Windows Hello is a safer way to sign in to your Windows 10 device without having to worry about remembering your password. Futuristic login technology uses biometric authentication to provide faster, safer and easier access to your computer with fingerprint or facial recognition, with enterprise-grade security to boot.
These biometric tokens allow you to log into online devices, apps, or networks, and you can connect a Bluetooth device such as a smartphone to your computer and use Windows Hello’s dynamic lock feature to automatically lock your computer.
As good as this service sounds, sometimes you might find that Windows Hello fingerprint isn’t working due to hardware issues, system corruption, software conflicts, misconfigurations, or faulty, outdated and incompatible drivers.
If fingerprint sign-in on your PC using Windows Hello isn’t working, perhaps after an update or other changes to your PC, try some of the workarounds in this guide to help you restore this functionality.
- Install updates manually.
- Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
- Reset your fingerprint and face recognition settings.
- Enable biometrics in the Group Policy Editor.
- Change your Windows Hello Group Policy settings.
- Update your system drivers.
- Reset Windows.
- Disable Fast Startup.
- Check and remove the updates that caused the problem.
- Reset fingerprint login.
- Reinstall your fingerprint software.
- Recover your system files.
- Restart the Credential Manager service.
Windows Hello Fingerprint fixes not working in Windows 10
- Install updates manually.
- Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter.
- Fingerprint Reset & Face Recognition Options.
- Enable dynamic metrics in the Group Policy Editor.
- Modify Windows Hello Group Policy settings.
- Update system drivers.
- Perform a Windows reset.
- Turn Fast Startup off.
- Check for and remove the updates that caused the problem.
- Fingerprint Login Reset.
li> reinstall the fingerprint software.
- Repair system files.
- Restart the Credential Manager service.
li> reinstall the fingerprint software.
How to fix Windows Hello not working in Windows 10
Many reported Windows Hello fingerprint failures occur after installing Windows updates such as version 1809, which caused many issues such as system crashes, data loss, crashing during loading, and app crashing among other issues.
Please check the following before using any of the fixes below:
– /
- Your device is running Windows 10, not another version of the operating system; otherwise, you won’t be able to use Windows Hello. In this case, consider upgrading to Windows 10.
- Make sure you have a fingerprint sensor or reader on your device. Some machines may have them, but they are probably too old and there is no Windows 10 driver for them, so the service will not work.
- Make sure your device is compatible with Windows Hello.
- Make sure your internet connection is secure and your device is connected, otherwise Windows Hello won’t work.
- Check if there is dust or dirt on the fingerprint reader as this may affect reading. If the sensor is scratched, have the device repaired.
- Use the same finger and position to sign in that you used when registering your fingerprint with Windows Hello.
Install updates manually
Since Windows Hello fingerprint login doesn’t work, you will need to revert to using a password or PIN to log in and check for Windows updates manually.
- Once logged in, go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Update
- Install any pending and discovered updates and restart your computer. Try to sign in with fingerprint authentication again.
Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter
This will scan and detect any possible hardware and device problems in the system.
- Click Start> Settings> Update & Security> Troubleshoot.
- Click Start> Settings> Accounts.
Reset fingerprint and face recognition options
- Click Start> Settings> Accounts .
- Click Login Options.
- Find the Face recognition or Fingerprint options and click Fingerprint.
- Select “Delete” and do the same for Face Recognition.
- Then click “Get Started” and follow the instructions to reset the Face Recognition and Fingerprint login options, and then restart your computer.
- Type gpedit in the search box and click Change Group Policy.
- Click Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates.
Enable Biometrics in the Group Policy Editor
- Type gpedit in the search box and click Modify Group Policy .
- Click Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates .
- Double click Windows Components.
- Double-click the Biometrics icon in the right pane and check if all of its settings are configured.
- If you see Not Configured, this is probably why Windows Hello fingerprint login is not working.
- Right-click each biometric setting, select Enabled, and then click Apply> OK.
- Double-click Allow User to Log On With Biometric Information and select Enabled.
- Click Apply> OK.
Modify Windows Hello Group Policy settings
Windows Update may have made some changes to some important Group Policy settings, so you can check the Windows Hello settings in the Group Policy Editor. The first four steps are the same as in the example above.
- Right-click Start> Run. Type gpedit and press Enter.
- Click Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates.
- Then double-click Windows Components.
- Double click Biometrics.
- Double click. click “Face Features”.
- Right-click Configure Enhanced Anti-Spoofing and select Modify.
- Disable. Configure advanced spoofing protection and restart your computer to see if it resolves the Windows Hello fingerprint login issue.
Update System Drivers
Some drivers, in this case the fingerprint reader driver, may have been corrupted at some point, either during an update or during another process, resulting in the fingerprint login not working properly.
- To resolve this issue, you can update your drivers by right-clicking Start> Device Manager.
- Find the appropriate drivers under Biometric Devices, right-click the device and select Uninstall Driver Software.
- Do this for all Windows Hello related drivers and restart your device.
- Right-click and select “Scan for hardware changes” and the system will detect and install the drivers again.
- Alternatively, you can roll back a damaged or outdated driver to a previous version by double-clicking Biometric Devices and selecting Roll Back Driver from the Properties section.
- When you’re done, click OK.
Perform a Windows Reset
When you reboot your Windows device, it repairs the corruption of all system files so that Windows Hello can work normally again. It also resets your device to default Windows settings.
- To update your device, go to Settings> Update & Security> Recovery> Reset This PC and click Get Started.
- Click Start> Settings> System> Power & Sleep.
- Click Start> Settings> System> Power & Sleep
- Click Advanced Power Options.
- Then click Choose what the power button does.
- Click Change Settings That Are Unavailable, uncheck Quick Launch if it is checked, and click Save Changes.
- Click Settings> Update & Security> Windows Updates.
- Go to view update history.
- Click the Uninstall Updates link.
- A new screen will open with the installed updates. Right-click each one and select Delete.
- Restart your computer and check if Windows Hello fingerprint login works again.
- In the search box, type login and press Enter to open the accounts menu.
- Go to Sign-in Options and click Configure under Windows Hello Fingerprint.
- Click Get Started and follow the instructions to set up fingerprint login again.
- Click Start> Settings> Applications. In apps and features.
- Click Start> Settings> Applications . In Applications and Features .
- Find the fingerprint scanner and click on it. Click “Delete” and confirm the action.
- Right-click Start> Device Manager and expand the Biometric Devices category.
- Find your fingerprint reader, right-click, select Remove Device and confirm.
- Restart your computer to apply the changes and check if the fingerprint works again.
- You can prevent your computer from turning off the fingerprint reader by going to Device Manager> Universal Serial Bus Controllers category and locate the USB root hub.
- Double-click the USB Root Hub to open its properties.
- Uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” on the Power Management tab. Repeat these steps for all USB Root Hub entries.
- Enter CMD in the search box and select Command Prompt> Run as administrator.
- In the Command Prompt dialog box, type sfc / scannow and press Enter to run the command.
- Right-click Start> Run and type services.msc. Press Enter to open the Services window and search for Credential Manager service.
- Right-click Start> Run and type services.msc. Press Enter to open the Services window and search for Certification Manager Service .
- Double-click the Credential Manager service to open the Properties window and navigate to the Service Status section.
- Click Stop and then click the Start button again to restart the service.
- Click Apply> OK and check if the print works again.
Note. This action will permanently delete the data on your computer, so before doing anything, be sure to make a backup or copy the data to external or cloud storage.
Turn off Fast Startup
Check for and Uninstall updates causing the issue
If problems with fingerprint sign-in first started after installing Windows updates, check for installed updates and uninstall them.
Fingerprint Login Reset
If the problem persists, you can reset fingerprint login and see if that helps.
Reinstall Fingerprint Software
Repair System Files
File corruption is one of the reasons for the fingerprint reader to crash when you try to log in with Windows Hello. you can use the built-in system file checker to fix the situation.
The system files will be scanned, after which you can restart your computer and see if the fingerprint issue is resolved.
Restart Credential Manager Service
If all else fails, you can switch to a different fingerprint reader.
–
Comment on “How To Fix Windows Hello Fingerprint Not Working In Windows 10”