Hey Mac Face Unlock Not Working? Permissions, Camera, and Fallback Checks

If Hey Mac face unlock stops working, sign in with your Mac password or available Touch ID first. Then check where it gets stuck. Does the camera never start? Does it see you but fail to match? Or does recognition succeed while the Mac stays locked?

Those symptoms point to different settings. There is usually no reason to start over with face enrollment before checking them. This guide covers Hey Mac v1.0.4 on Apple silicon with macOS 14 or later. For a first installation, use the setup guide.

Get back in with your password or Touch ID

At the macOS lock screen, use your normal Mac login password or another available native unlock method. After restarting your Mac, complete the normal login before expecting Hey Mac to work.

If you are looking at an App Lock shield, choose Touch ID or Mac password. You can also stop recognition or close the protected app. Touch ID availability depends on your Mac and whether macOS currently allows it.

If the Mac rejects your normal login password too, resolve that account-access problem first. Changing face enrollment will not reset your Mac password.

Start with what you see

1. Make sure the feature is turned on

Open Hey Mac and go to Settings → Overview. Read the status message. If it says recognition is paused, choose Resume Face Recognition.

Next, check the feature you are trying to use:

• Unlocking your Mac: go to Settings → Lock Screen and check Unlock your Mac with face recognition.
• Protecting an app: go to Settings → App Lock, check Protect selected apps, and make sure that app is in the list.

Face enrollment alone does not turn on both features. If you chose App Lock during setup, lock-screen unlocking still needs its own setup. Also check the app you selected: protecting WhatsApp’s desktop app does not protect WhatsApp in a browser.

You can find your app version under Hey Mac Settings → About and your Mac’s chip and macOS version under Apple menu → About This Mac. Hey Mac v1.0.4 requires Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later.

2. Check camera access

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera.
2. Turn on access for Hey Mac.
3. If macOS asks you to quit and reopen the app, follow that prompt. Hey Mac may ask you to authenticate before quitting.
4. Return to Hey Mac Settings → Your Face and try the recognition test.

If Hey Mac is missing from the Camera list, go back to its face setup and request access. macOS lists apps here after they ask to use the camera.

Check the simple things too: open any camera cover and reconnect an external camera if needed. End video calls and close other camera apps for a moment, then try again. That helps rule out a camera-use conflict.

Try Photo Booth separately. If the built-in camera fails there as well, save your work and restart the Mac. Check Screen Time for camera restrictions or app limits, especially on a family-managed device. Apple’s camera troubleshooting guide covers the next steps if it still fails.

On a work or school Mac, permissions may be managed by your organization. Ask the administrator if a setting is unavailable.

3. Try the face recognition test

Open Settings → Your Face → Test Face Recognition…. This checks whether Hey Mac recognizes you without also having to enter a lock-screen password.

• No face seen: face the camera, move into even light, and avoid a bright window behind you.
• Face seen but no match: try again in lighting similar to your enrollment.
• The test works: keep your enrollment and check the Lock Screen or App Lock settings below.

Look at Face match requirement too. A higher setting can reject more attempts in difficult lighting. Lowering it may make recognition easier, but it also increases the risk of false matches. Improve the lighting before changing that trade-off.

If recognition is still unreliable, choose Set Up Again… in Your Face and follow the enrollment and test steps. In v1.0.4, your previous enrollment stays in place until the new setup passes its recognition test.

4. Recognized, but still locked? Check password entry

After recognizing you, Hey Mac enters the login password you saved for Lock Screen unlocking. If recognition works but that next step fails, check these two things.

Accessibility permission

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and check that Hey Mac is enabled if you want to use Lock Screen unlocking. You can also see the permission’s status in Hey Mac’s Lock Screen settings.

This permission lets Hey Mac enter the saved password. Grant it only if you intend to use that feature. Camera permission on its own does not allow password entry.

Your saved Mac password

Have you changed your Mac login password recently? Hey Mac may still have the old one. Sign in manually, then go to Settings → Lock Screen → Update Saved Password…. Enter and confirm your current Mac login password, click Update Password, and complete the identity check.

Hey Mac v1.0.4 stops automatic password entry after a rejected attempt until you save the password again. Re-enrolling your face will not fix that warning.

Once you have corrected the setting, save your work and try a fresh lock-and-wake attempt. Keep your normal login method available while you check the result.

5. If scanning stops after a few attempts

The camera does not scan continuously at the lock screen. Hey Mac v1.0.4 uses short scan windows and limits retries, so scanning can stop after unsuccessful attempts.

Sign in manually and run the Your Face test in good light. If it works, check for a pause message or saved-password warning, then try a fresh lock-and-wake attempt. Note whether it fails in the same way again.

6. If a protected app stays unlocked

Check that app’s policy in Settings → App Lock. The timer names tell you when they begin:

• When switching to another app: the app relocks when you leave it.
• 5 or 15 minutes after unlocking: the allowance starts when you unlock.
• 5 minutes after switching away: the countdown starts when you leave the app.

If you return before a timed allowance ends, the app can stay unlocked. To check the setting, use something non-sensitive: unlock the app, switch away, wait for the chosen condition, and return. Change one setting at a time so you can see what made the difference.

If the app is covered but notifications still show message text, check notification settings separately. Our Messages and WhatsApp guides explain those controls. The broader Mac app-locking guide covers the different ways to protect an app.

Still stuck? Here is what to send support

First, check Settings → About → Check for Updates…. If you still need help, use the community and support page and include:

• Your Hey Mac version, macOS version, and Mac chip.
• Whether the problem affects Lock Screen, App Lock, or both.
• Whether you use a built-in or external camera.
• What you did, what happened, and the status message you saw.
• Whether the face test and password or Touch ID fallback work.
• Whether it started after an update or password change.

You can find recent activity under Overview → Recent activity → Open Log…. A relevant excerpt can help explain where the process stopped. Read it before sharing and leave out passwords, face images, private conversations, and other personal information.

If you want to remove Hey Mac, follow the built-in uninstall steps. Avoid deleting Keychain entries or app data while trying to diagnose the problem.

A few common questions

Should I reinstall Hey Mac first?

Start with the checks above. A reinstall will not explain a changed login password, a restricted camera, or an app that is still within its unlock allowance.

Can I use App Lock while the camera is unavailable?

Yes, the shield offers Touch ID or Mac-password verification. Check that your chosen fallback works on your Mac.

Is this the same as fixing Apple Face ID?

No. Hey Mac uses software recognition through a regular camera. The Face ID for Mac guide explains the difference.

About this guide

Written by Harshit Maurya, the developer of Hey Mac. Reviewed October 31, 2026 against v1.0.4’s settings and unlock behavior, with Apple’s guidance for camera checks. These steps help narrow down the cause; they are not a guarantee that every hardware issue can be fixed in the app.