Fingerprint login setup is available via a GUI for Gnome, however there is no current GUI for Ubuntu MATE.
The following steps will enable Fingerprint Login and user privilege escalation in Ubuntu MATE, please note that some of this will be dependent on the specific laptop you are using.
First step check your laptop for an available fingerprint reader
lsusb
If you have one listed then please follow the steps few steps:
sudo apt install fprintd libpam-fprintd
Now you need to enroll your fingerprint:
fprintd-enroll
Follow the prompt and swipe your right index finger across your scanner 5 times until you get the following: Enroll result: enroll-completed
Now you need to enable acess:
sudo pam-auth-update
This will open an ncurses interface. Add an * next to Fingerprint authenication and tab over to OK and exit.
At this point you will be able to use your fingerprint scanner to authenticate to elevated privileges, ie. sudo. It will also allow you to login and unlock your system using the fingerprint reader.
This has been tested on Ubuntu MATE 18.04, 19.10, and the current daily 20.04
tstephen@x:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 27c6:5584 Generic Goodix FingerPrint Device
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 8087:0a2a Intel Corp.
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 04f2:b61e Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd Integrated Camera
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
tstephen@x:~$ sudo apt install fprintd libpam-fprintd
... remove install messages for brevity ...
tstephen@neutronstar:~$ fprintd-enroll
list_devices failed: No devices available
I assume it's a hardware issue. I'm running a Yoga S730 and think I have seen reports that a driver is not yet forthcoming. Am I right and if so Is there anything I do to support?
From a data-security point of view, fingerprint readers are not all that useful. They may be convenient, when they work, but they do not offer top level security.
Unrelated, but I am just curious about a system security aspect: Would synchronous MFA ever be a thing for LightDM? i.e. login requiring multiple authentication methods at once?
well sure they are not top level security but that's not needed everywhere.
when you dont have overly sensitive data where an FP would not be enough but are using your laptop in public places and you dont wanna type you password in front of other people FP can be VERY helpful
It looks like this. I press enter to activate the selected option, and it returns straight to the command prompt. I run sudo pam-auth-update again, and the selection appears unchanged.
That's kind of how Ncurses-based interfaces work. Unrelated, but you would have had a hell of a time dealing with Clonezilla (even though they spell out how to interface with the menus).
Hello and thanks for sharing this with us, but I encountered an error trying to enroll my fingerprint on a Dell Latitude E6230.
lsusb:
root@teo-E6230:~# lsusb
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0a5c:5801 Broadcom Corp. BCM5880 Secure Applications Processor with fingerprint swipe sensor
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 413c:818e Dell Computer Corp.
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0c45:648b Microdia Integrated Webcam
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c058 Logitech, Inc. M115 Mouse
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
As I can see, the first device it's my fingerprint device. After I installed what I need to enroll the fingerprint, I get this:
root@teo-E6230:~# fprintd-enroll
list_devices failed: No devices available
It's not a "must have" thing on my laptop, but I would be happy to make it work; Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Just wanted to let you know that this guide just works on the Thinkpad X1 extreme gen 2. I needed nothing more than this.
PS. and off-topic:
And for Thinkpad X1 Extreme lovers in general:
Wifi (AC access-point) connection worked well without warm boot issues since UEFI upgrade from 1.34 to 1.36 on default ubuntu-mate 20.04.
This recent article says that that fingerprint reader is very poorly supported by Linux:
It does, however, say that Linux 5.12 has minimal support for the device, i.e. detection of the device but nothing else! At the moment, you'd need to get Ubuntu 21.10 Impish Indri in its daily build form in order to have a new enough kernel to even detect the device properly!
By the way, this forum is about Ubuntu MATE, not stock Ubuntu. There is still a chance that you'll get good answers here, like (I hope) I just gave you, but there is no guarantee that you'll get good answers here in the future. Please try to use the appropriate forum for the appropriate issue.
This has been working at least from 20.04 up to 22.04. But I always experienced glitches in the unlock screen, it either times out too soon, or just doesn't react to my finger until I hit enter, it fails to login and then put my finger again
