Touch ID authentication keeps failing and forces to enter password at random

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Touch ID authentication keeps failing and forces to enter password at random

I've had this issue ongoing for a few months now. Sometimes, when I turn on my 2018 15" MacBook Pro, it won't register any of my fingerprints with Touch ID.

No, I don't reboot my computer for this to happen. It happens at random. For example, I could close the lid, wait for a couple of minutes, open it up, and try to use Touch ID, and it wouldn't work. No error shows up on the screen neither does the field to enter the password, just 'Try Again' on the Touch Bar. After failing a few times in succession, it forces me to enter the password. I have a 2018 MacBook Air that is configured very similarly, and I do not seem to be having any issues on that device, just the Pro for some reason.

I'm more than willing to provide any console logs or anything you may need, I've reached a point where I've exhausted all ideas, and I would appreciate any help or insight into this. Is there any chance that I somehow installed a rogue app that could be causing this, and if so, is there a way to find what's interfering with Touch ID?

Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to respond, I highly appreciate any help. Thank you!

MacBook Pro w/ Touch Bar (2018 or later)

Posted on Jan 26, 2019 9:09 AM

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Answer 1

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Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Jan 27, 2019 11:32 AM in response to Asian6Cat

Greetings, Asian6Cat!

Thanks for reaching out on Apple Support Communities! From my understanding, it sounds like your Touch ID is working intermittently. I’d be happy to help!

I’d start by removing and adding your fingerprints again. To do that, click on the Apple menu > System Preferences > Touch ID, hover over the fingerprint and click the x when it appears. Once complete, let’s add more than one fingerprint so that we can determine if it’s isolated to one finger. You can read more about that at: Use Touch ID on your Mac

Also, you mentioned that you thought there may be an app contributing to this behavior. You can create a test user to determine if this is isolated to your user account. How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac can walk you through those steps. This article also will walk you through what to do if it occurs on the test user as well.

I hope that helps and have a great day!

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Answer 2

Asian6Cat Author

Level 1

35 points

Jan 27, 2019 12:24 PM in response to Joseph_S.

Hi Joseph,

Thanks for responding. Removing and re-adding fingerprints is something that I've already tried to no avail. I also do have multiple fingerprints added, but that doesn't help either. And this issue is so random, there would be no way for me to test for sure by adding another user and testing it out with it. I'll give it a try nonetheless.

Do you perhaps know I there's any way to troubleshoot issues with Touch ID in specific? Is there anything I can look out for in the console and look at any logs that could help?

Thanks!

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Touch ID authentication keeps failing and forces to enter password at random

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