MacBook TouchID not working while plugged in

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Level 1

4 points

MacBook TouchID not working while plugged in

I'm having the same problem reported in 2018 (MacBook TouchID not working while plugged… - Apple Community, but in my case it seemed to start soon after I upgraded to Sonoma. That is, it never happened before, and I noticed it starting to happen shortly after upgrading last month. It could be coincidence, but that doesn't seem likely.

It's annoying to have to unplug, touch-ID, replug, or alternatively enter my password all the time.

I did follow the suggestion of resetting the SMC. That did not change anything.

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Jan 6, 2024 6:06 PM

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Answer 1

leroydouglas

Level 10

200,250 points

Jan 7, 2024 7:38 AM in response to Jtburgess

Jtburgess wrote:

I'm having the same problem reported in 2018 (MacBook TouchID not working while plugged… - Apple Community, but in my case it seemed to start soon after I upgraded to Sonoma. That is, it never happened before, and I noticed it starting to happen shortly after upgrading last month. It could be coincidence, but that doesn't seem likely.

It's annoying to have to unplug, touch-ID, replug, or alternatively enter my password all the time.

I did follow the suggestion of resetting the SMC. That did not change anything.

Maybe you can say more "MacBook TouchID not working while plugged in"

I don't get it...zero, zip, nada, nothing?

On an Intel Mac— for Touch Bar both

resetting the SMC Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support see the details.

resetting NVRAM/PRAM Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Jtburgess Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 12, 2024 6:45 AM in response to leroydouglas

Pretty much nothing. I touch with my finger - no reaction.

I unplug and try again, presto.

Occasionally, if I touch and move my finger around a bunch it will work, but more often it just stops asking for touch, and prompts for a password. That tells me it is sensing something, but not getting good results.

As I said, I have reset the SMC twice to no effect.

I'm hesitant to reset the NVRAM - I read something about losing everything if the boot disk is encrypted , but I’ll look into that again.

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MacBook TouchID not working while plugged in

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