesome if you could unambiguously confirm that.
And to answer your points, no I am not worried about someone making a plastic finger to hack into my phone. I dont store sensitive information on my cellphone. The worry I have is that the fingerprint scanner is likely always on and always scanning and possibly also recording the scanned biometric data, whether the user enables the feature or not. And if this is indeed the case then its possible that this data could then be exfiltrated from the phone surreptitiously. And once hackers get someones fingerprint data who knows what they can do with it, this year, next year, in ten years or twenty, hell I might even live another fifty years. The point isnt what bad things can I think of them doing today. The point is that once that important biometric data has been lost to hackers or other unscrupulous individuals then there is no way I, or anyone else, can ever secure that data ever again - for however many years I may have left here. And I am stuck with my fingerprints, I cant change them, at least not easily.
Maybe you just led a more sheltered life then me, maybe I am just ridiculously over paranoid about such things. But in my mind it seems like such a no brainer, why take risks with such monumentally sensitive data. A trade off I would be willing to make is if the fingerprint scanning can be unambiguously switched off via the UI. I think that would be enough to ease my paranoia, but it seems that is not the case.
Its a pity, its such a nice phone and 'rola's are usually so well put together.
Anyway hope that clarifies, and thanks again for your input.

memetix said:
Thanks again for your continuing contributions, and apologies I must not have explained myself very well. I was hoping for a simple yes or no answer, I didnt really mean to spark a debate on this. You seem to be suggesting that no it is not possible to disable the fingerprint scanner via the UI, but it would be awesome if you could unambiguously confirm that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no on/off switch for fingerprint scanner
It is also there for adidional gesture control - eg you can swipe the fingerprint sensor in different directions to go back, open a certain app etc
Fingerprint gestures can be disabled in the UI but not the fingerprint scanner itself
Unless you goto the security screen and select the option to record fingerprint for unlock it will not record save or do anything with your fingerprint
but to answer your question with a yes or no - the answer is no (based on stock unrooted)

I thought I would update this for the record...
I ended up opting for the G5S instead, for the extra storage, RAM etc. and it turns out that you can operate these phones without ever needing to touch the fingerprint scanner at all.
Seems like an important point which needed to be added to this conversation, for posterity.

Android 8.1 slow fingerprint reader

Anyone else notice or experience a slower fingerprint unlock after applying the 8.1 OTA update? A VERY noticeable difference in unlocking speed after the update.

1up1up said:
Anyone else notice or experience a slower fingerprint unlock after applying the 8.1 OTA update? A VERY noticeable difference in unlocking speed after the update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No issue here mate, still as fast as it was before on 8.0.0. Might wanna try another reboot to see if it fixes your issue. You could then always try a factory reset as well.

I just downloaded and reinstalled the 8.1 factory image. Went through and setup phone from today's backup and added fingerprints. While the phone was finishing downloading apps from backup, the fingerprint unlock was fast and normal as usual. After apps updated and restore finished, I restarted the phone. Immediately, the slow fingerprint unlock returned. I have very few apps and this wasn't an issue until after I applied the 8.1 OTA side load before the initial posting of this thread. Additional testing of the speed by pressing the power button then unlocking with fingerprint reader yields inconsistent unlock speeds. At this point, I do not want to say that maybe it's because of a particular app that is installed on the phone, but rather it's possibly a problem with 8.1.
Any thoughts?

To put it into perspective, the fingerprint unlock under normal speed feels almost "too sensitive" because it's so fast. Now it registers my fingerprint touch right away but is followed by a slight pause/stutter before unlocking the screen.

1up1up said:
To put it into perspective, the fingerprint unlock under normal speed feels almost "too sensitive" because it's so fast. Now it registers my fingerprint touch right away but is followed by a slight pause/stutter before unlocking the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this exactly

I too am facing similar problems. My phone on 8.1 takes about 1.5s to unlock while it only took <1s on 8.0. A workaround I took was to have always on display activated. And I ain't a fan of the always on display.

Yup. First thing I noticed was this delay between when the fingerprint is actually recognized (vibrate), until I actually get visual on the screen. Around a second or more

I actually had this issue on 8.1 DP2. But since doing a fresh install of the 8.1 official release, my finger print reader is just as fast as 8.0. Maybe try a new fresh install.

SOLIDFND said:
I too am facing similar problems. My phone on 8.1 takes about 1.5s to unlock while it only took <1s on 8.0. A workaround I took was to have always on display activated. And I ain't a fan of the always on display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too, am not a fan of the "Always On" display but can confirm that this does fix the problem. Thanks for sharing your finding.

sn0warmy said:
I actually had this issue on 8.1 DP2. But since doing a fresh install of the 8.1 official release, my finger print reader is just as fast as 8.0. Maybe try a new fresh install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, I actually went through a fresh 8.1 install but fingerprint scanner is still slow with ambient display off. Off to reinstalling my apps...

I found hit super hit or miss. When I flashed my rma phone to dp2 it was slow to unlock. When I flashed 8.1 final it was fast again. I had to flash 8.1 final again but this time the phone was slow to unlock. I got my new device flashed 8.1 on and it is thankfully unlocking quickly. I wish you all luck

I submitted it to Google under DP2 and it has been deferred to a future build... maybe re-submit under the final 8.1 as well??
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/69984153

Today I also noticed a random "static pop" noise coming from the phone while Chrome browser was open. It was quite distinct and loud and happened twice.

SOLIDFND said:
Sadly, I actually went through a fresh 8.1 install but fingerprint scanner is still slow with ambient display off. Off to reinstalling my apps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem, gets fixed with always on display but if the screen is not on in between the seconds of pressing the power button and ambient display kicks in then the problem is still there. Also tried deleting the fingerprints and redoing the fingerprint initiation, but it did not help. The sensor registers the fingerprint by vibrating but screen gets on only after a second or more. sometimes though it is instantaneous. another problem for Google to fix I guess in next month update.

1up1up said:
To put it into perspective, the fingerprint unlock under normal speed feels almost "too sensitive" because it's so fast. Now it registers my fingerprint touch right away but is followed by a slight pause/stutter before unlocking the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue here since updated to 8.1
The fingerprint is recognized quickly (you fell the short vibration) but the screen turns on with a delay of about a second.
I have the same issue when I just press the Powerbutton - it also takes about a second until screen turns on.
Guys, I'm so disappointed with my Pixel 2 XL. Never had so many issues with a stock firmware phone.

Been running 8.1 through the beta for awhile now and haven't had any of these issues. Not sure if I'm just lucky or what but it's been humming along just fine. Just installed the 8.1 official over the 8.1 beta and haven't noticed anything as of yet. Will pay attention to see if I notice anything being slower.

I am also seeing the issue after updating to 8.1. It takes about 2 seconds for the screen to appear. AOD does make it faster but I can deal with it and hopefully google fixes it soon

I searched he'd the issue on google- obviously because I HAVE IT TOO. This is infuriating. This is major functionality. after 8.1 the finger print reader is slow AF. It feel like my old galaxy s4 that i just came away from when i would swipe to unlock it. How many times do we unlock these things a day? We just went from the fastest unlocking phone to the slowest. Why is this effed up? I'm pissed.
We have ppl whining about the freaking hamburger emoji having the cheese on the bottom and the wrong foam in the beer mug, meanwhile it takes forever to get into the phone to do anything much less get to the Emojis. How does BASIC functionality go BACKWARDS with an update?
What's even more infuriating is I can't go back to 8.0!!! Google doesn't allow it do they? I am coming to this phone off a Galaxy s4. One of the big benefits of the pixel family is the "fast updates."I saw someone argue that this isn't necessarily a plus sometimes these new Android versions slow a phone down, and it's done. Sometimes, like in this case, bugs are introduced. The very first update I took on this phone largely argues his point.
Another thing I'm noticing is the battery life seems to be dropping much faster. I'm wondering if it's the flash kernel 2.0 I installed though.
I will be filing a complaint on the link someone so kindly posted above (thank you), and I will be going into the chat option through the help menu on my phone to file a complaint there.
EDIT: it also seems like Google assistant isn't working now either. "Ok Google" brings her up. The mic registers my talking, but no results are displayed.
EDIT 2: I also forgot to mention that along with the slow unlock the swipe function on the finger print reader has been altered. Smiling up and down to toggle the notification drawer is very inconsistent and buggy. I have the finger print quick action app installed. I had a single tap set up to lock the screen. I had my finger print reader un/locking the phone and toggling the notification drawer. While the notification drawer has always been a little buggy, it was VERY functional and very acceptable. Something has changed on the reader so it is having a harder time differentiating between the different movements. Now it usually registers a swipe as a tap and the screen locks. I expected this to happen when I first downloaded the app on 8.0, but I was pleasantly surprised when everything worked through the sensor. Now I am very disappointed. The issue is NOT constant. It comes and goes. Idk why it does that. I'll be seeing if I can figure out why. I will NOT be activating the always on screen as a means to circumvent this issue. I don't want burn in. I've been concerned with that issue associated with always on before the pixel showed up.

jbarcus81 said:
I submitted it to Google under DP2 and it has been deferred to a future build... maybe re-submit under the final 8.1 as well??
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/69984153
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to jump on board and file an issue too. What do I select the issue as?it's not a developer preview. Is it android system issue? Framework?

fearfighters said:
I have this exactly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-deleted
---------- Post added at 06:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:02 PM ----------
1up1up said:
To put it into perspective, the fingerprint unlock under normal speed feels almost "too sensitive" because it's so fast. Now it registers my fingerprint touch right away but is followed by a slight pause/stutter before unlocking the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here

Fingerprint scanner issue after upgrade to 9.0

So I finally took the jump to Pie. One of the smaller issues I have that I didn't before is when trying to set up my fingerprints again, I get an error on the last press which tells me to try again or try another finger.

Yes, an issue for me also. Sometimes it just does not work and other times it tells me the fingerprint sensor is dirty which it is not. Fingerprint sensor issues have been reported by others too after installing Pie. It does not seem to me to be as common as the notification issues with Pie, (which I also have), but it is talked about. I also did a factory reset a couple days after installing 9.0 which did help a couple of apps to work better but did not help the fingerprint or notification problems.
The fingerprint issue is weird as sometimes it is so bad, I think I will not be able to keep the phone, just will not work at all. Then for no discernible reason it will start working fine. It is not just a pain to have to use another login method every time the phone needs to be woken up, but I also use fingerprint sign in for a few apps and it is much harder to have to enter one of my random 14 character passwords when the fingerprint won't work.

Try to put your Ambient display Always on... see if it fixes the fingerprint problem (Google is aware of this issue) till google issues a permanent fix.

Wasn't that only a workaround for people who had fingerprint lag? I don't think it was for fingerprint reading issues.
I did notice a lot more fingerprint reading errors with Pie then redid my fingers and all has been fine.
itzik_man said:
Try to put your Ambient display Always on... see if it fixes the fingerprint problem (Google is aware of this issue) till google issues a permanent fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Fingerprint scanner stopped working, can't be found

Suddenly the fingerprint scanner became less responsive the past few days. Then today it's just stopped working. Restarted, cleared fingerprints, restarted and system could not find scanner and bring it to support. Another restart and I was able to add fingerprints, but it still does not unlock the phone.
Any thoughts?

I'm done with LG too. V10 dead. G7 thinq dying. DONE!

Hey guys, I'm actually a Pro! I repair phones all day everyday and the G7 is my daily, my fingerprint scanner actually quit working and I replaced it, and it works totally fine now. I believe it is a manufacturing defect, but LG is a **** company and they don't own up to stuff like this. I love my G7, but I wish they handled things better. If you can send it in on warranty, otherwise replace the fingerprint scanner. Any local shop should be able to to do it 60-80, Mobile Defenders has OEM ones. Different colors work Fina as well. I have a pink ok on my blue boy. It's dope. Only real issue I've had, that and my battery is starting to get mediocre

I'm in the same boat. A reboot does the trick, but it's sooo annoying. Wish LG would own up and fix it.

Only it's not an issue because of the millions of g7s that have no problems.....
Issemann said:
I'm in the same boat. A reboot does the trick, but it's sooo annoying. Wish LG would own up and fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No issue with fingerprint scanner....

Excuse my bad english....
It happens to me sometimes but is due to some apps installed out of google play. In my case the solution is just to uninstall the app or the apps and then reboot the phone. It works for me in 100% of cases.
Some other cases i can just install them again and the fingerprint scanner is working with that app.

pmoral said:
Excuse my bad english....
It happens to me sometimes but is due to some apps installed out of google play. In my case the solution is just to uninstall the app or the apps and then reboot the phone. It works for me in 100% of cases.
Some other cases i can just install them again and the fingerprint scanner is working with that app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which apps gave you problems?

Issemann said:
Which apps gave you problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Always the cracked ones. Not all the cracked apps but NOT the apps from google play.
I meand that is like if the apps i donwload from that web sometimes block the fingerprint.
And most of the times is just inmediately.
I dont usually install those cracked apps but i download a few photo and video editing tools.

Mine "fixed" itself after about a week. It may have been an app or an update. But it works fine again.

Solution to fingerprint not responding | Dead | Suspected Hardware Issue
OnceAMatrixMan said:
Suddenly the fingerprint scanner became less responsive the past few days. Then today it's just stopped working. Restarted, cleared fingerprints, restarted and system could not find scanner and bring it to support. Another restart and I was able to add fingerprints, but it still does not unlock the phone.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, after lot of investigation, the problem is with the fingerprint's "activity". It just stops working which will cause it to not show up in the menu and more headaches around other apps relying on it.
The possible solution to this is:
Download activity launcher or any app that can extract the activities running in your phone.
find: 'FingerprintASM' and 'FingerprintAuthenticator' under 'all activities' from the drop-down menu on the top
Tap on each to run it.
Restart the device.
Thank me later once done. :good:

Tried it a few times, but fingerprint only works about 75% of the time event after trying this. In fact it's getting worse. Maybe it's hardware...

OnceAMatrixMan said:
Suddenly the fingerprint scanner became less responsive the past few days. Then today it's just stopped working. Restarted, cleared fingerprints, restarted and system could not find scanner and bring it to support. Another restart and I was able to add fingerprints, but it still does not unlock the phone.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have very similar problem. Fingerprint works in random situation but many times it does not work. Looks like fingerprint ceases to be active.. maybe its firmware problem. LG probably do not care about it.. but I see many LG users haves this problem.

I had an issue with mine when I first got it. The back plate had been removed and glued back on. It was slightly open on the top, which made the fingerprint sensor move away from the connection on the back of the phone. The sensor was mostly unresponsive until I sealed it back up. Not sure if this pertains to your problems, but I figured I'd share.

For the Repair Pro!
das_webos_transformer said:
Hey guys, I'm actually a Pro! I repair phones all day everyday and the G7 is my daily, my fingerprint scanner actually quit working and I replaced it, and it works totally fine now. I believe it is a manufacturing defect, but LG is a **** company and they don't own up to stuff like this. I love my G7, but I wish they handled things better. If you can send it in on warranty, otherwise replace the fingerprint scanner. Any local shop should be able to to do it 60-80, Mobile Defenders has OEM ones. Different colors work Fina as well. I have a pink ok on my blue boy. It's dope. Only real issue I've had, that and my battery is starting to get mediocre
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question for the repair guy! My G7 Thinq fingerprint scanner stopped working. I tried to add my fingerprints again with no luck. The phone "buzzes" when I touch the sensor and the screen displays "Place your finger on the center of the fingerprint sensor." Sometimes I get "Sensor needs to be cleaned"
Stepped through some other suggestions and did a "hard reset/wipe of the phone", no joy. Will replacing the fingerprint sensor would effect a repair? I would hate to go to the repair shop, pay for the replacement, and it still not work.
Thanks in advance

One possible quick fix
I noticed in a tear-down video that the fingerprint sensor uses touch contacts for signal transmission (as opposed to being a plug-in contact). I pressed on the area about where it is located, just under the flash and IR, and now it works! If you've dropped your phone a few times it might cause this as the back is glued on and the contact area could pull away from the glue (just a theory). I think I will try to heat it up and press down on it some more for good measure.
Update:
This approach does get it working again but the effect is not long-lived. Tried it with heating but again it is not permanent. Alas.

Surf Excel said:
So, after lot of investigation, the problem is with the fingerprint's "activity". It just stops working which will cause it to not show up in the menu and more headaches around other apps relying on it.
The possible solution to this is:
Download activity launcher or any app that can extract the activities running in your phone.
find: 'FingerprintASM' and 'FingerprintAuthenticator' under 'all activities' from the drop-down menu on the top
Tap on each to run it.
Restart the device.
Thank me later once done. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have these activities in the Android 10 ROM. When I activate some others it throws an error that seems to indicate the hardware is missing.
It's newly ordered and it seems connected ok, same position as original, checked without cover too, just doesn't work. Perhaps incompatible hardware or faulty?

activity launcher did not work on my LG Q stylus plus !!!

Surf Excel said:
So, after lot of investigation, the problem is with the fingerprint's "activity". It just stops working which will cause it to not show up in the menu and more headaches around other apps relying on it.
The possible solution to this is:
Download activity launcher or any app that can extract the activities running in your phone.
find: 'FingerprintASM' and 'FingerprintAuthenticator' under 'all activities' from the drop-down menu on the top
Tap on each to run it.
Restart the device.
Thank me later once done. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
activity launcher did not work on my LG Q stylus plus !!!

OpenMinded said:
I don't have these activities in the Android 10 ROM. When I activate some others it throws an error that seems to indicate the hardware is missing.
It's newly ordered and it seems connected ok, same position as original, checked without cover too, just doesn't work. Perhaps incompatible hardware or faulty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to appy to Android 9. 10 has some other processes.
Easiest is to look for Smart cleaning, then choose fingerprint.
It will show that the hardware is not being detected.
I tried everything to no avail.
I either got two broken sensors or another issue.
Seems the lower board might be suspect.
If anyone figures it out, please psot, so will I.
Thanks

Surf Excel said:
Solution to fingerprint not responding | Dead | Suspected Hardware Issue
So, after lot of investigation, the problem is with the fingerprint's "activity". It just stops working which will cause it to not show up in the menu and more headaches around other apps relying on it.
The possible solution to this is:
Download activity launcher or any app that can extract the activities running in your phone.
find: 'FingerprintASM' and 'FingerprintAuthenticator' under 'all activities' from the drop-down menu on the top
Tap on each to run it.
Restart the device.
Thank me later once done. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My friend 100 thanks after 1 month and hours to search finally i make it

Question Issues with Smart Lock?

Hi,
I find the Smart Lock (using Trusted Places) to be very buggy..
Sometimes I find that the Smart Lock just stops working when I'm at my desk.. Whatever, so I try and re-enable it, but I'm never able to easily re-enable it. I follow the same process, but the lock screen doesn't have the unlocked padlock. Rebooting the device made it work, and I also got it to "work" by toggling "On-body detection", and then going back to "Trusted places" (or some odd combination of adding a 2nd Trusted Place). It's a bit frustrating..
It's also not clear to me how to enable the "Trusted places" option. For example, the "On-body detection" option has a toggle to enable it. The "Trusted places" screen has no button/toggle. I tap on the big tile/graphic of the "house with the 4 dots linking to the phone", and I believe that's how you kickstart it?
Lastly, in the Trusted Places screen, it has a note at the bottom saying:
"Your device will stay unlocked for up to four hours..."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So according to that, it expires at 4 hours? However when I wake up I notice that it's still active..

I have a similar issue were at random the smart lock will just not work and I have to log back into the phone, even finger print option not available. Basically same as if I was to restart the phone. The feature is still enabled so don't need to re enable! I was hoping that getting onto a pixel this garbage will stop happening after experiencing it on my old op6t but as of now the pixel works worse then op.

thisguy159 said:
I have a similar issue were at random the smart lock will just not work and I have to log back into the phone, even finger print option not available. Basically same as if I was to restart the phone. The feature is still enabled so don't need to re enable! I was hoping that getting onto a pixel this garbage will stop happening after experiencing it on my old op6t but as of now the pixel works worse then op.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah interesting, so you are experiencing similar issues too..
I wonder if it has something to do with the phone temporarily losing it's current location, and thus forcing a lock on the phone? Not sure..

oksureman said:
Ah interesting, so you are experiencing similar issues too..
I wonder if it has something to do with the phone temporarily losing it's current location, and thus forcing a lock on the phone? Not sure..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would think but I have my watch connected to it as well both wearos or fitbit sense and same issue with smart lock, so not just location limited.

Noticed the same problem here. My old device I just used the rear finger print scanner, it was instant on and in, with the Pixel 6 Pro the finger print reader is neither in the best place or the quickest, and if you are in a dark place and don't aim properly, its a blinding light! So I thought at least at home I can use smark unlock. Worked fine yesterday, today it wouldn't stay unlocked. All settings appeared okay, my address was shown as a trusted place, I loaded maps so it get my location (it was already showing me at home anyway), but just not working.
I then removed my trusted place, readded, exactly the same address from the pinpoint on the map was shown, and it is working again.
I took the 4 hours to mean that after 4 hours you would need to sign in again once, then you get another 4 hours of smart unlock.
Just a buggy piece of Google software I guess.

Honestly I don't think I've ever had Smart Lock that really worked on ANY of my android phone. It works when it wants to.

Smart Lock has been janky since original pixel and the nexii before that.