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

I actually have this issue on a 13" MBP 2019, EXCEPT I never got to update to Tahoe. (only the 16" got it I believe)

I installed the last available version of Sequoia and then my Touch ID started exclusively working for Apple Pay, getting back in from the screen saver, or closing and immediately reopening the lid.

As soon as it's closed for longer than around a minute it stops asking for Touch ID.

I'll just hope toggling "Use Touch ID to unlock your Mac" will help with it.

Just to add that removing and adding fingerprints again indeed do solve the problem...but at least for those of us with an external Magic Keyboard, the issue comes back every couple of days, and it's tiring, specially for those who use apps that rely on Touch ID for basic functioning, like 1Password.

Hailing from a Mac Studio 2023 here, and since Tahoe, I have to re-enter my password because "Touch ID failed too many times", and this failure triggers re-authentication for all accounts.

Touch ID is a cornerstone for macOS Platform SSO, and it basically triggers all kinds of alerts on biometric authentication systems out there (like you're trying to use a device that isn't yours).

CreateYourCommunitiesUSRNM23 wrote:

OS 26.1 fixed this issue for me. Worst os transition in the last 25 years, had to do a clean install. Absolutely atrocious. The don't fix things that are not broken department needs more coffee. The smc, p-ram reset twiddle the thingy never ever solves missing qa if anything, this is not how apple products should work and is better done by MS.

No clean install needed on my end for OS 26.1 and the update went smooth as butter while fixing the Touch ID login and noticed better performance with Safari 26.1. Not sure why you are caught up on the don't fix things that aren't broken mantra, as if that were the case you would still be using System 7 on a Mac. The SMC, PRAM resets are no longer a thing in Macs produced for the last 5 years, so that is a sign of improvement and not something that is even recommended as a fix for anything anymore.

I just got a new update and as of now it's working fine. So everyone check your updates!!!

I have found similar behavior (brief look at the desktop before the lock screen appears, flaky touch ID). In my case I have the touchbar, and it seems to take a while to wake up completely. When it does, the touch ID finally appears. I expect this behavior will be improved in a subsequent update. In any case, from what I see about overall performance so far, the almost-obsolete Intel MBP is not going to be the best for Tahoe.

When I wake my Mac from sleep (MBP 2019 Sequoia 15.7.0, or MBP 2020 Tahoe 26.0.1), there's no instant TouchID option. But if I wait for some very long seconds (estimating about 30 seconds), it suddenly appears, and it works as expected. But who has the patience?

The problem appears to have been introduced with 15.7.0.

go to terminal, you need a admin password for this

copy paste:

sudo dscl . deletepl ~ accountPolicyData history

this will delete files that slow down the initialization of finger print detection, apparently, i found solution elsewhere, improved it a bit, it worked immediatly, but that doesn't mean it's the magic solution, but unlike reseting touch ID, reconfiguring fingerprints and other "solutions" this one makes sense

this command deletes part of a big file located in

/var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users/YOUR_USER_NAME.plist

before you execute the command, if you are curious do a

sudo ls -lh /var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users/$(whoami).plist

this will display the size of the file

like this:

-rw------- 1 root wheel 1.4M Oct 10 21:49 /var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users/YOUR_USER_NAME.plist

1.4 mb is AFTER i reduced the size of that file by purging login history, don't worry, you don't need it

P.S i worked for Apple, i invented Drag and Drop and integrated it into Mac OS (called System 7 back in those days)

yeah, Jef Raskin invented the precursor of drag and drop, dragging :) i improved it slightly by allowing to drag between applications

anyway, that doesn't mean i can't be wrong, but this seems to work

photojeep1722 wrote:

As long as I'm speaking of things that are annoying, I wonder why there is absolutely no mention of this specific issue when googling the issue.

I would like to think Apple is aware of this and it will be fixed in an upcoming update but who knows. In the meantime, perhaps those of you who also are having this issue can see if your machine is working the same way as mine.

I don't need to do a google search to see repeatedly the problem brought to the forefront in these Support Communities.

Want to help prioritize the issue— file a bug report / submit your Apple Feedback here:  Product Feedback - Apple

I'm using Sequoia 15.7.1 After taking the latest upgrade last week I am having this exact problem. Closing my laptop, it will not allow touch id to unlock the computer, only by password. After 13 seconds, the "touch id and password" prompt appears and touch id will unlock it. Touch ID works normally for all other functions which require a password/touch id. I have deleted my fingerprints and re-added them. That does not fix the problem. It specifically happened when I upgraded to this version of Sequoia.

Intel MBP 13" 2020 model. This issue started with OS 26 well into 26.0.1

Assumed it was a OS bug and tried resetting everything from Touch ID to SMC and PRAM. Didn't work.

Then took the ultimate step to roll-back to Sonoma 14.8.1 hoping things would go back to normal.

Guess what... that didn't work either. Feeling annoyed and hopeless. But at least the OS downgrade saved me from the overheating and lagging apps in Tahoe.

This solution works, but is a band-aid. For some of us at least, it works at first, but comes back after a couple of days, sometimes the very next day.

Some bug introduced in macOS Tahoe is corrupting the fingerprint data after a while. It seems tied to the T2 chip and/or Magic Keyboard T2 chip.

I got a new iPad and it has whatever the new thing is so decided to put whatever the new thing is on my 2019 16" Intel MBP ... 26.1 had come out in the meantime and ... Apple seems to have fixed it.

15.7.2 is out, too, for those trying not to play the churn game and hopefully that addresses the issue as well.

I have the exact same issue and am using the exact same 16" MacBook Pro from 2019. I have already tried ALL suggestions multiple times with no resolution. It's not hardware, as Touch ID works perfectly in every scenario other than the logging into macOS and only started giving me problems when upgrading to Tahoe.

I'm also having (extremely disruptive) issues with my right arrow key on the built-in keyboard... it works about 50% of the time. This also started happening with os 26. However, I'm afraid this one might actually be hardware-related - just wondering if anyone else is experiencing similar issues...

Well just a heads up I updated my Mac to 26.0.1 ,the Touch Bar and sleep issue seems to be solved but the Touch ID is still doing the same thing ,worked for 30 secs after I updated the Mac then back to not functioning during login ,had some words with apple support they were like I can try to reset the computer but its still not going to be a guaranteed fix ,fed up they just told me to have a call with the senior advisors

Exactly my problem, but after update to Sequoia 15.7.0, then also 15.7.1. I was hoping .1 was going to fix this.

Occasionally it will work as normal, generally when recently using it. If it sets maybe an hour or more I have to enter my pass code and it will work, or wait 20 seconds or so and it will do so without the pass code. Worked fine previously.