Touch ID slowly fails after Tahoe Upgrade

[litmag01]

After upgrading to OS26 (Tahoe) Touch ID stopped working on M2 MBAir. Deleting the saved fingerprint in settings and re-adding, it works for a while, then only sporadically, and then not at all. Rinse and repeat.

I found a this in Apple Discussions and is my problem exactly (with the exception of the processor). The fingerprint sensor worked all day without issue immediately prior to upgrading to Tahoe from Sequia.


Kinda just want to see who else has this issue. I hope this is addressed in MacOS 26.3.

 

[nickdalzell1]

During the 26.1 version it was prompting me for my password every other time I opened my screen (your password is required for touch id) when it's supposed to be every 48 hours (IIRC). As of 26.2 it seems to have been fixed (and now it's letting me use TouchID without password for a week now?)

 

[colodane]

I have this exact same issue on my MBP which is still running Sequoia 15.7

Each time I redo the fingerprints I think it is solved, but then the sensing slowly gets more unreliable until it completely stops working.

I'm starting to believe that there must be something wrong with my fingers (fingerprint derangement syndrome??) 🙂

 

[shornsey]

Same, total failure of sensor since upgrading M2 Air to Tahoe. Have it on personal and work laptops. No solution found yet reboot/safe mode/delete print. Apparently Apple are aware. I've found Tahoe really buggy and slow generally.

 

[zevrix]

YES!! After I rescanned my fingerprint twice, I realized this thing just doesn't work anymore. I have had this MBP M1 since 2021 and never had this problem up until Tahoe. I was about to post the same question myself sometime soon.

 

[nickdalzell1]

My Air has gone back to requiring a "password to enable Touch ID" EVERY time again after I wake it from sleep since the most recent update. It was working before, but now the sensor is no longer available for login. It still works for enabling Apple Pay or saved passwords.

It's not failing to read my print, it's just outright refusing with "Your password is required for touch ID" no matter how much time has passed since I closed the lid, be it 5 minutes later or a day later. It used to only require it every 48 hours.

 

[neoIDjoe]

26.3 broke my Touch ID for logging into the computer. It still works for unlocking apps. I have an M2 MacBook Air

Is there a solution yet?

 

[donawalt]

This has happened for YEARS, and with different Macs. I have narrowed it down somewhat:

1. It works perfectly in summer
2. As the weather gets cold, it becomes very inconsistent and can fail a lot. As others have said, adding new fingerprints works for awhile.
3. It frequently does no work when the lid is first opened.
4. Ways I have worked around it
   1. In winter weather, I thikn the issue is humidity not temp - as the temp of my finer, the ambient temp, is about the same. I will (I know, kinda gross) lick my finger, rub it on my pants very hard so the friction warms up the finger, and it works almost every time.
   2. When opening the lid, do the first step above, but wait 10 seconds before doing anything - it must be that something needs to 'fire up'. That works pretty well too.
   3. Or, sometimes I just shrug and enter my password instead of messing with it. The odd thing, for example I can open the lid, it fails, I enter my password, and I can lock the screen 10 times and the touch ID works instantly. I thikn it's something batty in the sensor itself.

 

[mithrandil]

26.3 broke my Touch ID for logging into the computer. It still works for unlocking apps. I have an M2 MacBook Air

Is there a solution yet?

same here too on my mba M1 ... worked fine on 26.2 now in 26.3 no longer. i.e. unlocking apps works still fine but no longer the login from the lock screen.

 

[colodane]

I'd suggest not assuming that Tahoe OS is the issue here. I've been having exactly the same symptoms for many months on my MBP running Sequoia. My instinct is suspecting some sort of fingerprint sensor issue.

 

[mithrandil]

how comes it then that in app touchid always works on 26.3 but touchid on logon never works? I am on a standard user…

 

[wintifrosch]

26.3 broke my Touch ID for logging into the computer. It still works for unlocking apps. I have an M2 MacBook Air

Is there a solution yet?

same here too on my mba M1 ... worked fine on 26.2 now in 26.3 no longer. i.e. unlocking apps works still fine but no longer the login from the lock screen.
On the login screen, stored fingers behave differently from unknown fingers. The issue is definitely somewhere *after* the fingerprint is interpreted correctly. So re-reading the fingerprints will definitely not solve the issue.

 

[bigleaf]

I agree with observations made by @donawait, and I suspect my troubles with Touch ID are related to age and thinning, dry skin. The quality of my skin, particularly on the fingertips, varies from hour to hour. Sometimes they are almost plump, and at other times are wrinkled.

Two things seem to improve my success rate with Touch ID. Extra pressure sometimes works, possibly by flattening my skin and making more of my fingerprint contact the sensor. Lotion also helps. This is contrary to the recommendation in countless blog posts to always keep hands clean and dry. I suspect the clean/dry rule works best for fresh, young skin. For me, dampness or lotion helps more often.

As a few others have said, I don't think the OS version matters much. And if the sensor were at fault, the failure results would either be consistent (a failed sensor) or random (intermittent failure before total failure). I say this as an experienced engineer. Instead, I suspect the variable condition of my skin is the top contributor.

 

[bigleaf]

same here too on my mba M1 ... worked fine on 26.2 now in 26.3 no longer. i.e. unlocking apps works still fine but no longer the login from the lock screen.

I suspect that unlocking apps requires a lesser fingerprint match than unlocking the computer. It makes sense from a security standpoint. My Macbook behaves the same way. I can touch the sensor at any angle with a light touch and it always unlocks the app. Not so for login.

 

[mithrandil]

https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1r3zhi9/neither_watch_or_touch_id_unlock_mac_anymore

found the problem on the internet. did this and it all worked again.

the problem:
+after the update to 26.3 we all straight logged into our standard user
+touch id from login screen was not working

the bug in macOS 26.3:
to have it all work on a standard user like it worked before it requires you to login to the admin user and watch / click through apples welcome to tahoe screens


how to fix:
login into your admin user and watch the Tahoe introduction welcome screens which start right in the beginning after first login. then logging off from admin user

once you did that ... your standard user works with touchid from logon screen again

 

[bigleaf]

https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1r3zhi9/neither_watch_or_touch_id_unlock_mac_anymore

found the problem on the internet. did this and it all worked again.

the problem:
+after the update to 26.3 we all straight logged into our standard user
+touch id from login screen was not working

the bug in macOS 26.3:
to have it all work on a standard user like it worked before it requires you to login to the admin user and watch / click through apples welcome to tahoe screens


how to fix:
login into your admin user and watch the Tahoe introduction welcome screens which start right in the beginning after first login. then logging off from admin user

once you did that ... your standard user works with touchid from logon screen again

Do you know how to launch the Tahoe Welcome screens directly? For me, logging out of admin account and logging back in does not trigger the screens. I also tried a logout, shutdown, and then restart/login; no difference in results. I don't have a non-admin user account. Thanks.

 

[mithrandil]

No I do not know. But maybe you can just create temporarily a second admin user account. Login to that. Watch apples welcome screens. Logoff and delete that just created admin user?

Or you also could just wait for 26.4 where they have probably fixed the bug. If not 26.4 should then at least show the welcome screens again.