diff --git a/.github/workflows/sep-source.yml b/.github/workflows/sep-source.yml
index 51ce8828d55ab..6c90e5675c51f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/sep-source.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/sep-source.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ jobs:
           python3 -m unittest tools/aurora-sep/tests/test_orphan_delete.py -v
           python3 -m unittest tools/aurora-sep/tests/test_enrol_admission.py -v
           python3 -m unittest tools/aurora-sep/tests/test_owner_preparation.py -v
+          python3 -m unittest tools/aurora-sep/tests/test_policy_window.py -v
           python3 -m unittest discover -s tools/aurora-sep/tests -p test_packaging.py -v
 
   rust-build:
diff --git a/drivers/soc/apple/sbio.rs b/drivers/soc/apple/sbio.rs
index 8d977de6a1cda..2c40415481287 100644
--- a/drivers/soc/apple/sbio.rs
+++ b/drivers/soc/apple/sbio.rs
@@ -2388,7 +2388,13 @@ impl SepData {
             EIO
         })?;
         diag::keybag(diag::Keybag::Present);
-        self.sks_designate_user_keybag(handle, stored.secret());
+        // When Touch ID comes up before a trusted key is unsealed, this is
+        // the keybag's first use this boot, and after a boot policy change
+        // the enclave rewrites one session record here; see
+        // crate::xart_guard.
+        crate::xart_guard::policy_window(|| {
+            self.sks_designate_user_keybag(handle, stored.secret())
+        });
         self.sks_machine_refkey(handle, stored.secret());
         let prepared = self.cold_match_continue(handle, uuid, stored.uuid_provenance());
         self.ensure_restored_after(prepared);
diff --git a/drivers/soc/apple/xart_guard.rs b/drivers/soc/apple/xart_guard.rs
index 5fe73719e3e33..f14a40e150ca2 100644
--- a/drivers/soc/apple/xart_guard.rs
+++ b/drivers/soc/apple/xart_guard.rs
@@ -37,14 +37,15 @@
 //!
 //! A boot policy change (a new Stage 1, a different boot object) makes the
 //! enclave rewrite one existing session record the first time Linux's
-//! identity keybag is unlocked under the new policy. Linux did not create
-//! that record. On a boot under an unchanged policy that unlock rewrites no
-//! session record at all, so a rewrite inside it is the sign of a policy
+//! identity keybag is used under the new policy: its first unlock, or
+//! Touch ID's `DESIGNATE_KEYBAG` when that comes first. Linux did not create
+//! that record. On a boot under an unchanged policy neither rewrites an
+//! existing session record, so a rewrite inside them is the sign of a policy
 //! change. The guard lets exactly one kind-4 rewrite through in that window
-//! ([`policy_window`]): the first unlock of an identity keybag that already
-//! existed, at most once per boot, never a delete, and only once the
-//! record's previous value is saved in a host file ([`PREVIOUS_PATH`]).
-//! The record is not added to Linux's list.
+//! ([`policy_window`]): the first unlock or designate of an identity keybag
+//! that already existed, at most once per boot, never a delete, and only
+//! once the record's previous value is saved in a host file
+//! ([`PREVIOUS_PATH`]). The record is not added to Linux's list.
 //!
 //! For a policy change the window did not cover, `aurora-sep-policy-change`
 //! backs up the gigalocker and leaves a one-time allowance in a host file
@@ -122,9 +123,9 @@ fn with_window<T>(why: Rewrite, f: impl FnOnce() -> T) -> T {
     result
 }
 
-/// Runs `unlock`, the unlock of an identity keybag that already existed,
-/// with the boot policy window open if it is this boot's first. Later
-/// unlocks run with it closed.
+/// Runs `unlock`, the unlock or Touch ID designate of an identity keybag
+/// that already existed, with the boot policy window open if it is this
+/// boot's first. Later ones run with it closed.
 pub(crate) fn policy_window<T>(unlock: impl FnOnce() -> T) -> T {
     with_window(Rewrite::PolicyChange, unlock)
 }
@@ -326,8 +327,9 @@ pub(crate) enum Allowance {
     Record(Key),
     /// The first existing record of this kind the enclave asks to rewrite.
     /// An installer that changes the boot policy cannot know the record's
-    /// session id beforehand; the first identity unlock under the new policy
-    /// comes before anything else can rewrite a session record.
+    /// session id beforehand; the keybag's first use under the new policy
+    /// (an unlock or Touch ID's designate) comes before anything else can
+    /// rewrite a session record.
     FirstOfKind(u8),
 }
 
diff --git a/tools/aurora-sep/XART-SAFETY.md b/tools/aurora-sep/XART-SAFETY.md
index d500fe86d0027..362612e0dff79 100644
--- a/tools/aurora-sep/XART-SAFETY.md
+++ b/tools/aurora-sep/XART-SAFETY.md
@@ -135,13 +135,36 @@ The same kernel, under the old policy, unlocked the keybag without any
 session record write. Linux had never created a record there: the guard
 ran from Linux's first boot and its list stayed empty.
 
-Under an unchanged policy that first unlock rewrites no session record at
-all (every J616s boot before the change). So the driver treats a rewrite
-inside it as the policy change and lets exactly one through, by itself, on
-the first boot after the change:
-
-- only during the first unlock of an identity keybag that already existed,
-  once per boot; a keybag or ref-key created this boot closes the window;
+Touch ID can use the keybag first instead. When fprintd opens the sensor
+before any trusted key is unsealed (a login screen that offers Touch ID,
+for example), the first use of the keybag under the new policy is the
+`DESIGNATE_KEYBAG` in `activate_touchid` (`sbio.rs`), and the enclave asks
+for the rewrite there, after LOAD_KEYBAG has answered. The guard refuses
+it, and the designate is never answered:
+
+    xART guard: refused to rewrite kind-4 record <id>, which this Linux install did not create
+    sks: DESIGNATE_KEYBAG got no reply after 2037 ms
+    sks: DESIGNATE_KEYBAG did not complete; enrolment will refuse
+    hwrng: read produced nothing (ETIMEDOUT)
+    matching unavailable this boot: ...
+
+Touch ID and the enclave's RNG stay down for that boot, and the refusal
+repeats on every boot until the record is allowed. This was seen on the
+MacBook Air M3 (T8122, J613) on 2026-11-07, after a change from a raw
+m1n1 Stage 1 to a Mach-O one, and on a J616s after every Recovery
+enrolment of a Stage 1 that day (https://github.com/aurora-silicon/linux/issues/1190). Kernels from before that
+designate ran in the window below need `aurora-sep-policy-change` for this
+case.
+
+Under an unchanged policy neither that first unlock nor that designate
+rewrites an existing session record (every J616s boot before the change,
+and every guarded Touch ID boot on the J613 and J616s). So the driver
+treats a rewrite inside them as the policy change and lets exactly one
+through, by itself, on the first boot after the change:
+
+- only during the first unlock or Touch ID designate of an identity keybag
+  that already existed, whichever comes first, once per boot; a keybag or
+  ref-key created this boot closes the window;
 - only one kind-4 session record, only a rewrite, never a delete or a
   shared root, and the record is not added to Linux's list;
 - only once the record's previous value is durable in
@@ -160,8 +183,12 @@ boot:
   run it with no arguments. It takes the session id from the refusal.
 - Before a planned change, run it with `--expect`. The record cannot be
   named in advance, so the allowance covers the first existing kind-4
-  record the enclave asks to rewrite. The identity unlock is the first
-  thing that asks.
+  record the enclave asks to rewrite. The keybag's first use, Touch ID's
+  designate or the first unlock, is the first thing that asks. See
+  "Changing Stage 1 on purpose" below.
+- On a kernel whose refusal line names no session id (one from before the
+  allowance code), the tool with no arguments finds nothing to allow. Use
+  `--expect` there, and boot a kernel with the allowance code next.
 
 Either way it first copies the whole 6 MiB gigalocker extent, the driver's
 host files and `/var/lib/fprint` to
@@ -174,6 +201,30 @@ log names the record either way. `--status`
 shows what is armed and what this boot refused; `--cancel` removes an
 allowance that was not used yet.
 
+#### Changing Stage 1 on purpose
+
+Arm the allowance before the change, so the first boot under the new
+policy keeps Touch ID:
+
+1. On the Linux install, run `aurora-sep-policy-change --expect` as root.
+   The running kernel only has to load the driver, which logs where the
+   gigalocker is; it need not have the allowance code.
+2. Change Stage 1 (for example, enrol it from 1TR).
+3. Make the first boot afterwards a kernel with the allowance code, the
+   one that reads `/var/lib/aurora-sep-xart-allow-once.bin`. It empties
+   the file at probe and logs "this boot may rewrite the first existing
+   kind-4 record the enclave asks for, once", then "allowed one rewrite of
+   kind-4 record ... for a boot policy change" when the enclave asks.
+   A kernel without that code does not read the file. With the guard on,
+   it refuses the rewrite as above and leaves the allowance for a later
+   boot; with the guard off, it lets the rewrite through without saving
+   the previous value.
+4. Later boots under the same policy need nothing, on either kernel.
+
+If the first boot was the wrong kernel, Touch ID is down for that boot
+only: boot one with the allowance code next, and it uses the allowance
+still in the file.
+
 `aurora-sep-load` recognises a refusal and stops at once with a message
 that points here, instead of retrying for two minutes.
 
@@ -182,6 +233,15 @@ rewrote one kind-4 record and one shared root. The other six kind-4
 records and the kind-3 record kept their revisions, Ryan's enrolled
 finger matched afterwards, and it kept matching across later reboots.
 
+On the J613 (2026-11-07) the tool with no arguments armed the record the
+designate refusal named. The next boot logged "allowed one rewrite of
+kind-4 record ... for a boot policy change", restored the Catacomb and the
+enrolment ("Touch ID: restored 1 enrolled identity/identities; enrolment
+survived reboot"), and a kernel without the allowance code brought Touch
+ID up on later boots. A second Stage 1 change on that Mac (2026-11-08),
+armed beforehand as in "Changing Stage 1 on purpose", kept Touch ID on
+the first boot with no refusal.
+
 The copy of the gigalocker is evidence and a last resort, not an undo:
 writing an old copy back does not roll back the enclave's anti-replay
 counters, and the enclave may refuse it.
diff --git a/tools/aurora-sep/aurora-sep-policy-change b/tools/aurora-sep/aurora-sep-policy-change
index be53a352d92fd..fc9aab126e0d6 100755
--- a/tools/aurora-sep/aurora-sep-policy-change
+++ b/tools/aurora-sep/aurora-sep-policy-change
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@
 
 A new Stage 1, another boot object or a boot mode conversion changes the
 Mac's boot policy for Linux. The first time Linux's identity keybag is
-unlocked under the new policy, the enclave rewrites one session record in
-the shared xART gigalocker. Linux did not create that record, so the
-driver's xART guard refuses the write, the machine ref-key stays down and
-Touch ID is unavailable. The keybag, the ref-key and the enrolled
-fingerprints are all intact: the refused write changed nothing.
+used under the new policy (unlocked, or designated for Touch ID), the
+enclave rewrites one session record in the shared xART gigalocker. Linux
+did not create that record, so the driver's xART guard refuses the write,
+the enclave stops answering and Touch ID is unavailable. The keybag, the
+ref-key and the enrolled fingerprints are all intact: the refused write
+changed nothing.
 
 This lets the enclave make that one write on the next boot:
 
@@ -20,6 +21,11 @@ This lets the enclave make that one write on the next boot:
   aurora-sep-policy-change --status   what is armed, and this boot's refusals
   aurora-sep-policy-change --cancel   remove an allowance not used yet
 
+Only a kernel with the xART guard's allowance code reads the allowance.
+After a planned change, make the first boot such a kernel; any other
+kernel leaves the allowance for a later boot. See "Changing Stage 1 on
+purpose" in XART-SAFETY.md.
+
 Before it arms anything it backs up the whole gigalocker extent, the
 driver's host files and the fingerprint store to
 /var/lib/aurora-rollback/sep-policy-change-<time>/, with SHA256SUMS.
diff --git a/tools/aurora-sep/tests/test_policy_window.py b/tools/aurora-sep/tests/test_policy_window.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..fda87d68a3f0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/aurora-sep/tests/test_policy_window.py
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
+"""The first use of an existing identity keybag runs in the boot policy window.
+
+After a boot policy change the enclave rewrites one existing session record
+at the keybag's first use: the first unlock, or Touch ID's DESIGNATE_KEYBAG
+when Touch ID comes up first (https://github.com/aurora-silicon/linux/issues/1190). The xART guard lets that rewrite
+through only inside crate::xart_guard::policy_window, so every designate of
+a keybag that already existed has to run in it.
+"""
+from pathlib import Path
+import re
+import unittest
+
+APPLE = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3] / "drivers/soc/apple"
+DESIGNATE = "sks_designate_user_keybag("
+PREPARE = "sks_prepare_identity_refkey("
+
+
+def function(text, name):
+    """The source of `fn name`, from its signature to its closing brace."""
+    match = re.search(rf"\bfn {name}\b", text)
+    if match is None:
+        raise AssertionError(f"fn {name} not found")
+    opening = text.index("{", match.end())
+    depth, end = 1, opening + 1
+    while depth:
+        depth += (text[end] == "{") - (text[end] == "}")
+        end += 1
+    return text[match.start():end]
+
+
+def functions(text):
+    """(name, start, end) of every fn with a body."""
+    found = []
+    for match in re.finditer(r"\bfn (\w+)\b[^;{]*\{", text):
+        depth, end = 1, match.end()
+        while depth:
+            depth += (text[end] == "{") - (text[end] == "}")
+            end += 1
+        found.append((match.group(1), match.start(), end))
+    return found
+
+
+def calls(name):
+    """(file, caller, caller's source, offset of the call in it) per call."""
+    found = []
+    for path in sorted(APPLE.glob("*.rs")):
+        text = path.read_text()
+        spans = functions(text)
+        for match in re.finditer(re.escape(name), text):
+            if text[max(0, match.start() - 3):match.start()] == "fn ":
+                continue
+            # The innermost function around the call.
+            caller, start, end = max(
+                (s for s in spans if s[1] < match.start() < s[2]),
+                key=lambda s: s[1])
+            found.append((path.name, caller, text[start:end],
+                          match.start() - start))
+    return found
+
+
+def statement(body, at):
+    """The statement around offset `at`: from the previous `;`, `{` or `}`."""
+    start = max(body.rfind(c, 0, at) for c in ";{}")
+    # A closure opened inside the statement does not end it.
+    while body[start] == "{" and body[start - 3:start].strip().endswith("||"):
+        start = max(body.rfind(c, 0, start) for c in ";{}")
+    return body[start + 1:at]
+
+
+class PolicyWindowTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.sbio = (APPLE / "sbio.rs").read_text()
+        self.activate = function(self.sbio, "activate_touchid")
+
+    def test_touchid_designates_inside_the_window(self):
+        at = self.activate.index(DESIGNATE)
+        self.assertIn("crate::xart_guard::policy_window(", statement(self.activate, at))
+
+    def test_touchid_designates_before_the_ref_key_can_be_created(self):
+        # Creating the machine ref-key closes the window for the boot.
+        self.assertLess(self.activate.index(DESIGNATE),
+                        self.activate.index("sks_machine_refkey("))
+
+    def test_touchid_designates_a_keybag_that_already_existed(self):
+        recovered = self.activate.index("sks_recover(&stored)")
+        self.assertLess(recovered, self.activate.index(DESIGNATE))
+        self.assertNotIn("sks_provision_identity_keybag(", self.activate)
+
+    def test_no_other_path_designates_outside_a_window(self):
+        # A new designate of an existing keybag needs the window too; add it
+        # here once it runs in one.
+        sites = {(f, outer) for f, outer, _body, _at in calls(DESIGNATE)}
+        self.assertEqual(sites, {("sbio.rs", "activate_touchid"),
+                                 ("refkey.rs", "sks_prepare_identity_refkey")})
+        # The ref-key path designates inside its own unlock's window, or
+        # after a ref-key create has closed the window for the boot.
+        callers = calls(PREPARE)
+        self.assertTrue(callers)
+        for f, outer, body, at in callers:
+            with self.subTest(caller=outer):
+                before = body[:at]
+                self.assertTrue("crate::xart_guard::policy_window(" in before
+                                or "crate::xart_guard::close_policy_window(" in before,
+                                f"{f}: {outer}")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()