After upgrade to OS 26 Touch ID only works sporadically on 2019 MacBook Pro

Unfortunately it's back again =( Seems to be there is a problem with bridgeos of T2 chip. Ended up setting up my apple watch to unlock mack. Thanks god it's not broken yet

Auriam wrote:

It's driving me nuts. I manually delete and re-add three fingerprints, they work for a little while, maybe a day or two, then they completely stop working again. I have an M1 MacBook Air from 2020. It worked fine before I updated - and I wish I could just go back to Sequoia.

Have you not updated to Mac OS 26.1 yet? It has been reported here many times that solves the problem.

Lancaster54 wrote:

I tried reinstalling the OS. This does not solve the problem. The bug comes from the OS.

It suggest a hardware issue...

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Make an appointment for a "hardware issue"

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The issue is with Tahoe 26.0 and the new iPhone Mirroring option which is not available in EU and potentially other regions.

Settings > Lock Screen > Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off: Immediately GREYED OUT. "Password immediately required when iPhone Mirroring is set to automatically authenticate."

Unable to change this setting because the iPhone Mirroring app itself is greyed out and not supported in my region.

Any troubleshooting attempts changing region of Apple ID to USA or Canada for example fail as I have an active paid subscription for iCloud and I cannot choose a EU or UK payment method.

[Edited by Moderator]

This helps :

https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1no872w/psa_macos_26_bug_leads_to_performance_issues_in/

macOS 26.0 (including the public release) has a bug that makes many apps slower the longer they run. I have read issues about native apps, Electron apps, games . 

You could only temporarily solve it by restarting the app.

Fortunately a developer found the culprit: https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/issues/33182#issuecomment-3289846957

To disable the problematic feature for all apps thus fixing the issue, run the following command in the Terminal:

defaults write -g NSAutoFillHeuristicControllerEnabled -bool false

And restart all apps/system. Note this also disables macOS's native autofill feature.

Update: there are actually two separate bugs causing input lag and (GPU) perf issues. The provided command above likely only fixes the former issue (input lag).

To fix the perf issues for Electron apps (and presumably Chrome/Chromium browsers?), also run:

launchctl setenv CHROME_HEADLESS 1

Note this needs to be re-run every time you reboots. Thanks for u/PatrikCR for the heads up!

Had enough today and rolled back to Sequoia. It’s like having a new computer!! No fans screaming, no random Tahoe freezes and launchpad’s back! Boy I missed that thing! And Touch ID’s working flawlessly now!!  Using it for 5 hours already and not a single bug in sight!! Btw I'm using macbook pro 16 intel

[Edited by Moderator]

I found that I can fix the problem temporarily by going to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtones and Alerts and repositioning the slider which produces ]the desired sound.

If you click the sider without moving it, you will not hear any sound. Moving seems to reset sounds for a while, but the duration varies and the problem always comes back.

I've been having this problem too I have 2019 MacBook Pro and I did the latest update which is the "Tahoe". I just called the apple senior advisor and they said it's happening to a lot of people and we have to wait for another update in order to get fixed. If not to call in a week. I've tried SMC and NVRAM but nothing fixes it. If anyone has stopped it can you let me know how?

Now, see, if you'd kept your 2019 Intel MBP on Sequoia ...

... you'd have exactly the same issue. Since 15.7 ... .1 didn't fix it.

Just tried the Turn It Off (restart) Turn It On Again trick and that may have fixed it for me - thanks to whoever suggested that.

I have exactly the same problem with the 2019 MacBook Pro (Intel) with 16". Not a single solution suggested here in the thread has helped. Only the upcoming update for OS 26 Tahoe has fixed the problem. For such a terrible problem, Apple's solution is coming rather slowly. I would have appreciated a quick Hoftix from Apple.

plaws0 wrote:

my 2019 Intel has never had Tahoe on it and my symptoms are the same - 15.7 has the same issue and 15.7.1 didn't change anything. 15.6 was fine.

Updating a Mac's OS will also periodically update it's firmware as well. Updating to macOS 15.7 probably updated the firmware. This may be what is causing this issue; not necessarily the OS but the firmware (which also updates security features such as TouchID). The 26.x OS update likely uses the same firmware or a newer version using the same base code as the one that may have been installed beginning with 15.7.

BenL0nd0n wrote:

The issue is with Tahoe 26.0 and the new iPhone Mirroring option which is not available in EU and potentially other regions.

Settings > Lock Screen > Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off: Immediately GREYED OUT. "Password immediately required when iPhone Mirroring is set to automatically authenticate."

Unable to change this setting because the iPhone Mirroring app itself is greyed out and not supported in my region.

Any troubleshooting attempts changing region of Apple ID to USA or Canada for example fail as I have an active paid subscription for iCloud and I cannot choose a EU or UK payment method.

EPIC FAIL on Apple's behalf!

To be proactive you can file a bug report / submit your Apple Feedback here:  Product Feedback - Apple

UPDATE: Oh no... oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no!

Sorry guys and girls. I spoke too soon. After working yesterday like a charm after the SMC reset, I thought I had finally got my Touch ID unlocking back. But this morning I was greeted with the same 'cold shoulder' attitude by my MacBook, allowing me to only enter my password. I already feel it should write there: 'Enter your Password, or else!'

So, once again, to all affected by this, please send official feedback to Apple developers, either via Feedback Assistant app, or online here: Bug Reporting - Apple Developer

Thanks!