Touch ID unresponsive when connected to power

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Touch ID unresponsive when connected to power

My new(ish) M2 MacBook Air running MacOS 13.3.1 has stopped recognizing the Touch ID when connected to power. I tried restarting. When that didn't work, I removed the fingerprint and tried to create a new one only to discover that it wouldn't recognize that a finger was placed on the Touch ID 95% of the time so I couldn't create a new one (it did see a finger about 5% of the time, usually if I left it on the sensor for 15+ seconds). For some reason, I thought to unplug the USB-C power cord. The Touch ID then works perfectly. Plugging the power back in causes it to stop working again. I went back and forth several times. The results were 100% consistent. Looking up the issue, I see that I'm not the only one to have the problem, but it's rare. The only suggestion was to reset the SMC, but that doesn't apply to Apple silicon. Restarting doesn't help. Anyone else have this issue?

MacBook Air, macOS 13.3

Posted on May 17, 2023 12:31 AM

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Answer 1

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mpolda Author

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May 17, 2023 5:30 PM in response to mpolda

Update #3: Apple Support had me reboot in Safe Mode. It made no difference. Since two different USB-C cables resulted in slightly different behavior (see above) I tried another, higher quality cable. Touch ID works perfectly. It's all about the cable! For some reason, lower quality USB-C cables interfere with Touch ID on the built-in keyboard. I have no idea why.

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Answer 2

mpolda Author

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May 17, 2023 12:47 AM in response to mpolda

Update: It seems to be cable related. I switched to another USB-C charging cable that I had nearby (same port) and the Touch ID works 30-40% of the time when it's connected (and 100% when it's not). Also, I tried the second USB-C port with the same results. So, with one cable Touch ID works 5% of the time and with the other cable Touch ID works 30-40% of the time and when not plugged in it works 100% of the time.

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Answer 3

Apr 3, 2024 12:05 AM in response to mpolda

Yes, exactly. I'm having the same issue with my MacBook Air M1 2020. My touch ID is totally unresponsive when my charger is connected but when the charger is disconnected, it works perfectly fine. And yes, when I change the port and when I plug it into another USB-C it works a little bit better. Please Apple, fix this issue with an update or anything. (I'm from Pakistan.)

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Answer 4

mpolda Author

Level 1

53 points

May 17, 2023 5:05 PM in response to mpolda

Update #2: with the MagSafe charger plugged in, Touch ID works perfectly. Only when charging via USB-C does the Touch ID not work.

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Touch ID unresponsive when connected to power

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