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

5,680 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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37 replies

Sep 27, 2025 6:14 AM in response to James Brickley

Unfortunately, the "Safe Mode fix" did nothing for my MacBook. Thanks for trying.

Sep 29, 2025 5:31 PM in response to Robaato72

Installed 15.7.1 today. The touchid problem remains.

jorge_vi

Level 1

8 points

Oct 1, 2025 4:02 AM in response to James Brickley

Do we need to submit bug report? I was wondering if Apple already knows about the issue and if they are going to fix it.

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.

Robaato72 Author

Level 1

32 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 24, 2025 7:13 PM in response to Robaato72

Same issue for me now.

Oct 31, 2025 12:05 PM in response to Robaato72

I updated to OS Tahoe 26.0.1 and same bug is occurring. The Touch ID worked fine prior to updating.

Macbook Pro 2019 16" Intel.

Touch ID unlock stops working after five minutes