It occurred to me that I had no idea what ‘alternative password’ I’d assigned the fingerprint scanner should I lose my remembered fingers or if the scanner broke. Even though I could still get into the phone (I still have said fingers, and the scanner still works) I couldn’t change the password.
Then I discovered that by deleting all of the saved fingerprints, and re-scanning them, you get a chance to enter a new password. Now I have a brand new one to forget.
Of course, to use this trick you have to get into the phone first – so if you have lost your digits, you’re probably out of luck.