tl;dr
Mac Studio Touch ID works for everything except for waking the machine after the keyboard has been switched off. MacBook Pro Touch ID works for waking from sleep. How can this be, and how can I fix it?
Longer version
I have two Macs running Sonoma: a MacBook Pro (M1 2020), and a Mac Studio (M1 Max 2022) with a wireless Apple Keyboard with Touch ID.
I have biometrics (fingerprints) set up on both machines, and I can use my fingerprint to auto-fill passwords in Safari, use Apple Pay, etc., on both machines. I can also use my fingerprint to unlock the screen if it has been locked, whether due to inactivity or manually, and if the machine has been in sleep mode for a short period of time.
The annoyance I’m facing appears when the machine has been in sleep mode for some time – I don’t know exactly how long, but about 15–20 minutes seems to be enough, perhaps less. Edit: It seems perhaps it’s not (only?) the length of time, but (also?) whether the keyboard has been switched off. If I put the Mac Studio to sleep, switch the keyboard off and then on again after 20 seconds and wake the computer up, the issue appears.
I put the MacBook Pro to sleep by closing the lid; I put the Mac Studio to sleep by pressing the Touch ID and then Escape.
When I open the MacBook Pro after a period of sleep mode, I can still unlock it using my fingerprint: I see a lock screen with the text “Touch ID or Enter Password” and no password input field (same as if I just lock the screen). Once a week or so, it’ll ask me for my password with a password input field and a text saying “Password required to enable Touch ID” (or words to that effect), but the rest of the time, I just put my finger to the Touch ID and it immediately unlocks.
However, when I open my Mac Studio after a period of sleep and/or after having switched off the keyboard, it requires a password every time. I get a lock screen with a password input field and words to the effect of “Enter password to unlock your Mac” – and Touch ID does nothing.
If I hit Escape (to put the computer back in sleep mode) and then wake it up again, Touch ID once again works.
The System Preferences settings for Lock Screen and Touch ID & Password are identical on the two machines (apart from the number of minutes before the display turns off and the extra battery-based one on the MBP) – here from the Mac Studio:
Notably, Use Touch ID to unlock your Mac is enabled, and as mentioned, unlocking from the screen saver/locked screen works as expected; it’s only unlocking from sleep mode that doesn’t work.
What may be causing the Mac Studio to ignore this setting only after a period of time in sleep mode or after the keyboard has been switched off? Is there a way to fix it so it works the same as on the MacBook Pro?
