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Touch ID unlocks and locks instantly

B

bmot

macrumors 6502
Original poster
When my MacBook Air M4 is open and the screen turned off and i click the touch ID button to unlock the Mac it unlocks and locks back immediately. Always. Is this a hardware or software issue and is this a general problem or specific to this device?
The only way to unlock the MacBook with Touch ID is pressing the space bar first to turn the screen on and then just touching the finger print sensor instead of clicking it.
 
So touch to unlock. Press to lock.
I don’t understand why Apple implemented this so inconsistently.
 
hg.wells said:
Not really it’s been consistent since Touch ID had launched on the Mac.
Click to expand...
But what is the point of having this useless unlock lock logic when instead the MacBook could just unlock on press of that button just like it locks.
As it is the existing logic feels just buggy and an oversight in consistency with no advantage.
 
bmot said:
But what is the point of having this useless unlock lock logic when instead the MacBook could just unlock on press of that button...
Click to expand...
Pressing the would never be enough to unlock the MacBook. You'd still have to authenticate–either with a password, TouchID, or with an Apple Watch.
 
bmot said:
But what is the point of having this useless unlock lock logic when instead the MacBook could just unlock on press of that button just like it locks.
As it is the existing logic feels just buggy and an oversight in consistency with no advantage.
Click to expand...
The advantage is very obvious, you don’t need to press down the button because finger print sensors can automatically detect if a finger is present.
So in reality it doesn’t matter if the lock screen is show or not, when your MacBook is open you just tap Touch ID to return to whatever you did previously. It’s actually very consistent in that regard. But I understand your confusion.
 
chabig said:
Pressing the would never be enough to unlock the MacBook. You'd still have to authenticate–either with a password, TouchID, or with an Apple Watch.
Click to expand...
Yes i am aware. But why not program the logic so that either touch or click of the button unlocks the MacBook. In both cases Touch ID is used.

This way the MacBook wouldn’t behave like it is broken and unlock and lock immediately if the button is pressed in a locked state. As it is implemented it is just a major UI oversight on Apple’s side.
 
bmot said:
Yes i am aware. But why not program the logic so that either touch or click of the button unlocks the MacBook. In both cases Touch ID is used.

This way the MacBook wouldn’t behave like it is broken and unlock and lock immediately if the button is pressed in a locked state. As it is implemented it is just a major UI oversight on Apple’s side.
Click to expand...
Because pressing it does other things. You will get used to it. Additional functionality is not a UI oversight.
 
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hg.wells said:
Because pressing it does other things. You will get used to it. Additional functionality is not a UI oversight.
Click to expand...
What does press of that button do in a locked state other than lock and unlock it immediately?
 
It either locks the Mac, if the Mac has multiple users shows the fast user switcher or power cycles the system if held down.
 
Last edited:
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What you are suggesting is simply incorrect. If the Macbook is open but locked with the screen off just touching the touch ID button does nothing. I need to press a button on the keyboard to turn the screen on and then touch that touch ID button to unlock. This is extremely unpractical. Who at Apple thought this is a good idea and better than just program the device well so that a click of the touch ID button instead unlocks it?
 
Because you’re not going to want the touchID sensor constantly drawing power why the system is asleep. Just like an iPhone you have to wake the phone before touchID works.
 
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If you dont press so often the power button...less chances to break
This is an physical button, not like on the iphone 7/8, it also has the hard reset function on it
 
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