Mac Fingerprint Reader Not Working For Login

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Has your Touch ID experience been a little flaky lately? There are various reasons that you might not be having the best of luck unlocking your iPhone or iPad with your Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Plug in the Fingerprint reader into a USB port. If Found New Hardware starts, cancel it. Run the FingerPunchSetup.exe you downloaded as the administrator of the computer. With Touch ID on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, you can quickly unlock your Mac and make purchases using your Apple ID and Apple Pay — all with your fingerprint. On MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) and later, and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) and later, Touch ID (power button) is on the right side of the Touch Bar at the top.

It is the fastest way to unlock your device, give permission to digital content store purchases, and authenticate supported third-party app logins, but no one likes it when problems arise. In this tutorial, we’ll take you through the steps to recalibrate your Touch ID sensor when it feels like Touch ID fails to authenticate more than it actually authenticates.

Potential causes for problems

Touch ID may stop working in conditions where your fingerprints become wet or dirty; this may happen while exercising, cooking, changing your oil, doing outside work, and other similar activities. Likewise, cuts, lotions, oils, sweat, and even dry skin can affect the accuracy of reading your fingerprint, so before you take any drastic measures, you should check for these issues as noted by one of Apple’s support pages.

When you are absolutely sure that none of these reasons are affecting your Touch ID accuracy, then you probably have a problem on your hands, so continue reading to get to the bottom of things once and for all.

Recalibrating the Touch ID sensor

Whether it’s because you set up Touch ID incorrectly from the beginning, or you believe it’s become unreliable over time, there are all sorts of reasons why your iPhone or iPad’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor may not be picking up your fingerprint as well as it used to, or as well as it should. Sometimes in these kinds of scenarios, the best thing to do is just start all over.

To do that, you’ll just need to follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Launch the Settings app and open “Touch ID & Passcode;” enter your passcode when prompted.

Step 2: Tap on the fingerprint you’re having problems with, then tap the “Delete Fingerprint” button.

Step 3: Tap on the “Add a Fingerprint…” button to begin re-scanning the finger you deleted.

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Step 4: Place your finger on the Touch ID sensor in various ways – right-side-up, up-side-down, and sideways until the fingerprint icon becomes fully colored.

Step 5: When asked to adjust your grip, scan the edges of that finger until the fingerprint icon becomes fully colored.

Note: Scan the front, the back, and the sides of that finger in ways you think you will unlock your device in situations where your grip isn’t the best.

Step 6: Tap on the “Continue” button when the process is complete to save your fingerprint.

Step 7: Lock your device and verify that the fingerprint works; if it does, congratulations!

Touch ID still not working properly?

If after taking these steps to recalibrate your Touch ID fingerprint sensor, you still can’t unlock your iOS device with your fingerprint, there may be something else wrong other than user error. Consider these troubleshooting steps:

  • Clean the Touch ID sensor with a microfiber cloth to remove finger oils and residue.
  • Use a different finger; the one you’re trying to use may not have a bold fingerprint.
  • DFU Restore your device to factory settings through iTunes and try again.
  • Contact AppleCare and have Apple check to make sure your Touch ID sensor isn’t malfunctioning.

Conclusion

No one likes a finicky Touch ID fingerprint sensor, but hopefully after trying these steps, you’ll have been able to get back to unlocking your iOS device with your fingerprint in no time.

Did this tutorial help you get back up and running again? Share in the comments below!

On MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar, the Touch ID button is on the right side of the Touch Bar at the top of the keyboard.

On MacBook Air models introduced in 2018 and later, the Touch ID button is on the right side of the function keys.

Get started

Lift the lid of your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air to turn it on, or press Touch ID. Every time you start up, restart, or log out, you need to type your password to log in to your user account. After setting up Touch ID, as long as you're logged in, you can use your fingerprint instead of typing when you're asked for your password.

With Touch ID, you can also use your fingerprint to make purchases from the App Store, Apple Books Store, and iTunes Store, as well as many of your favorite websites using Apple Pay.

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

MacBook Air

How to set up Touch ID

Follow these steps to set up Touch ID:

  1. Make sure that your finger is clean and dry.
  2. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences.
  3. Click Touch ID.
  4. Click the plus sign to add a fingerprint, then type your user account password when prompted. Follow the onscreen instructions that follow.
  5. Use the checkboxes to select the Touch ID features that you want to use on your Mac.

Tips for adding fingerprints:

  • Place your finger on the Touch ID button — but don’t press. Hold it there until you're asked to lift your finger.
  • Lift and rest your finger slowly, making small adjustments to the position of your finger each time.

You can also delete fingerprints:

  1. Hover the pointer over a fingerprint. A delete button appears.
  2. Click the delete button, then enter your password to remove the fingerprint.

Use Touch ID to unlock your Mac

After you set up Touch ID, you can use it to unlock your Mac. Wake up your Mac by opening the lid, pressing a key, or tapping the trackpad. Then place your finger lightly on Touch ID to log in.

You must type your password to log in after you start up, restart, or log out of your Mac. When you're logged in, you can quickly authenticate with Touch ID whenever you're asked for your password.

You can also use Touch ID to unlock these features on your Mac:

  • Password-protected Notes
  • The Passwords section in Safari preferences
  • System Preferences
    If you have FileVault turned on, you must type your password to unlock the Security & Privacy pane and the Users & Groups pane.

If multiple users set up Touch ID and log in to the same Mac, they can use Touch ID to switch accounts. Just press Touch ID, and your Mac switches to the logged-in user account associated with the fingerprint.

Make iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books Store purchases with Touch ID

Use Touch ID instead of your Apple ID password to make purchases on your Mac:

  1. Open the iTunes Store, App Store, or Apple Books Store.
  2. Click the buy button for something you want to purchase. A Touch ID prompt appears.
  3. Place your finger on Touch ID to complete the purchase.

You might be prompted to enter your password on your first purchase or if you've made changes to the fingerprints that you've enrolled in Touch ID.

Use Touch ID for Apple Pay

You can make easy, secure, and private purchases on websites using Apple Pay on your Mac. Apple Pay never stores your credit or debit card information and never shares it with the merchant.

Apple Pay is not available in all regions.

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Set up Apple Pay

On Mac notebooks with Touch ID, you’re prompted to configure Apple Pay during setup. Follow the instructions that appear.

If you don’t choose to set up Apple Pay when you first start up, you can set it up later in the Wallet & Apple Pay section of System Preferences. You can also check your transaction history and manage your payment cards there. For example, you can add or delete cards and make updates to contact or shipping information.

You can add payment cards to only one user account on your Mac. If you set up Apple Pay in your main user account and then log in under another account, Touch ID and Apple Pay are unavailable. In this situation, you can use an eligible iPhone or Apple Watch to complete Apple Pay transactions that you begin in Safari on your Mac.

Make a purchase in Safari with Apple Pay

On websites that offer Apple Pay, click the Apple Pay button during checkout. When prompted, complete the payment by placing your finger lightly on Touch ID.

Turn on, restart, sleep, and shut down

Press Touch ID to turn on your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air if it's open and turned off. If your Mac is closed and turned off, simply open it to turn it on.

Unlike with older Mac notebooks, holding down Touch ID on your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air doesn't display a dialog with options to Sleep, Restart, or Shut Down. You can find these options in the Apple menu. If your Mac is unresponsive, you can hold down Touch ID for six seconds to force a shut down. Note that you'll lose any unsaved work if you do this.

Pressing Touch ID won’t put your Mac to sleep. Instead, choose Apple menu  > Sleep. If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can also add a Sleep button to the Control Strip:

Login
  1. Click Finder.
  2. Select View > Customize Touch Bar.
  3. Touch the Control Strip region of the Touch Bar to switch to Control Strip customization.
  4. Use your pointer to drag items that you want, such as the Sleep button, from the main display down into the Touch Bar. You can also drag items left and right within the Touch Bar to rearrange them, or drag them up and out of the Touch Bar to remove them.
  5. Tap Done in the Touch Bar or click Done on the screen when you finish.

Learn more about Touch ID

You can use Touch ID to control accessibility features on your Mac:

  • Triple-press Touch ID to display the Accessibility Options window.
  • Hold the Command key and triple-press Touch ID to toggle VoiceOver on and off.

Fingerprint Reader For Mac Os

In some situations, you need to enter your password instead of using Touch ID:

  • If you've just restarted your Mac
  • If you've logged out of your user account
  • If your fingerprint isn't recognized five times in a row
  • If you haven't unlocked your Mac in more than 48 hours
  • If you've just enrolled or deleted fingerprints

If you still need help unlocking your Mac with Touch ID, follow these tips. Try again after each one:

  • Make sure that your fingers are clean and dry.
    Moisture, lotions, sweat, oils, cuts, or dry skin might affect fingerprint recognition. Certain activities can also temporarily affect fingerprint recognition, including exercising, showering, swimming, or cooking.
  • Your finger should cover Touch ID completely. While Touch ID is scanning, don't press down or move your finger.
  • Try setting up a different fingerprint.