MacID app - Using Touch ID to log into your Mac

[Apple_Robert]

Don't know how many here have read about the new Mac app but from my initial testing, it can do what the developer claims and does it very well. Here is the iTunes [URL="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/macid-for-ios/id948478740?mt=8"]link and developer website.

The iOS app is $3.99 and the Mac app is free.

Obviously, you can't use the app at initial boot login screen, as it isn't able to pair with your IOS at that point. However, once the boot process has finished and you are logged in, you can log out of your Mac (via hot corner or manually) if you need to step away from your computer, and instead of having to type in your long password every time, you can use your iPhone and Touch ID to unlock your Mac. It will also enter your password for you every time you are making admin changes.

I tested the pattern tap to trackpad feature. It works albeit it isn't for me, so I turned that particular feature off.

Granted, this may not be for everyone but, it may work well for your environment or geek desires.

 

[Apple_Robert]

The latest release of MacID 1.1 is now available. In my opinion, this app is great and the new release is loaded with lots of new features.

If you are using a dongle with Yosemite, MacID isn't going to work like it should, as you will have to re-pair your device anytime you go out of range. Internal Airport BT 4.0 cards don't have this problem.

The developer (Kane Cheshire) does an excellent job of replying to concerns or suggestions from users.

Hope you guys and gals will give the app a run, as I think it is well worth the $3.99 price tag.

Here are the change logs for the newest update for both versions.

MacID for iOS:

NEW STUFF!
• Today is the day you get a useful Today widget. Tap on one of your connected devices and unlock your Mac from anywhere on your iOS device.
• Hate pink? Prefer boring black and white interfaces? Rejoice! You can now change the colours in MacID for iOS to a monochrome UI. Also great if you need a higher contrast UI for vision.
• Got a beautiful but massive iPhone 6 Plus? Tired of stretched hands? Same here. You can now swap Connected Devices and Recent Devices locations. Less stretching! Yay!
• You can now turn off Touch ID in MacID for iOS if you want, and unlock your Mac EVEN FASTER. Imagine! You'll need to scan your fingerprint one last time though, just to prove who you are.
• Share clipboard text between your Mac and iOS device. Just long-press on a device to bring up the options. Send anything up to 4000 characters! That's a lot of shrugging emojis. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• Full iPad support AND landscape support for iPhone (I'm looking at you again, 6 Plusers!). iPad now shows you a beautiful split screen view so you can quickly change settings as you see fit.
• You can now double tap a device to quickly lock it.
• Audio controls! Yep. You can now play/pause, skip and even mute music on your Mac using MacID. These controls work anywhere that the physical keys do on your Mac, so it works with iTunes and Spotify too! Long-press on audio controls to toggle between track and volume controls.
• Unlock (previously 'Authorise') and Disconnect buttons can now be activated by swiping a device all the way to the end.
• Added Twitter and Facebook icons to the settings page so you can get in contact even easier. Come say hi!
• MacID now clears its own notifications after you unlock using Tap to Unlock or the old fashioned (boring as hell) way of typing in your password.
• America! Localization has been added especially for you. You can now authorize instead of authorise. Some of those extra 'U' letters us Brits like to use have also been removed. You're welcome.

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MacID for OS X:

• You can now change your password without unpairing your device. Please note that you may need to change your password once after updating MacID due to new logic used.
• Adds auto-lock sensitivity options and the ability to be notified on your iOS device when your Mac auto-locks.
• Adds proximity waking.
• Adds new Tap to Unlock options for hiding taps on the lock screen and only allowing Tap to Unlock while your iOS device is connected.
• Your Mac will not notify you 5 seconds before auto-locking. Click the notification to delay auto-lock.
• Adds support for sending and receiving clipboard text up to 4000 characters long.
• Adds support for audio controls.
• MacID can now move itself to the Applications folder.
• Vastly improved support for passwords.
• Adds support for better reconnections.
• You can now clear all preferences and reset auto-move preferences under "Other".
• MacID for OS X now quits any other copy of MacID that may be running on launch.
• Fixes an issue where repeating the tap pattern for Tap to Unlock quickly as the Mac is unlocking would cause the password to be entered into the foreground app.

 

[WordsmithMR]

Do you work for MacID? I must assume so. I, fortunately, picked this up when it was cheaper during a price drop... It worked for a month... Hasn't worked since. Support was pretty helpful and walked me through various ways to fix it and getting working... However none of their troubleshooting helped and the app is rendered useless... Apparently it is a common enough problem that they have several FAQs and what not mentioning it and negative reviews regarding it. But for customer support to say they acknowledge the problem and blame Apple for it is a cheap cop out because there are other apps that do work using bluetooth to unlock your Mac so clearly the issue is with the software. I definitely wouldn't recommend until they admit their faults and fix whatever is wrong with the app.

 

[AndyK]

I use this a lot, mostly to lock my Mac when I get up & wander off. I have a pretty long password to & with the new 6S lighting speed touchID, it's pretty sweet for logging in / giving the password when the system requests it for things.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Do you work for MacID? I must assume so. I, fortunately, picked this up when it was cheaper during a price drop... It worked for a month... Hasn't worked since. Support was pretty helpful and walked me through various ways to fix it and getting working... However none of their troubleshooting helped and the app is rendered useless... Apparently it is a common enough problem that they have several FAQs and what not mentioning it and negative reviews regarding it. But for customer support to say they acknowledge the problem and blame Apple for it is a cheap cop out because there are other apps that do work using bluetooth to unlock your Mac so clearly the issue is with the software. I definitely wouldn't recommend until they admit their faults and fix whatever is wrong with the app.

I do not work for MacID. I purchased the app early on and have been a regular beta tester.

I have had a good experience with MacID thus far. It has come a long way since it's inception.

There are some who have had problems in some areas. From what I have seen, Kane is active on his Twitter feed and does his best to address concerns and problems.

A new version of MacID should be coming out next week. The latest build is getting ready to be sent in for review.

 

[blackboxxx]

I used to run MacID for a quite while and thought it was super convenient. Apple should take note and implement something similar under the "Continuity" umbrella.

Unfortunately, Handoff stopped working some time after installing MacID. I followed Apple's troubleshooting steps, logged out of iCloud on OS X and iOS, rebooted every device, logged back in and it resolved the problem.
Then about a week later Handoff broke again. Log out, log in, rinse, repeat.
At first I didn't think MacID was the culprit and blamed Apple instead.
However, after fifth time of logout-login cycle I tried removing MacID — and lo and behold — Handoff has worked properly ever since.

I asked MacID developer and he confirmed it is a known issue due to Apple's buggy BLE implementation. Basically, as long as you only use Apple stuff (Handoff, AirDrop), you're ok, but when you install third-party BLE app, things start to break.

I don't know if this issue is fixed with El Cap and iOS 9, but I'd rather wait for official confirmation before giving MacID a try again.