Tip: What to do if Touch ID does not allow any further fingerprints on the Mac?

Because of an injury, I wanted to deposit another finger for Touch ID. However, MacOS refuses this, although only one of the three possible fingerprints is occupied. Other users of the same Mac were able to scan several fingers. What is going wrong?

There is no software problem here, but a hardware restriction.

The MAC stores the biometric features of the fingerprints locally in the Secure Enclave from Apple’s security chip-for Intel models in T2 and Apple-Silicon devices directly in the M-chip.

However, this cannot be more than five biometric characteristics Manage per mac. The maximum of fingerprint scans therefore applies per computer, not per user account.

So you have to remove a fingerprint from one of the other accounts to make room for a new one.

Alternatively, simply replace the old finger scan with the new impression and repeat this process as soon as your injured finger is ready for use.