Touch ID unlock stops working after five minutes

I updated my 2020 MacBook Air (intel) to Sequoia 15.7 a couple days ago. Before I updated, I could use TouchID to unlock my computer all the time, and it would ask for my password once a day or so. Now, if I let it sleep for only five minutes, TouchID no longer works and I have to type in my password. Can I revert this to how it worked before?

Also, why is there no message on screen explaining this? The computer used to say "you must type in your password to enable TouchID." Now - nothing. I thought my fingerprint sensor was broken or something.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.7

Posted on Sep 17, 2025 10:41 AM

Top-ranking reply

James Brickley

Level 5

5,686 points

Posted on Sep 26, 2025 7:39 AM

The last thing I tried, was to shutdown completely with a saved fingerprint which worked previously but ceased. Then boot into Safe Mode. On Apple Silicon you hold the power Touch ID button and then hold shift to click on Macintosh HD and you'll see a Continue in Safe Mode button. On Intel, just hold Shift while powering on. It is normal to have to login twice when entering Safe Mode. Give it about 5min in Safe Mode logged on. Then just restart. Login once to enable Touch ID.

It seems to be working again. Time will tell if sticks or encounters the problem again. It may take a day, two or three to determine if the issue is resolved. If it comes back again, then it's a bug and let's hope it's fixed in 26.1 or soon thereafter.

My thinking is that Safe Mode runs a lot of regular maintenance tasks when it boots. Caches are flushed, etc. Booting into Safe Mode and then just restarting normally; can fix bizarre issues.

I also submitted a bug report via Apple's Feedback. I recommend others submit so it raises awareness at Apple.

These community forums are for Apple customers and the only Apple employees are some moderators. Feedback is not collected on these forums.

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40 replies

telej

Level 1

8 points

Oct 7, 2025 9:56 AM in response to Robaato72

I have the same problem MacBook 15 Pro, Sequoia 15.7.1

In addition to Touch ID not working for logon, Apple Watch 9 will not unlock either.

Oct 8, 2025 12:12 PM in response to Robaato72

I found out that you need patience when coming back form sleep. Just wait until the phrase "Use password or Touch ID..." appears. This takes maybe 10-20 seconds, after which TouchID works. So, it's not so much that it doesn't work. It is just slow in becoming activated.

Robaato72 Author

Level 1

38 points

Oct 8, 2025 12:50 PM in response to Gerben Wierda

Considering that before the latest system update the Touch ID was active immediately, this is still a bug that needs to be fixed. And, if I wait 10-20 seconds, my laptop just goes back to sleep.

Oct 13, 2025 12:19 PM in response to Robaato72

I have a 2018 MacBook Pro 15.4" and since the macOS 15.7.1 update my TouchID has stopped working correctly for login. It works flawlessly for everything once I'm logged in, but in the login process, it takes a dozen or more tries to get it to work. It simply either does nothing, or it causes the screen to flash. But if I keep doing it long enough, eventually it lets me in using TouchID. I am of course not speaking about when you reboot or boot up for the first time, I'm talking about when I have already logged in and closed the lid and then open the lid and try to login using TouchID.

This problem NEVER happened prior to the 15.7.1 update, only started after it, and only is a problem signing into the MacBook. Once I'm signed/logged in, TouchID works perfectly for Passwords, website logins, etc.

I have tried re-installing macOS, and this had zero impact on the problem.