Your Password is needed to enable touch ID

AdamHendrickson wrote:

I just got a new MacBook Pro 16" and I have set up my touch ID but when I try log in to my mac it says "Your Password is required to enable Touch ID". What do I do?

you still have to enter your password: For security, you need to enter your password when you start your Mac. Sometimes you need to enter your password to continue using Touch ID. For example, users must re-enter their password every 48 hours and after five incorrect fingerprint attempts.

You have to get past the initial log in window to get to your user log in—this is normal.

>System Preferences>TouchID

You do not need to shut down/ log-in every time you go to use your Mac, simply close the lid and let it sleep, your issue is solved.

If security is an issue, before you close the lid, Control Command Q will lock the screen, or touch the TouchID to lock the screen...then close the lid.

Apple - https://support.apple.com/HT207054

Hi there, AdamHendrickson!

Thanks for reaching out to the Apple Support Communities! It sounds like you're seeing a message that you have to enter your password to use Touch ID. Every time you start up, restart, or log out, you'll need to type in your password to access your user account and enable Touch ID. You can find more information in this article to Use Touch ID on your Mac.

If you've forgotten your password you can find steps to reset it in this article to Change or reset the password of a macOS user account.

We hope that this helps and wish you the best!