Unable to Enable Biometric Unlock - Desktop Confirmation Not Appearing

Ask the Community Password Manager
,
1

Hi Bitwarden Community,

I’m encountering an issue while trying to set up biometric unlock for the Bitwarden browser extension. Here’s my situation and what I’ve tried so far:

Current Setup:

  • Bitwarden desktop app installed and active
  • Browser integration enabled
  • Chrome extension installed

Issue:
When I attempt to enable biometric unlock from the Chrome extension settings, I get a popup message saying “Awaiting confirmation from desktop.” However, the corresponding confirmation popup never appears in the desktop application.

Steps I’ve already taken to troubleshoot:

  1. Reinstalled both the desktop application and browser extension
  2. Cleared browser cache and cookies
  3. Restarted my PC
  4. Verified that browser integration is enabled in the desktop app

None of these steps have resolved the issue. The desktop confirmation popup simply never appears, making it impossible to complete the biometric setup process.

Additional Information:

  • Operating System: macOS Sonoma 15.1.1
  • Bitwarden Desktop Version: 2024.11.2 (33636)
  • Chrome Version: 131.0.6778.86 (Official Build) (arm64)
  • Bitwarden Extension Version: 2024.11.2

Questions:

  1. Is there a known issue with the desktop confirmation process?
  2. Are there any additional troubleshooting steps I should try?
  3. Are there any specific settings I should check in either the desktop app or browser extension?

Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

P.S same setup works ok on my macbook.

Best regards,
Mast3r

2

For those with the same issue, I managed to solve it by disabling and then re-enabling “browser integration” in the desktop application settings. Finally got the notification appearing after that.
I had previously reinstalled the browser extension to no effect; mentioning that just in case it was part of making this work.

1 Like
3

I was able to fix this today by first verifying that the extension had this permission (right-click on Bitwarden icon; select “manage extension”):

image
image408×123 3.9 KB

and then by disabling and then reenabling the browser extension itself.

image
image777×357 19.4 KB

After having done this I was then able to check “unlock with biometrics” and it successfully completed the configuraton.

4

I was able to solve my issue on Mac by installing Bitwarden through the App Store and enabling the checkbox ‘Allow Browser Integration’

1 Like
5

Welcome, @Swab4993 to the community!

And, thanks for sharing your outcome. This is one of those oddball situations where the Windows and Mac differ in opposite directions; one must be installed from the store and the other can not be:

6

@Swab4993 Welcome to the forum!

I would like to add something for MacOS, that I learned the other day (as a non-Mac user): this can also be relevant, depending on which extension (besides Safari) you want to use:

2025-10-14--04-01-48-vivaldi_oFmHWTDHhP
2025-10-14--04-01-48-vivaldi_oFmHWTDHhP902×375 25.9 KB

(–> Unlock With Biometrics | Bitwarden)

7

I had the same problem today and found this thread. After dis- and reenabling the setting in Bitwarden, I checked, if my browser extension had the necessary permission that was mentioned further up by DenBesten. It was set to “allow”, as is should. But here the good old “have you tried turning it off and on again?” trick worked its magic once again and now everything works as expected again.

So if other people or LLMs find this thread: (Re-)enabling these switches in Bitwarden settings and browser extensions appear to fix this issue, at least temporarily.