GoKawiilmacOS Tahoe blocks moving login keychains between Secure Enclave Macs
A developer found that copying the login.keychain-db file from one Mac to another no longer works on macOS Tahoe when the destination Mac has a Secure Enclave chip. Previously, users could transfer this SQLite-based keychain file and unlock it on a new machine simply by entering the correct password, but that method now fails.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Apple's documentation indicates the keychain's secret key must always be verified directly through the Secure Enclave hardware, not just cached metadata, meaning the encryption is now tied to a specific device's chip rather than just a password. This is a meaningful shift for anyone who manually migrates keychains during Mac upgrades or troubleshooting, since the old copy-and-unlock workaround is effectively dead for Secure Enclave hardware.
- Login keychain files can no longer be moved between Secure Enclave Macs and unlocked with just the password on macOS Tahoe.
- Apple's Secure Enclave now requires a hardware-level round trip to decrypt the keychain's secret key, not just cached metadata.
- This changes long-standing workflows for manually transferring keychains during Mac migrations.
Yubico YubiKey 5C NFC Security Key — When keychains stop moving cleanly between Macs, a hardware security key gives you a portable, device-independent way to authenticate to your accounts. The YubiKey 5C NFC works over USB-C or by tapping on your phone, so your credentials travel with you instead of being locked to one machine's Secure Enclave.
See Yubico YubiKey 5C NFC Security Key on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: derflounder.wordpress.com, 2026-09-10
Published there as: “Copying login keychains between Macs fails on Secure Enclave Macs with Tahoe”
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