Nov 20, 2017  In some situations, you need to enter your password instead of using Touch ID: If you've just restarted your Mac(Sadly I did not restart my mac when it happened) If you've logged out of your user account (Did not do this either) If your fingerprint isn't recognized five times in a row (Never get a chance to scan when it will show password required). Up to40%cash back  How to Reset Forgotten Touch ID & Passcode. If your iPhone doesn’t detect your Touch ID passcode, you can reset it. To do it, just delete the Touch ID first and set up a new one. Go to “Settings Touch ID & Passcode”. You will be asked to enter the passcode. Then, under “FINGERPRINTS”, you will see the name of your Touch ID you used.

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

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.

MacBook Pro 16' (2019)

MacBook Pro 15' (2017)

MacBook Air

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

MacBook Air (2018)

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.

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:

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.

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
  

App Id Password Reset

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.

I've been regularly using the 2016 MacBook Pro since it arrived on my doorstep nearly three months ago. I love many things about it, but I've been at odds with what I think about the Touch Bar since day one. I probably use it more often than most, but still don't use it often enough. One thing about the 2016 MacBook Pro I do use regularly, and consider it to be the most important new feature for Mac, is Touch ID.

Touch ID lets me create even more complex passwords

Thanks to Touch ID on the iPhone and iPad, I've been much better at creating long, complex passwords for my Apple ID. In the past, I still reigned it in because I knew I had to remember those passwords, or at least find them in my password manager app, while on my Mac. Now that I have Touch ID on my Mac, I use a nice string of complex numbers, letters, and symbols that I don't mind forgetting because I can simply use Touch ID to buy movies, music, apps, and more, even on my Mac. Sure, I have to manually enter my password once in a while, but I can look it up using my password manager, 1Password, which also supports Touch ID on the Mac!

I can also make sure my Mac is more secure by creating a complex password just to unlock the device at all. Touch ID makes it possible for me to log in with just a touch, even if my passcode is 25 characters long. Of course, just like on the iPhone, you still have to manually log in every time you restart your Mac or update your operating system, so I have my passcode written down, too.

More apps supporting Touch ID, please!

Use Touch Id When Apps Need Password Macbook Pro

After experimenting with a couple of apps that support Touch ID (there are very few of them right now), I've discovered just how much I love having the ability to use my fingerprint to confirm my identity when logging in to something or making online purchases.

For example, I can, again, create a long, complex password for 1Password – more complex than I've ever made before – because most of the time, I'll be using my fingerprint to log in instead.

I love using Apple Pay on the web now. Sometimes, I even buy stuff from websites that support Apple Pay just because I can use Touch ID on my Mac to confirm. There is something special and elite about the process.

I really want to see more apps support Touch ID. Basically, any Mac app that requires a log in should also support Touch ID, like journaling apps, finance services, social networking accounts, and email clients. You can see just how many programs could benefit from being able to use biometrics to confirm your log in.

I wish I could use Touch ID for everything I log into. I wish I could use it with every website that allows online payments. I also wish every place I log in to or make purchases from would require two-factor authentication so I could doubly protect my information.

It's the convenience factor that wins every time

Touch ID on the Mac does not make it more secure, it simply makes it easier to create ultra strong passwords without worrying about having to type 25 or more characters each time. I never had a particularly long Apple ID password or Mac log in passcode before. Now, they are long and strong and much harder to hack.

I've been using a password manager for years, which allows me to create complex passwords for my many log in accounts, but that still requires multiple steps, whether I'm on my iPhone or my Mac. I absolutely love it when an app supports 1Password on my iPhone and really want to see more of this support on my Mac, but I'd be even happier if the app directly supported Touch ID logins.

I can say without question that I'd probably switch email or journaling Mac apps if there were any that supported Touch ID.

It's still smart to disable Touch ID sometimes

Apple Id App Password

Just like it is a smart idea to disable Touch ID on your iPhone when going through Airport security, it is smart to disable it on your Mac sometimes. We live in a world of unknowns and vague regulations. Different countries have different laws about privacy. It is much easier to force you to place your finger on a key to unlock your Mac than it is to force you to give up your password.

To be clear, I'm not promoting the idea that Touch ID on the Mac somehow makes it more secure than a Mac that does not have it. I'm championing the fact that Touch ID makes it easier to use long, complex passwords for your logins, which in turn, makes your personal data more secure. It's important to continue to use the same security measures you've used with your iPhone.

Touch ID for everybody!

I love Touch ID on the MacBook Pro and hope that Apple really is working on a Magic Keyboard that will allow all Mac users the ability to strengthen their passwords and make their digital lives more secure. I'm also calling out to all Mac app developers to get your s#@t together and add Touch ID support if your app uses any sort of account log in!

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

Google faces privacy lawsuit over tracking users in apps without consent

Law firm Boies Schiller Flexner has filed another lawsuit against Google. This time, the law firm has accused Google of tracking users in apps even after opting out.