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Recently I updated my Macbook Pro 2019 2.4 GHz to Catalina-10.15.4. Suddenly I realized that my Touchpad not working properly. I even can't add a new touch id after entering password showing following error

Unable to complete Touch id enrolment.

Then googled about this problem and did try several ways such as

i) Reset SMC

ii) Run safe mode

ii) Removed old fingerprint

Not a single solution worked for me.

Is there any better solution for this problem without resetting OS or I just have to wait for the next update.

I should mention that's I am new to MAC. I don't know a lot of stuff about OS.

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  • Have you tried a couple different fingers to register from more than one person?
    – bmike
    Commented May 3, 2020 at 14:11
  • I can't add fingerprints at all. It failed before I start scanning.
    – Kashem
    Commented May 3, 2020 at 14:28
  • If you have a second Mac - you can fix this very likely. If not, you'll need a friend or technician to help with the T2 chip firmware. See my answer for details - let me know how it goes... This is rare, but we have had to do it a few times and tested 5 Macs that were new to be sure we could do this when needed.
    – bmike
    Commented May 3, 2020 at 15:15

3 Answers 3

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You've done all the software things you can do to make sure macOS is up to date and running, but the Touch ID runs on a separate computer and not the main system. This part is the T2 chip and your fingerprint gets registered in to the Secure Enclave - not on the main OS or storage. The T2 also controls the Touch Bar - so this procedure works to remedy issues there once you've verified it's not SMC or macOS causing the glitch.

I would make sure you have a good backup since one of these steps will guarantee everything is erased on the drive if you follow all the steps below. Nothing will be recoverable, not from vendors or undelete software - the data will be cryptographically erased / sanitized / destroyed.

The above guide will walk you through the steps once you attempt to revive (or erase/restore) the Apple T2 Security Chip firmware. Revive just reloads the T2 and restarts it. Restore erases everything - all data keys, all fingerprints, everything - complete factory reset of your Mac. The first link us unlikely to change - search for the Apple Configurator user guide if these links change as the document gets updated (or you prefer a different localization / language than English).

If you are not comfortable loading your backup and reinstalling the Mac operating system, you might want to have a trained tech do the work in Apple Configurator and the person restoring / reviving needs a second Mac to connect and update your Mac firmware.

For your MacBook Pro - the steps to prepare it for the revive (which is less invasive - I would try that first) is as follows:

Prepare the Apple portable computer to revive the firmware

  1. Press the wake/sleep button for about 5 seconds to shut down the Apple portable computer.
  2. Plug the cable into the right Thunderbolt port on the left side of the Apple portable computer.
  3. While holding down the power button, at the same time press all three of the following keys for about 3 seconds: Right Shift key + Left Option key + Left Control key

Note: You won’t see any screen activity from the Apple portable computer.

Also, be sure you have the time to do this - I would set aside 35 minutes to get ready and then print out your steps, take a break and then allow an hour to try this the first time. When the instructions say 5 seconds - I would have a clock and be like someone defusing a bomb - precise, exact. If it says right key - the left one will not do, etc...

Once you've got Apple Configurator - all the exact cables, this can be done in 15 minutes for the first Mac and then 5 to 8 minutes for each Mac of the same type you need to work on, but give yourself time the first pass and be sure your backup drive is ready and tested. If you choose the wrong "r" command - you will not get a chance to stop the erase - it happens in an instant.

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  • I tried to revive firmware from another mac which version is 10.14.6 and faced some error. Now I am stuck in this process. Because now I don't how to exist from this reviving procedure. Is there any way I can exit from this procedure?
    – Kashem
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 17:31
  • @MdAbulKashem what exactly does “faced same error” mean? Maybe you have a new question to ask? Exiting a revive could require a repair or indicate your hardware is already broken.
    – bmike
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 17:33
  • Failed to create new state machine for restore[com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore - 0xFB1(4017)]
    – Kashem
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 17:36
  • Now I am trying to use another MAC device to restore. Is it will create any problem?
    – Kashem
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 17:38
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    thanks for your patience reply. I did somehow manage to restore OS, but unable to resolve my problem. I will later apply the reviving procedure if I have another MAC with same OS version.
    – Kashem
    Commented May 11, 2020 at 0:14
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For anyone else in my situation, I switched users from Admin Account ABC to Admin Account XYZ. Although I deleted my fingerprints from the previous user, it didn't work. Kept throwing the same error as above. Tried resetting SMC and all that. What finally worked for me was to delete the old account ABC (I chose to retain the Home folder, if it matters). It took the fingerprint immediately. It looks like your fingerprints can ONLY be associated with one Active account. Hope that helps someone in a similar situation.

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Running: sudo bioutil -ws -f 1 solved issue for me.

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