Touch ID won't unlock screen

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cosma1993 Author

Level 1

6 points

Touch ID won't unlock screen

Hello,

I bought band new MacBook Air with M2 chip two weeks ago. Currently running on Macos Ventura 13.0.1. Two days ago I started facing a problem with Touch ID. Sometimes it won't unlock screen. When I put finger on Touch ID button it does not react and I have to press (click) the button and when I press the button it shows login screen for a moment and again locks the screen (screen is disabled, just black) and I have to press it again and after second press it unlocks the screen. I can not figure out is there any rule or under which conditions this happens. It happens often but not always. Sometimes when I lock the screen it is unlocked just by putting finger on the Touch ID button. I tried restarting MacBook and resetting it to Fabric Defaults but nothing helped, the problem still occur.

MacBook Air, macOS 13.0

Posted on Dec 7, 2022 4:33 AM

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Answer 1

Owl-53

Level 10

102,427 points

Dec 7, 2022 4:48 AM in response to cosma1993

Have experienced this from time to time but most often if the Fingertip is not clean or if Moisture is present or hand cream has been applied ( Winter where I am )

Further, there is an undocumented 5 Fingertip Limit before one needs to start removing some

Other conditions can be read from the supplied link below

Use Touch ID on Mac - Apple Support (CA)

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Answer 2

Owl-53

Level 10

102,427 points

Dec 7, 2022 7:35 AM in response to cosma1993

This sounds like the user has enabled " Hot Corners " in Mission Control

The article in below link may offer some insights

Use hot corners on Mac

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Answer 3

Owl-53

Level 10

102,427 points

Dec 7, 2022 8:14 AM in response to cosma1993

Sorry but have done the best I can with what has been offered

Get Support Choose a product and we’ll find you the best solution.Start now and open an Apple Support Ticket as they are Apple Employees to deal will these types of issues .

Perhaps speaking to an Apple Representative would be better

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Answer 4

cosma1993 Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 7, 2022 4:55 AM in response to Owl-53

Hi, thank you for answering. I am pretty sure I understand how to use Touch ID. Finger is dry and clean and when I press the button it reads fingerprint and unlocks the screen but on touch it does not work.

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Answer 5

Owl-53

Level 10

102,427 points

Dec 7, 2022 5:06 AM in response to cosma1993

cosma1993 wrote:

Hi, thank you for answering. I am pretty sure I understand how to use Touch ID. Finger is dry and clean and when I press the button it reads fingerprint and unlocks the screen but on touch it does not work.

A - I am sorry but am confused if you care to explain in more details

The user says it works and unlock the computer but then says Touch ID does not work ?

Does this mean the saved Passwords for other Websites do not work ?

In Safari >> Setting >> Autofill and make sure the Boxes in below image are Enabled

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Answer 6

cosma1993 Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 7, 2022 5:16 AM in response to Owl-53

Sorry, I am pretty bad in explaining things. Touch ID works, but sometimes (often) does not unlock screen on touch, only on press and when I press Touch ID button I have that flashing moment when login screen is shown for a moment and then the screen is locked (disabled, just black screen) again and I have to press button again and then screen is unlocked and I can use my MacBook. But sometimes (rarely) it unlocks when I just touch the Touch ID button with my finger without any flashing, just enables screen and shows me the desktop.

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Answer 7

cosma1993 Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 7, 2022 8:10 AM in response to Owl-53

Hot Corners aren't enabled. Checked it and it is at default setting, only bottom-right is enabled for starting Quick Note application.

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Answer 8

Dr.Anmar

Level 1

94 points

Dec 24, 2022 4:47 PM in response to cosma1993

Same here, since upgrading to macOS Ventura, the Touch ID is not working anymore!

On macOS Ventura 13.1 on Macbook Pro M1 Pro.

I guess, it is a bug in the OS.

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Answer 9

Jan 23, 2023 8:55 PM in response to Dr.Anmar

My Touch ID is still intermittent after disabling it on my second account. I just installed OS 13.2 and no improvement. I’ll try the resetting the keyboard next.

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Touch ID won't unlock screen

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