Set up Touch ID. Before you can set up Touch ID in 1Password, you’ll need to set up Touch ID on your Mac. Then follow these steps: Open and unlock 1Password. Choose 1Password Preferences from the menu bar, and click Security. Select “Allow Touch ID to unlock 1Password”. Now you can use your fingerprint to unlock 1Password.

Even though you can set up your Mac to automatically log into your user account without a password, your computer is going to be more secure if you use one. Of course, there’s a slight danger that a day will come when that password doesn’t work—you’ve modified your Mac in some way that’s password-unfriendly or you’ve been negligent. Or you may simply forget what your password is, which can happen if you use a standard user account for daily tasks and haven’t touched the administrators account in awhile.

Fortunately, if you have lost your password, there are several approaches you can take for either regaining complete access to your Mac or, at least, getting to the specific data you need. Here are some tips for doing just that.

• If you're still rocking an older MacBook with no Touch ID, you don't know what you're missing. Being able to unlock your Mac with the tip of your finger is simple and more convenient than typing your password every time you use it. Fortunately, you can still enjoy Touch ID, even if you're MacBook doesn't have the necessary hardware.
• The touch bar simply did not ask me for a Touch Id, and I had to enter my password each time. I managed to fix the problem in the following way: In System Preferences, Touch ID, I unchecked the 'Use Touch ID for:' 'Unlocking your Mac'. Then I logged out. Then I logged in. Then I checked the 'Use Touch ID for:' 'Unlocking your Mac' again.

Resetting your Password

Apple includes several options for resetting account passwords in OS X. The approaches I outline below depend on how much access to your Mac you currently have.

Change it from an admin account

To maximize your Mac’s security you should have both an administrator account for administrative tasks and a standard account that you use for your primary identity (you can still perform administrative tasks from within your main account by authenticating with the administrator credentials). If you configure your Mac this way you can then log into the admin account and use the Users & Groups system preferences to change your main account’s password.

To do this, click the lock icon in the Users & Groups system preferences to authenticate, and then click the account you can’t log into. In the account’s settings, click the Reset Password button to change the account’s password.

Use Single-User mode

Every Mac has a main user account called “root,” which is the system account that’s used to launch the essential background services required for your Mac to operate. While this account is generally hidden and inaccessible, you can quickly get to it for its administrative capabilities by booting your Mac into single-user mode.

To proceed you’ll need to know the short name of the account for which you would like to reset the password, and then perform the following steps:

1. Restart your Mac and hold down Command-S at the boot chimes.

2. When you see the command prompt, enter the following command to put the boot drive into read and write mode:

   mount -uw /

3. Now run the following command to load Open Directory (Apple’s account directory service in OS X):

   launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist

4. Reset the password for your user account by entering the following command (replace “username” with the short name of the desired account)

   passwd username

Use an Apple ID

In OS X you can bind your user account to your Apple ID and then use it to reset your OS X password if you’ve lost it. This feature first requires that you’ve associated your Apple ID, which can be done by going to the Users & Groups system preferences, and then clicking the Set button next to the words Apple ID and then supplying your Apple ID and password. You can then enable the option to allow resetting your password using an Apple ID. (If you instead see a Change button next to the Apple ID entry, your ID is already associated.)

With this set up, you can reset your password by entering the incorrect password three times on the login screen, which will invoke a panel that prompts you to reset the account’s password using your Apple ID. Follow the on-screen instructions and you should be able to change your password and then log into your account.

Note that of the options I present here, this one should preserve the link to your keychain, allowing you to continue working seamlessly with your new password, without having to store other passwords in your keychain again.

Use Recovery Mode

A final option for resetting your password is to use Apple’s recovery tools. This will perhaps be the easiest approach in most cases, and can be done with the following procedure:

1. Reboot into Recovery mode or Internet Recovery by holding Command-R at startup.
2. Choose Terminal in the Utilities menu.
3. Enter resetpassword (all one word, and lowercase) in the Terminal window and press Return.
4. Select your boot drive in the utility that appears.
5. Choose your user account from the pop-up menu.
6. Click the button to reset the account’s password and supply a new one when prompted.

If you use FileVault encryption with your Mac, the password reset utility will not show your boot drive until you first unlock it with Disk Utility. To do this, open Disk Utility where you will see your drive grayed out in the list of devices. Select it and click the Unlock toolbar button and then, after supplying your password to unlock the drive, you can select your disk in the password reset utility.

Mac Touch Id Manual Login Screen

Recovering your data

The options I’ve mentioned will help you reset your password and log into your account. However, if you still can’t get into your Mac because of a lost or forgotten password there’s a way to get some of the data off of it. That way is Target Disk mode.

Target Disk mode lets you access your Mac’s hard drive as an external drive, provided that you don’t have FileVault enabled or a firmware password set on your Mac. If you do have FileVault enabled and can’t remember either your password for unlocking the drive or the drive’s recovery key, then you won’t be able to recover any data from it. In this case your best bet is to retrieve your data from a backup.

To use Target Disk mode, restart the Mac you wish to access and hold the “T” key when you hear the boot chimes. Connect this Mac to another one via either a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable and its hard drive should appear as an external drive to your second Mac. From here you can manually copy data from the drive or use Apple’s Migration Assistant or Setup Assistant tools to transfer your data.

While you should be able to browse all files on the drive in Target Disk mode, there may be some times when you can’t do this, either because of permissions restrictions or because files are hidden. To overcome this, you can select the drive mounted via Target Disk mode, press Command-I to produce the drive’s Info window, and enable the option to ignore ownership on the volume (at the bottom of the information window). To manage hidden files, you can temporarily show all files in your current Mac’s Finder by running the following command in the OS X Terminal app:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool TRUE; killall Finder

When you’re finished accessing these files, hide your files again by using this Terminal command:

defaults delete com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles; killall Finder

A safe haven

Much as recovering or resetting a forgotten password may sound like a bother, its a small inconvenience that’s entirely trumped by a Mac protected with a solid password. Ideally you’ll never need to turn to these techniques. But should the bad thing happen, it’s nice to know you have so many fallbacks.

Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Read ouraffiliate link policyfor more details.

Mac Touch Id Manual Login Account

Related:

Touch ID has been a groundbreaking inclusion in the MacBook Pro Devices since late 2016. Presenting users with easy access to their Mac without entering a password helped Apple gain unmatched loyalty.

Excluding a couple of odd experiences where my MacBook Pro Touch ID stopped working, I’ve loved the feature since its launch, personally. At first, I thought it was just happening to me, so imagine my surprise when I found this to be a common glitch faced by many across the globe.

In lieu of this, I’m sharing the possible reasons and solutions behind why my Touch ID stopped working on MacBook Pro. Let’s take a look.

Food for thought:Know your Touch ID.

1. Dry your fingers

This is the most common cause for a broken Mac Touch ID. The fingerprint sensor on your Mac won’t respond if your finger is dirty or wet. Count it a ‘cleanliness feature’ and know that your MacBook Pro loves it when you use the sensor with clean and dry fingers.

2. Update your macOS

After making sure your fingers are clean and Touch ID is still not working, this is your second step. Check for an update in macOS and, if there’s one available, execute it.

Note: To perform the following steps, unlock your Mac; since your Touch ID isn’t responding, enter your password.

1. Locate and click the Apple icon located at the top left corner of the screen and go to System Preferences.
2. Now click the Software Update icon. The next window will tell you if there’s a pending software update. If available, download and install it.
   

3. Delete and re-add your Touch ID fingerprints on Mac

If your Touch ID still isn’t working, it’s time to delete your saved fingerprints and re-add them. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Click on the Apple icon located at the top left corner and select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.
2. Click on Touch ID in the window. Now hover over the fingerprint you want to remove until you see the x icon in the upper left corner.
3. Click on the x icon to delete. Confirm after adding your password.
   

How to re-add your Fingerprints

1. Click the Apple icon located at the top left corner and select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.
2. Click Touch ID from the window and select Add a Fingerprint.
   
3. Enter your password and scan your fingerprint.

4. Reset the SMC

The SMC on your MacBook Pro is responsible for managing settings like temperature and battery management.

If nothing else worked for you, resetting SMC (System Management Controller) is the last option. Here’s how to do it:

Mac Touch Id Manual Login Page

Note: Make sure that your Mac is completely shut down and not connected to a power source.

1. Hold Shift+Control+Option and the power button together for around 10 seconds and then let go.
2. Now plug in the power cable and start your Mac. You’ve reset your SMC.

Mac Touch Id Manual Login

Video: 4 Ways to Fix Touch ID Not Working on MacBook Pro

Food for thought…

Things to know about Touch ID

Mac Touch Id Manual Login Download

Before we begin, let’s take a look at some important dates:

1. Touch ID made its debut with the iPhone 5s in 2013.
2. In 2015, the second generation was launched, which became an integral part of Apple Pay with the iPhone 6s.
3. In the same year, it was introduced in the iPad Air 2.

What does Touch ID do on MacBook Pro?

Touch ID utilizes electronic fingerprint recognition technology to allow users to unlock and access numerous features on their device in a secure manner. The information collected is kept in a secure enclave on the Apple A7 and later chips.

The Touch ID button on your MacBook Pro allows you to:

1. Shutdown, restart and enter sleep mode.
2. Unlock and access your Mac. (via fingerprint scan)
3. Access system preferences and other areas that may require a password.
4. Make purchases using Apple Pay, as well as in the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBook store.
5. Force shutdown or restart.

When was Touch ID first introduced in MacBook Pro?

The first MacBook Pro to receive Touch ID was the 2016 model. It’s been located on the right side of the Touch Bar ever since.

Who invented Touch ID for Apple?

Well, interesting as it may sound, the technology was initially recognized as AuthenTec’s fingerprint tech. It was invented by Scott Moody, a co-founder of AuthenTec, a mobile and network security company.

Apple acquired the company for a whopping $356 million in cash in 2012. After three years of research and work, they launched it with the Apple 5s.

Found this interesting? Have an addition to make? Let me know in the comment section below.

You may also like to read these: