macOS Tahoe 26.01 the Touch ID to unlock mac is not working

Question

Que111 Author

Level 1

9 points

macOS Tahoe 26.01 the Touch ID to unlock mac is not working

Problem Description

After upgrading to macOS Tahoe 26.01, Touch ID stopped working at the login prompt.
The password field always requires typing a password — Touch ID does not trigger automatically.
Toggling Touch ID settings, restarting, and recreating fingerprints does not solve the issue.

Discovered Workaround

When the password input box is showing:

1. Press Esc to dismiss the password box
2. Then place finger on Touch ID sensor

At this point, Touch ID successfully unlocks the Mac.
This means Touch ID is working at the hardware/firmware level, but the login UI flow is not calling it automatically.

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Oct 2, 2025 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

lkrupp

Level 7

22,207 points

Oct 2, 2025 2:04 PM in response to Que111

But I don’t see this at all on my Mac Studio running macOS 26.0.1 Tahoe. Touch ID works as always no work around needed. Here are few more tips to try.

Restart your Mac in Safe Mode. Safe mode performs a number of maintenance routines, clears caches, etc.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

Check to see if Touch ID is working as it should. Restart in normal mode and test.

You don't mention if you are seeing this on a MacBook or a desktop Mac (Studio, Mini, iMac, etc).

If a desktop Mac turn off the Magic Keyboard, wait a minute, turn it back on, test.
If still a problem, turn off the keyboard, turn off Bluetooth, remove the keyboard from the Bluetooth device list, turn Bluetooth back on, turn the keyboard back on and pair the keyboard, test.

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