OneNote fingerprint unlock is not working

Hi! Sam Robinson1,   

Welcome to the Microsoft Community! I realize that you've encountered a problem with can't open OneNote properly with fingerprint unlocking and I understand how you feel. At the very beginning, I would like to explain to you that fingerprint unlocking is a security protection mechanism provided by the phone's system, and OneNote merely invokes this feature, therefore, your issue is more relevant to the phone's security settings, and I would recommend you to contact your phone provider's customer service for more specialized support regarding the fingerprint unlocking feature: Contact Us | Official Samsung Support US. Thank you for your understanding!

Disclaimer:  Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and  is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party  linked sites or any support related to technology.

If you have fingerprint unlock enabled in other apps as well and it doesn't do the same thing, I would recommend backing up your note data, then uninstalling OneNote and downloading the latest version of the OneNote app from the Google Play Store and reconfiguring it. Thanks again for your understanding and patience! Best Regards Eddy | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hello Eddy,

I started experiencing the same issue on my Google Pixel 8 Pro last week.

Can you see correlation with a recent OneNote release during past week or two?

Thank you in advance

I think this might be tied to an Android version. I was using a pixel 7 pro for the past 1.5 years and had no problem with this issue. I recently changed my device to a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. I am up to date on OS with Android 14, and One UI 6.1 and security patch level July 1, 2024. I have un-installed and reinstalled Onenote from the Google Play store and am using version 16.0.17726.20082. Fingerprints are working for other apps such as Samsung Pass, Google Wallet, and phone unlock. I have deleted and recreated my fingerprints, and reaffirmed through MS authenticator. Even though I select "use fingerprints on next unlock", I am not even prompted for biometrics and instead have to type in my PW to access the protected section.

I have a new Xiaomi 13T phone with Android 14 (HyperOS) and am experiencing the same issue. It's reassuring to see that I'm not alone and it's a OneNote problem. Other apps on my phone that require fingerprint verification work without any issues.

I had the same frickin' issue when I switched to my new phone, so I felt it was an issue with the current version of onenote and "EURAKAH" I found a solution.

All you have to do install a previous APK version of onenote and then update it to the latest version through play store and the fingerprint unlock works. I installed the January 19, 2024 APK version from apkmirror. I recommend others as well to download from this website as it is malware free and has authentic apps.