MacBook Air M1 fingerprint scanner issues

[Barbareren]

Hi,

Does anyone else have issues with the fingerprint scanner on the MBA M1? I have to rescan my finger several times a week. Or maybe there's a problem with my particular fingerprint, lol. Personally I've never liked fingerprint scanning, I really wish they'd implemented Face ID.

What are your experiences?

Cheers

 

[jav6454]

Did you redo your fingerprint scan? You can try that. Usually when you first do the first scan to set it up, you could have issues during the reading which cause problems down the line.

 

[Howard2k]

Have you given the TouchID button a clean with an alcohol swab? Maybe it has some oil from your fingers on there that is interfering?

 

[usagora]

Since I have an Apple Watch, I just use the unlock with Apple Watch feature, but have also used the Touch ID sensor when I didn't have my watch on and it worked fine.

 

[Barbareren]

Did you redo your fingerprint scan? You can try that. Usually when you first do the first scan to set it up, you could have issues during the reading which cause problems down the line.

Yep, as I wrote I often have to do that several times a week

 

[Barbareren]

Have you given the TouchID button a clean with an alcohol swab? Maybe it has some oil from your fingers on there that is interfering?

Nope, but I keep both the keyboard and my hands clean. After a rescan it works perfectly for some time, then it simply stop accepting my finger print… it’s weird 🤷‍♂️

 

[Barbareren]

Since I have an Apple Watch, I just use the unlock with Apple Watch feature, but have also used the Touch ID sensor when I didn't have my watch on and it worked fine.

Ah, thanks for the tip! I completely forgot about that option for some reason, duh… 🤦‍♂️ I used it with my old iMac all the time

 

[jav6454]

Yep, as I wrote I often have to do that several times a week

Have you tried a different finger?

 

[Barbareren]

Have you tried a different finger?

Actually I haven’t, lol. But I’ve paired the same finger as a new one a few times. Anything other than using my right index finger would simply feel too awkward.

 

[Barbareren]

Have you tried a different finger?

I just switched to using the middle finger, and so far that seems to work fine, but for some reason my index finger still won't work... Strange 🤷‍♂️Guess it's just me, then...

 

[jav6454]

I just switched to using the middle finger, and so far that seems to work fine, but for some reason my index finger still won't work... Strange 🤷‍♂️Guess it's just me, then...

Try using the other index finger. Sometimes your main finger has a cut that is hampering the algorithm's detection.

 

[Barbareren]

Try using the other index finger. Sometimes your main finger has a cut that is hampering the algorithm's detection.

Yeah, maybe, but using my left index finger would be a bit impractical since the finger print sensor is on the top right side... So far using my right middle finger works fine, so I'm content with that

 

[Howard2k]

A long shot, but are you a left handed guitar player? If so - callouses might have some impact.

 

[Barbareren]

A long shot, but are you a left handed guitar player? If so - callouses might have some impact.

Nope… I was thinking that it might have something to do with all the excessive hand washing/sanitising, but then I guess more people would have this issue, so I really have no idea 🤷‍♂️

My index finger has some riffs, though, but so does my middle finger, so… Well, anyway, it’s not actually a big deal, I was just curious to see if anyone else had this problem, but I guess it’s just me and my freaky index finger 🙂