{"id":45469,"date":"2018-08-08T11:24:37","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T16:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=45469"},"modified":"2021-01-07T09:29:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T15:29:18","slug":"quick-tip-clearing-touch-id-data-from-a-macbook-pro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/45469-quick-tip-clearing-touch-id-data-from-a-macbook-pro\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clear Touch ID Data from a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The usefulness of the Touch Bar on recent MacBook Pro models<\/a> is dependent on whether or not a Mac app has been updated to take advantage of the handy OLED strip, but there’s one thing that most users set up immediately — Touch ID<\/a>. A very useful feature of the MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) and later, and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3<\/a> Ports) and later, the Touch ID pad can be found on the far right side of the Touch Bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On occasion — particularly with MacBook Pros that have been erased by a third-party utility or target disk mode — you may try to add a fingerprint to the computer only to get a message that says “Fingerprint limit reached.” Today I’ll show you a method of clearing the Touch ID fingerprint data from a MacBook Pro. (Related Tip:<\/strong> How to force restart a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPDATE January 6, 2021<\/strong>:
New Macs that feature the T2 security chip store the encryption key in the Mac\u2019s Secure Enclave. Erasing the data with the command listed below results in all data on your Mac being lost forever, even if FileVault encryption has not been enabled. The original article listed below was published prior to the release of the T2 security chip.

Note that following these instructions on a Mac with the T2 chip will require a full restore from a recent backup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1)<\/strong> Start up the MacBook Pro or restart it while holding down Command ( \u2318 ) – R. Keep holding these two keys  the Apple logo appears on MacBook Pro screen. (The Command – R keyboard shortcut is used to enter Recovery Mode on a Mac)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2)<\/strong> Once the macOS Utilities menu appears on the screen, click Utilities in the menu bar, then select Terminal
3)<\/strong> At the terminal prompt, type<\/p>\n\n\n\n

xartutil --erase-all<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
then press the Return key on the keyboard
4)<\/strong> A prompt appears asking<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you sure you want to erase ALL entries (yes\/no)?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Type<\/p>\n\n\n\n
yes<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
then press the Return key<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5)<\/strong> Select Restart from the Apple ( \uf8ff ) menu to reboot your MacBook Pro<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this point, you’ll be able to log into the MacBook Pro using your password. To set up Touch ID, click the System Preferences button in the Dock or select Apple ( \uf8ff ) menu > System Preferences. Once in System Preferences, click on the Touch ID button located in the lower row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a>
(The Touch ID preference pane in macOS Mojave.)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
From the Touch ID preference pane, you’ll be able to use add fingerprints and set up Touch ID for unlocking your Mac, making payments with Apple Pay, and purchasing content from iTunes and the App Store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The usefulness of the Touch Bar on recent MacBook Pro models is dependent on whether or not a Mac app has been updated to take advantage of the handy OLED strip, but there’s one thing that most users set up immediately — Touch ID. A very useful feature of the MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) and later, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":45537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"class_list":["post-45469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-tips"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Clear Touch ID Data from a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today I'll show you a method of clearing the Touch ID fingerprint data from a MacBook Pro.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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