touch id on mac is sometimes not available to unlock 1password

dlinar01

I have a 2016 macbook pro with touch ID. I have enabled touch ID to unlock 1Password. In the last few versions of 1Password, touchID is sometimes not an available option to unlock 1Password. If I quit and relaunch 1password, the option to unlock via touch ID becomes available again.

This usually happens after the macbook pro woken from sleep (opening the lid). If I close the lid and open it after a minute the problem does not occur. It seems to take longer for the problem to occur. In any case I am now forced to daily relaunch 1password.

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1Password Version: 1Password 6 Version 6.8 (680015) AgileBits Store
Extension Version: 4.6.9
OS Version: macOS 10.12.6
Sync Type: dropbox
Referrer: forum-search:touch id on mac is sometimes not available to unlock 1password

rickfillion

Hi @dlinar01,

I had been experiencing similar problems with version 6.8. Rudy did a pile of work to fix things into version 6.8.1 and so far I've not had any issues with it. Can you update to 6.8.1 and let us know if you're still having issues?

Thanks

Rick

dlinar01

Hi Rick,

I also updated yesterday and I have not experienced the issue since.

Kind regards
Dionysis

rickfillion

Excellent. Let us know if you see anything odd.

Rick

electronker

I have also recently experienced this issue on a Macbook Pro. Touch ID is no longer available, and the option to enable Touch ID is not presented un Preferences-->Security. This was the case in 6.8.0, and remains a problem after updating to 6.8.1 today.
Ron

Lars

HI @Electronker -- sorry to hear you've had this issue as well. Can you do us a favor and re- boot your Mac? If you weren't already on 6.8.1, that would be the first thing I'd tell you to do, but since you indicated you are, I'm wondering if a clean restart will help the situation? Let us know!

electronker

A reboot solved the problem. Thanks.

Lars

@Electronker - glad to hear it! Let us know if it pops back up, or if you need anything else. Otherwise, have a great weekend!

tadj

Hi, I have the same problem. I have rebooted, but still, there is no option in Preferences to allow the Toolbar to be used. I am running version 6.8.1

1Password 6
Version 6.8.1 (681006)
AgileBits Store

AGAlumB

@tadj: If 1Password isn't offering Touch ID in Preferences, that means macOS isn't telling it this feature is available (or 1Password is not getting a response when it asks). Is it enabled in System Preferences? I know others in the past have reported that setting up Touch ID there again will get things going. Let me know what you find!

tadj

Thanks, I rescanned my Touch ID and all now works

AGAlumB

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know. It sounds like you should be all set, but we're here if you need anything. :)

dlinar01

Unfortunately the problem has reappeared (running on 1Password Version 6.8.1 (681006)). I get the message that I need to enter my master password to unlock the vault but if I quit 1Password and restart it I can unlock it with touchID.

bundtkate

@dlinar01: I'm sorry to hear this has come back again! Are you finding the issue mirrors what you were experiencing before (ie -- more common when woken from sleep) or is it now occurring under different circumstances? Thanks! :chuffed:

dlinar01

@bundtkate: I restarted my computer and the problem has not appeared again. I will monitor and let you know. If it reappears I will try to ascertain when it is triggered.

Lars

@dlinar01 -- that's good news! Let us know if the problem rears its ugly head again; hopefully this will be the last of it.

moontrx

Dear Support, I'm facing exactly the same problem as described by the initiator of this thread. I'm currently on Version 6.8.2 (682003) with a MBP Late 2016, but had the same issue with the previous two versions of 1Password as well.
I booted already several times since 6.8.2 was installed.

AGAlumB

@moontrx: Thanks for letting us know. I'm sorry to hear that. Which OS version are you running?

debstr

I have a one month old MacBook Pro with fingerprint capability. It is running macOS Sierra 10.12.6. 1Password is version 6.8.2. Initially, I could use fingerprint ID to open 1Password, but it kept locking me out and I would have to set it up almost daily. Now, it won't give me the option to use fingerprint ID to open 1Password at all. I don't know why and I can't seem to fix it. Help?

AGAlumB

@debstr: Ah, thanks for clarifying. That makes sense. This is a bit of a weird one. The bad news is that we don't have a fix for the issue you're experiencing. However, the good news is that some upcoming changes we're working on should just make this issue go away altogether. I can't say much more at this early stage, but if we have a beta that might help with this in the future would you be willing to try it?

ref: OPM-5290

debstr

Thanks for your input. And I'm glad to hear that you are working on this issue.

I spent some more time trying to figure this out and in the process rebooted my computer. Touch ID came back after I rebooted it. I have no idea why. And I don't know how long it will last. But if it goes out...when it goes out...again I will reboot and hopefully it will fix it again. But that kind of negates the whole point of touch ID if you have to reboot each time to use it. It's faster to simply input my master password.

I'm afraid I'm not computer literate enough to use anything that's beta. It it messed up my computer I wouldn't know how to fix.

AGAlumB

@debstr: Thanks. I hear you. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. The way that 1Password works today predates the existence of Touch ID — certainly on the Mac, and perhaps on iOS as well. We're working to come up with a good permanent solution. Thanks for your patience. :blush:

debstr

I find touch ID works great on the iPhone and iPad, if that helps. Thanks!

AGAlumB

@debstr: Thank you so much for saying so! I'm gad to hear it! Unfortunately Touch ID works very differently on the Mac, where it's essentially a separate iOS device talking to the computer. We'll see what we can do to make this as smooth on your Mac as it is on your iPhone and iPad in the future though. :chuffed:

moontrx

@brenty: I'm still running 10.12.6 Do you see a chance my behavior will change with 10.13 which will be released tomorrow?

AGAlumB

@moontrx: Good question! As far as I've seen Touch ID works exactly the same in High Sierra, so I don't think that will either help or make things worse. Kind of a mixed bag, so we'll keep working on it.

rswift

I'm running Mac OS X 10.13, 15" 2017 MBP (MacBookPro14,3). 1Password is v6.8.2 (682002) from the Mac App Store, I use iCloud to sync across all devices. TouchID works a treat on iPhone & iPad. This problem was also happening on Sierra before I updated to High Sierra.

However, on the MBP, I am seeing the "Touch ID is unavailable when the lid of your MacBook Pro is closed. Enter the Master Password to unlock 1Password.", if I quit (via keyboard, ⌘q) without unlocking, then reload 1Password, I'm presented with the following, and am able to use my fingerprint to unlock:

The sequence is:
1. load 1Password and unlock, leave running
2. MBP goes to sleep (manually via ->Sleep, folding the lid shut or simply leaving the computer to drift off on its own)
3. wake MBP after sufficient time to allow it to lock
4. use Touch ID to authenticate to the MBP
5. at this point 1Password shows the message "Touch ID is unavailable when the lid of your MacBook Pro is closed. Enter the Master Password to unlock 1Password."

However, I've noticed the behaviour is different when:

• lifting the lid when 1Password is running (foreground app, or visible but with another app in the foreground) the message "Touch ID is unavailable when the lid of your MacBook Pro is closed. Enter the Master Password to unlock 1Password." appears briefly then disappears, this happens quickly, but having done it a few times, it definitely happens, I can then unlock as usual
• if I unlock the MBP with my password, I don't get the message, I do need to tap the fingerprint icon (on the touch bar, or with the mouse) but I can then use my fingerprint to unlock
• if 1Password is not running when I unlock the MBP with Touch ID, I can unlock 1Password with Touch ID as I'd expect

Fully appreciate this isn't exhaustive, or maybe even conclusive, but might be useful?

Under Preferences…->General->1Password mini I have "Always keep 1Password mini running" checked, and "Show mini app icon in the menu bar" unchecked. Under Preferences…->Security->Touch ID, "Allow Touch ID to unlock 1Password" is checked, and the Master Password is required every 1 week. I can't see any other Preferences settings that seem to relate to either Touch ID, or 1Password mini. Happy to share more if that would help.

I'd love to see this niggle go away, it is definitely a hiccup in an otherwise smooth workflow.

Lars

Hey @rswift -- thanks for such a detailed description of the problem as it occurs on your setup. Truly, this kind of accurate description is what helps us reproduce or track issues that might otherwise take us quite a while to nail down, especially if they're only happening on specific configurations or are intermittent.

In this case, however, we're aware of the problem, and working on a fix. In general, for now, if you click on the Mini, you'll get the correct state of things instead of telling you the lid is still closed when it's not. There are behind the scenes reasons for why this keeps happening, some of them related to how 1Password has worked in the past before the introduction of Touch ID on the Mac, and some of them a function of the fact that the Touch ID system is a separate OS that has to talk to the main OS to unlock. But we are definitely moving forward on it. Thanks again for the diligent documentation. :)

rswift

Thanks for the reply @Lars good to know the issue is known about and being explored.

No problem on the detail... having worked in IT for well over a quarter of a century I've had my fair share of "it doesn't work" notes, so I know how it feels to get scant information 8-)

All the best - Robert...

Lars

@rswift -- Ah, I should've been able to discern by the quality of your post, someone who'd been on the wrong end of too many detail-free self-diagnoses! Thanks again, and keep an eye on the updates. :)

pbGuy

If you use my updated post @ https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/comment/393353#Comment_393353 as background, I'd like to add an oddity I noticed after reading @rswift's post with the snapshot.

In particular, he mentions his Preference setting in Security about checking Touch ID. Upon checking my setting, I find I don't have any reference to Touch ID in my 1PW Security tab.

Any ideas why that Security option is missing? ...Or, did I misunderstand @rswift's reference.

My issue is only that I'm not seeing the note below 1PW entry when I'm unlocking 1PW. (see my referenced posts for clarification)

I'm using a MBP 15 (early 2017) with 10.13 (including Supplemental update). MBP's Touch ID is active, even though I'm mostly in closed lid function. 1PW MAS is 6.8.2; 1PW Mini is 4.6.11 & is set to always be active and in Menu bar.