ventura touch-id is greyed out

Here's my experience. I have a Mac Studio with the Touch ID keyboard. I just upgraded to Ventura and noticed that I didn't have the ability to use Touch ID anymore. I went to the new system settings and found the Touch ID setting. My finger print was there, but all of the settings for things that it could do were off and greyed out. I deleted the finger print that was there, which worked, but it also took away the ability to set up a new finger print. I logged out and back in and that option was there, but when I clicked on the + to add the new finger print, I got a message that said my keyboard didn't have that capability. I found an article that said something about turning off the keyboard for 15 seconds, which I did. After that, the add a new fingerprint came back, but when I tried it this time, it said it couldn't securely connect to the keyboard and wanted me to press the power button twice - it's an Apple silicon device. I did that, but nothing happened. I also tried this with the keyboard connected thru the USB-C cable and still no response. Ultimately, I left the keyboard connected via USB, powered it off for 15 seconds again and then back on and finally restarted the Mac. This time when trying to create the fingerprint, I got the hit the power button twice message, but it worked and I was able to create a new finger print, which works just fine.

Have found Turning OFF the Touch ID Keyboard then cable to computer and turning ON the keyboard will bring back functionality

That or Turning off the Keyboard , pause and turn it back On without cabling will sometime also solve the issue

Greetings sleater22,

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities.

We see you're unable to access the preferences for Touch ID, so let's see if the following steps help to clear this up. You can locate these steps along with additional information here: https://support.apple.com/HT212225

Try these steps

Try using Touch ID after each step:

1. Make sure that you have the latest version of macOS.

2. Make sure that your fingers and the Touch ID sensor are clean and dry.* Use a clean, lint-free cloth to wipe off any dirt or debris on the Touch ID sensor.

3. Your finger should cover the Touch ID sensor completely. While Touch ID is scanning, you shouldn't tap too quickly or move your finger around.

4. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Users & Groups, then click the lock  to make changes. Click Login Options, then make sure that Automatic login is off.

5. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Touch ID, then make sure that "Unlocking your Mac" or "iTunes Store, App Store & Apple Books" is on, and that you've added one or more fingerprints.

6. Try to add a different fingerprint.

7. For Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, turn your keyboard off and on, then connect your keyboard to your Mac with the USB to Lightning cable. After you turn Magic Keyboard off then on, Touch ID may be unavailable for up to 10 seconds.

8. Restart your Mac.

If those steps don't help, confirm what you've tried for us with the results and let us know if any changes are made temporarily that improve this. In addition, let us know if the keyboard is connected wirelessly, or via a cable so we have a better understanding of this.

Have a great day!

Hello sleater22,

If the steps in the article quoted above don't resolve the issue, you should Contact Apple Support to further troubleshoot.

We hope this helps.

Cheers.

Thanks for that suggestion. My Touch ID is still intermittent after disabling it on my second account. I just installed OS 13.2 and no improvement. I’ll try the keyboard next.