Signing into your MacBook becomes an effortless procedure when using the Touch ID. But, on the other hand, the touch id may suddenly cease to function. When your touch ID doesn’t work, you may wonder why. This article will help you discover why your touch ID isn’t functioning properly.
In general, there are various reasons why the MacBook Pro Touch ID may stop working.
- The cause of the issue may be tied to hardware issues.
- The cause of the problem may be related to software in other cases.
- Touch ID may not work properly if a bug in the upgrade causes it to malfunction.
- If the Touch ID button is dirty or grimy, you might not be able to use it.
Most of the time, a touch ID may create issues in two distinct ways. For example, when your fingerprints are not recognized, they may not function properly. In addition, there are occasions where touch ID does not work at all, but this is quite unusual. For example, you may get a message that you have exceeded the number of fingerprints allowed for the touch ID feature.
Furthermore, if you attempt to enroll a fingerprint, you may see an error message stating that your Touch ID registration was unsuccessful.
How to Fix the Touch ID on the MacBook Pro Not Working Issue?
On your Touch ID device, you can enroll up to five fingerprints; however, the software may refuse to allow you to enroll some IDs due to various issues. It is also possible that malfunctions and other bugs will stop the application from detecting your enrolled fingerprints correctly.
Fortunately, you may use some straightforward debugging procedures to resolve fingerprint registration difficulties on MacBook Pro.
Make sure your fingers are dry.
It is possible that putting dirty fingers on your Touch ID sensor can result in problems with new fingerprint enrollment. Ensure that your fingertips are clean and free of moisture, sweat, grease, and excessive dryness before working with them. In addition, you should make sure that the fingerprint reader is dry and free of debris.
You could use a lint-free towel to remove any debris accumulated on your finger and prevent your machine from interfering with the fingerprint reader. Unfortunately, even a trace of moisture or sweat can impair the ability of your MacBook Pro to recognize your fingerprint at certain times.
Make sure your Mac is up to date.
A Mac OS update usually has fixes for any glitches that your system may be currently facing. It may also contain fixes for the problems you may be facing with your MacBook Pro Touch ID. Therefore, one way to resolve the issue of your Touch ID not working is by checking and updating your macOS. You can see your MacBook update by opening the app store and clicking on updates.
Delete and re-add touch ID fingerprints.
If you face problems with your touch ID fingerprint, it may be necessary to delete and re-add fingerprints on your MacBook Pro. This is particularly useful for seeing the “Fingerprint limit reached” error message. Take your previous fingerprint off your device and then restart it to apply the new one. When the device restarts, enroll a new finger in the system. It is possible the first Touch ID setup did not finish correctly.
Hard reboot the device or reset the device to its default settings.
To resolve the touch id issue, it is recommended that you hard reboot your device. A slew of apps running simultaneously might have caused your touch ID to stop working properly. As a result, a proper reboot may be able to resolve all of these difficulties.
If a hard reboot does not solve the problem, you may need to reset the device. This completely removes all of the software, allowing you to start over from the beginning. You should try each of the methods listed above before doing a reset.
Reset the SMC.
An array of low-level tasks of your MacBook Pro are controlled by the SMC, such as the power button, keypad lighting, battery management options, status indicator lights, motion sensors, and a whole load of other factors. Therefore, an SMC issue may cause problems with the functioning of many different applications, and it could be the cause of your Touch ID difficulties. Thus, resetting SMC can help resolve the problem.
Contact Apple customer service.
Contacting Apple Support may be necessary if you have followed the steps and your Touch ID is still not working. Additional configuration choices may be available for your MacBook, but we haven’t explored them all. In some cases, they may be able to help you determine if the problem is hardware or software-related.
Touch ID can become unusable due to hardware or system software mishaps from time to time. The only options available in this situation are visiting an Apple Store or sending your Mac in for repair. If AppleCare or AppleCare+ still covers your MacBook, you will not have to pay much to get it back in working order.
Conclusion
Although there are many reasons why all of the difficulties that cause your touch ID to stop functioning may occur, the touch ID sensor is the source of the problem most of the time. There are also possible issues with the MacBook’s secure enclave.
Whatever the root reason, you may quickly correct the situation by putting in a little more effort on your own. For example, if you happen to try all the methods in this article, you still won’t get your MacBook’s touch ID to start working. You can then contact Apple to help you with the problem.