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How to Fix ‘Touch ID Not Working’: Touch ID is Apple’s way of recognizing your fingerprint. It lets you touch and briefly hold your finger on the sensor to unlock your device, sign in to apps, use Apple Pay, and buy things from the App Store. When it works, it’s magical, and you want it in your car, your house, your yacht, and your one-person rocket to Mars. But when it doesn’t, you want to throw your iPhone (or Mac) across the room.
When Touch ID doesn’t work, it can be even more frustrating to try to figure out why it’s not working. It looks like a typical black box from the outside. When a fingerprint is put in, it either works or doesn’t. If it doesn’t, we can’t tell what went wrong, why, or how to fix it. Maddening. You can, however, do a few things to make it work better and more often.
How to Fix ‘Touch ID Not Working’ issue on iPhone and iPad
Resign your Apple ID
- Go to Settings and click on your profile name.
- Scroll down to the bottom and click Sign Out.
- Enter your Apple ID Passcode and tap Turn Off.
- Select the data you want to keep on your device and tap Sign Out again.
- Go to Settings and click Sign in.
Reset All Settings
You might have distorted some phone default settings in the process of adjusting some other settings, which might have resulted in the inability to activate touch ID on your iPhone. Hence, you should reset all settings on your iPhone. To do this, go over to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings.
Update iOS to the Latest Version
Even if you have the latest iOS 16 on your iPhone, you might not be able to use touch ID. This problem is more likely to happen if you use an older version of iOS on your iPhone. At the moment, this can be fixed by updating your Apple iOS to the latest version. And if your iPhone has been updated to iOS 15 already, you can jump to the next method. Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install. Follow the prompts if any update is available.
How to Fix ‘Touch ID Not Working’ issue On Mac
Reset Mac’s SMC
SMC (System Management Controller) is responsible for low-level processes on your Mac, and resetting it should fix the current issues you’re troubled with:
- If you have a Mac with an Intel processor, see our guide on resetting SMC.
- If your Mac has Apple silicon, connect it to power and then restart it or shut down & power it again.
Delete and Re-Add your Touch ID Fingerprints
- Go to “Apple Menu > System Preferences “, and then click on the Touch ID pane.
- Next, click on the “Touch ID MacBook Pro Settings”. This opens a window containing the list of registered fingerprints.
- Now, hover over the icon of the fingerprint you want to delete, and then click the “X” button that will show up in the upper left corner.
- Next, enter your MacBook Pro System Password when prompted, and then press “Delete”.
Temporarily disable Touch ID
- Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Touch ID.
- Under “Use Touch ID for,” uncheck “Unlocking your Mac.
- Log out, then log back into your profile.
- Check the box next to “Unlocking your Mac.”
Boot into Safe Mode on M1 Macs
- Shut down your Mac.
- Press and hold the power/Touch ID button for 10 seconds until the startup window shows up.
- Select the startup disk while holding the Shift key.
- Click Continue in Safe Mode.
- Release the Shift key.
Why is My Touch ID Not Working
Most of the time, Touch ID won’t work if your fingers or fingerprints aren’t clean when you touch the Home button. Or, the touch ID may not work if the home button is hidden by a case or screen protector and you tried to use it. Also, if one of your fingerprints doesn’t work, you might need to add another one. Also, if the hardware for touch ID is broken, you might need to go to an Apple store or call Apple Support. If Touch ID doesn’t work, you might not be able to use it on your iPhone or iPad. So, read the steps below to find out how to fix the touch ID problem.
FAQs
Hardware issues: Check your fingerprint reader carefully for possible hardware issues, such as scratches on the sensor, or grease or dust on the scanner. Corrupted device drivers: Your Fingerprint reader will not work if the related drivers are corrupted, outdated or incompatible.
Unlock your Mac and some password-protected items: When you wake your Mac from sleep, or open a password-protected item, just place your finger on Touch ID when asked. Log in from the login window: Click your name in the login window, then place your finger on Touch ID.