Touch ID not working for login since Sonoma 14.8

I reset my NVRAM before resetting my SMC but didn't see a change until the SMC was reset. Try resetting both. My TouchID is still working consistently. The only unusual behavior is that when it has been asleep for a while, it takes a very long time for the TouchID prompt to appear. I can force it to appear more quickly by briefly depressing the power button. After a moment this causes the machine to go into sleep mode. The TouchID prompt appears after waking the machine up and waiting a few moments. It feels as if the T2 security chip is not properly interacting with the sleep/wake state of the machine. A bug fer sure.

I was happy to notice that 3 days ago, when I updated to 14.8.2, the touch ID wake-up finally returned to my 2019 MBP. First I was skeptical if it was just accidental or could last but so far so good. It had one hiccup when my battery was nearly dead, otherwise works again.

Hope it fixes it for others too.

Touch ID uses a different authentication flow at login than it does for things like Safari autofill or Passwords, which is why you’re seeing the lag only there. The first thing I’d try is deleting and re-adding your fingerprints in System Settings > Touch ID & Password. If that doesn’t help, restart.

Try the troubleshooting steps in the following Apple article:

If Touch ID isn't working on Mac - Apple Support

Very similar behavior to what has been reported by others. 2018 Macbook Air running Sonoma 14.8.1. I seem to have resolved the issue by resetting the SMC on my machine. Will post again if problems reappear.

HWTech, thanks for the instructions. Unfortunately, upgrade is not an option for me (would loose an app I need) but I DID get the issue fixed:

I disabled Touch ID, restarted MBP, then re-added Touch ID. Now it can wake from sleep with fingerprint like before 14.8

Thanks!

Correction few minutes later:

And just as I tried to wake it up again 5 min later, Touch ID no longer works:(

Any other suggestions?

Rae2Rae2 wrote:

I don’t really know what NVRAM or SMC are. Looked for an explanation of how to reset SMC on the Apple site and it sort of said ‘what on earth do you want to do that for?’ Which freaked me, as if something else went wrong as a result I’d be lost!

not useful that the one suggestion that Apple might be working to address this - the one ray of hope in a sea of silence from Apple - got deleted! Doesn’t fill me with a feeling of love from the company!

Only Intel based Macs have SMC & PRAM Resets. SMC Resets are usually for power related & power on issues. PRAM Resets are for boot issues. I doubt either one will help with TouchID issues. I provided a link to an Apple article earlier in this thread for troubleshooting TouchID issues (you may need to change the thread "Sort By" option to "Oldest" or "Newest" to get a more accurate timeline of posts in this thread since the default "Ranked" mixes the posts up into random ordering which makes the thread hard to follow.

See the following Apple articles:

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

An M-series Mac doesn't really have an SMC Reset. While it is possible to clear the PRAM/NVRAM on an M-series Mac, it requires using the command line.....there are no special startup keys to achieve it like on the Intel based Macs.

Updated my 13" 2019 MacBook Air to Sonoma 14.8 a couple of hours ago. I'm now experiencing slow response behavior with the Touch ID. I have never had a problem with it on this computer in the past. Response has always been quick (less than one second).

On first login after the update completed, I of course had to use my password, so I noticed nothing then.

On two subsequent logins, though, I have noticed that it was not recognizing my touch as quickly as it usually does. On the first occasion, I waited several seconds, adjusting my finger position before beginning to try different fingers. Each finger for several seconds got no response. (Apparently the login screen has no visual feedback like other features of the OS that require Touch ID.) Just as I was about to reach my frustration limit, it recognized my touch and I was logged in.

On the second occasion I had a similar frustrating experience, ending again with the login touch being recognized just as the scream was about to leave my mouth.

This time, while logged in I tried features that require Touch ID (logging into this page; Passwords settings panel). Both of these worked immediately, with visual feedback initially, and subsequent Passwords attempts so fast that the visual feedback did not appear.

I have not yet tried leaving it idle for 10 minutes to test the login behavior again. I just now tried locking the screen and immediately using Touch ID to log back in, and it worked pretty quickly, but with a small lag (about a second?) that made me give it a suspicious look.

I will be keeping a close eye on this in the future.

This issue still persists with Sonoma 14.8.1.

When unlocking, the homescreen doesn't have the option for TouchID.

I have to go to settings and switch TouchID off and on again for it to work. But this fix is temporary.

@HWTech. So I have learned. Had no idea. Thanks for making sure I got the message. Just wanted to let people in this thread know that a fix for the bug is already in the works.

Same issue for me too. I'm up to date on Sonoma 14.8.1, this has happened since then. Like others it was in logging in, not with apps using Touch ID. I've cleaned everything, unplugged the power source (and plugged it in again), switched on and off. Unfortunately I followed one suggestion of deleting all finger prints and starting again - but now it won't take any information when I'm putting a finger on the touch pad. The picture of a finger print used to turn blue as it incrementally added data. Now - nothing. But if I go to something else on my screen (eg Mail) then go pack to the settings window, it says the Touch ID process was interrupted and I need to start again. But doing it for several minutes of repeat touches, or leaving my finger in place for a few seconds all produce no change to the picture. So frustrating - and now not even my apps can work with Touch ID.

Is there going to be a bug fix soon?

@kb0, FYI, your posts are being removed because you are violating the site's Terms of Use where discussion of beta software (aka unannounced & unreleased to the general public) is prohibited. You need to review the Terms of your Beta test agreement with Apple as well since it includes instructions not to discuss the Beta software in public.

I don’t really know what NVRAM or SMC are. Looked for an explanation of how to reset SMC on the Apple site and it sort of said ‘what on earth do you want to do that for?’ Which freaked me, as if something else went wrong as a result I’d be lost!

not useful that the one suggestion that Apple might be working to address this - the one ray of hope in a sea of silence from Apple - got deleted! Doesn’t fill me with a feeling of love from the company!

kb0 wrote:

@HWTech. So I have learned. Had no idea. Thanks for making sure I got the message. Just wanted to let people in this thread know that a fix for the bug is already in the works.

Unfortunately the moderators don't provide any specific reason for moderating or deleting a post. I've puzzled over some of my moderated & deleted posts over the years.

Clearly related to the latest software update. This is happening only for login after going to sleep or after restart or shutdown. Touch ID works for everything else, including authenticating my Apple ID to comment here. My laptop is a 2018 (Intel) MacBook Pro. Just updated to Sequoia 15.7.1 Extremely irritating. Fix it, Apple.