I saw an OMG Ubuntu article about Ubuntu offering fingerprint support. But I do not see any such option in 20.04.
Is it really possible to login using fingerprint scan in 20.04? If yes, how?
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1Take a look at frpintd, but keep in mind you'll still need a password to unlock your keyring, so not as useful as you might hope. – ubfan1 Apr 26 '20 at 04:06
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1Go to users -> Automatic login, and that should display the option for fingerprint login. I can't get mine to work, but if it does work, that's where it'll be – snapcrack Apr 26 '20 at 04:08
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It works without auto login under user settings. Thanks. – user227495 Apr 26 '20 at 04:31
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OP, I have the same question. I have a ThinkPad X1 Carbon with a fingerprint reader that is recognized by 20.04 I have "enrolled" my fingerprint via Settings > Users and "Fingerprint Login" there is marked "Enabled". But on the login screen there is no visible option to activate fingerprint scanning, and simply trying it does nothing (i.e. password still required). I'm wondering if this is DM related. I upgraded from 19.04 after long use and may not have the stock DM active. – Paul Bissex May 08 '20 at 18:11
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@PaulBissex I have the same setup but i don't get anything on Settings > Users. Did you get this working? – CpILL Dec 10 '20 at 04:10
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@CpILL - I did. I didn't change anything in the config (that I remember). I gave up looking for on-screen indicators; the reader itself has an LED that flashes to say it's active. After realizing that it was a matter of adjusting to how it works -- how many swipes (it's a bar-type reader, not a pad), how fast, how firm I'd say it works reasonably about 85% of the time. Not as good as the fingerprint sign-in on my work-issued MacBook, but passable. – Paul Bissex Dec 12 '20 at 01:52
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thanks @PaulBissex but it can't seem to see my fingerprint reader? Which is strange if we have the same machine...? I'll see if i can get the LED to light up. Did you install special drovers for it? – CpILL Dec 14 '20 at 23:05
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1@CpILL I didn't install any extra drivers, it "just worked" starting with 20.04 for me. Light might not have happened until after I registered a print. 2nd gen X1 Carbon FWIW. – Paul Bissex Dec 15 '20 at 01:42
2 Answers
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What you need to do is to enable PAM Fingerprint authentication method.
- Issue
sudo pam-auth-update - Select Fingerprint authentication
- Press Spacebar
- Hit Enter
Willi Mentzel
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wajdi_jurry
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It probably depends on the HW support installed. Did not work for me on my out of the box Dell XPS 15, after I fresh installed ubuntu 20.04 – Kjell Hedström Jul 14 '20 at 02:27
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works for me but after rebooting its disabled again (but showing up ad enabled) – Dominik Goltermann Sep 11 '20 at 12:54
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Some laptops manufacturers have no drivers yet for fingerprint working on linux distributions – wajdi_jurry Jan 13 '21 at 13:37
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2triggering pam-auth-update is last step, one might need to do all steps few steps from guide for non GNOME remixes – silpol Jul 21 '21 at 05:08
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1Note for those who did not know how to select the Figerprint Authentication USE SPACE BAR to select it – Mohamed23gharbi May 04 '22 at 10:23
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After hours of searching finally, this one solved my problem. I needed to install fprintd and libpam-fprintd with apt install first. – jazaman Apr 06 '23 at 07:24
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I partially solved it by upgrading firmware using
fwupdmgr upgrade
Now I get the option of login using fingerprint in settings->users. And I can get my fingerprints scanned there.
But I still can't really login with it. Nothing happens when I scan my fingers when the computer is locked.
Albert Zhang
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