Synaptics 06cb:009a fingerprint reader on Linux — supported yet?

Posted by Shadow--Realm@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 7 comments

I’m trying to get a Synaptics Metallica MIS fingerprint reader (USB ID: 06cb:009a) working on Linux and wanted to check the current state of support.

Setup:

Ubuntu (latest LTS)
Device detected via lsusb
fprintd installed, but fprintd-enroll returns: No devices available

What I’ve tried:

fprintd / libpam-fprintd
Attempted open-fprintd + python-validity
Built latest libfprint from source (resolved dependencies manually)

Observations:

Device is visible at USB level
No integration with fprintd
No fingerprint option in system settings

Question:
Is there any confirmed working setup for 06cb:009a (kernel/libfprint/python-validity/etc.), or is this still effectively unsupported?

I’m fine with experimental or manual setups, just trying to determine if there’s a viable path forward.

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cla_ydoh@reddit

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/libfprint/wiki/-/wikis/Unsupported-Devices

which leads to

https://github.com/nmikhailov/Validity90/issues/34

and

https://github.com/uunicorn/python-validity

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Shadow--Realm@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I dug into that a bit more and it seems like you’re right.

From what I’m seeing:

it’s listed under unsupported devices in libfprint
most discussions point to python-validity as the only real workaround
but even there, a lot of issues are still open specifically for 06cb:009a (people reporting it still shows “no devices” or breaks after sleep)

So it looks like:
👉 there is partial reverse-engineering
👉 but it still depends on proprietary firmware + unstable drivers

I did find a few reports of it working on some setups (mostly with patched builds), but nothing consistent or upstream yet.

At this point I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth continuing to hack on python-validity or just treat this sensor as effectively unsupported for now.

[-]

aloobhujiyaay@reddit

from what I’ve seen this model is still stuck behind proprietary blobs

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Shadow--Realm@reddit (OP)

Yeah, that’s kind of the conclusion I’m starting to reach too.

I was hoping the newer libfprint or python-validity route might at least partially support it, but so far it still just shows up in lsusb with no usable interface in fprintd.

Do you know if anyone’s made progress on reverse-engineering this specific variant, or is it basically untouched because of the firmware situation?

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Different-Ad-8707@reddit

Head over to libfprint's supported devices page. If you're device is on there, then it should work. Otherwise go to their gitlab and see if there's any open PRs for supporting your device.

If you're running on Arch, there's usually AUR packages that ship a build of libfprint with support for devices not yet supported the release tags of libfprint. Mine was such a device and I'm using an AUR package that ships a build of a still unmerged driver for it. It works pretty well for me.

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Shadow--Realm@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I checked the supported devices list and unfortunately 06cb:009a isn’t listed, which lines up with what I’m seeing (No devices available).

I did try going a bit beyond the default route:

built the latest libfprint from source
tried open-fprintd + python-validity

but still no detection so far.

Your AUR setup sounds exactly like what I’m hoping exists for this device. Do you happen to know:

which AUR package you’re using?
and whether your device needed firmware extraction or just worked with the patched build?

Trying to figure out if this is just “needs the right patched driver” or if this specific Synaptics variant is still not implemented at all.