Windows Hello Face or Fingerprint Stopped Working

First, prove your PIN works before you change anything

On the sign-in screen, select Sign-in options, then select the PIN icon, which looks like a small keypad. Type your PIN and press Enter while your face and fingerprint are still set up. If Windows opens to your desktop, your PIN works.

Do this test before you remove anything. Most Windows Hello changes ask for that PIN, including removing a stored face or fingerprint and setting it up again. If the PIN fails at that point, you can be left with no working way to sign in.

If you do not know the PIN, or Windows says it is wrong, stop here. Do not remove your face, your fingerprint, or your PIN. Use the forgotten PIN route instead, and come back to this fix only after a PIN sign-in has worked.

Also keep your Microsoft account password where you can reach it, on paper or on another device. Windows may ask for it as a backup if PIN sign-in fails. You do not need to change it now, just have it ready.

Quick checks for a dirty sensor, poor light, or a turned off setting

Start with the fingerprint reader. Wash and dry your hands, then wipe the sensor with a clean, dry cloth to remove oil or lotion. Place the pad of your finger flat on the sensor, and if it still fails, try a different finger you enrolled before.

For face sign-in, sit facing the camera at your usual distance, with even light on your face from the front. Take off sunglasses or a hat, and move if bright light is behind you or one side of your face is in shadow. Then try again once you are set.

Next, open Settings and select Accounts, then Sign-in options. Confirm that Windows Hello Face or Windows Hello Fingerprint is listed and says it is set up. If it is missing or not set up, note what it says for the next section.

Finally, restart the PC once if the problem started after sleep or after an update that may not have finished. Use Start, then Power, then Restart, sign in with your PIN, and test face or fingerprint once more before you change anything else.

Re-enroll or roll back the driver: how to choose

Before you choose, write down the exact message under Windows Hello in Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options. Then open Device Manager and check under Biometric devices for a fingerprint reader, or under Cameras for face sign-in, and look for the device name and any yellow warning mark beside it. Note whether the device is missing entirely, because that also points away from re-enrollment.

Choose re-enrollment first if the device is still listed in Sign-in options, Device Manager shows no warning, and the hardware seems to run but no longer recognizes you reliably. That pattern often means Windows can still use the camera or reader, and the stored face or finger record is the part that no longer matches.

Choose driver rollback first if sign-in stopped at once after a Windows update or a driver update, if Sign-in options says the option is unavailable, or if Device Manager shows a warning. Sudden failure right after a change points to the new driver, not to your stored record, so re-enrolling would not fix the cause.

Whichever route fits your checks, change only one thing, then lock the PC and test sign-in before trying the other route, even if both sound plausible. If that route works, stop there, because you will know which fix worked. If it does not work, the result is still clear, and you can move to the other route with your PIN still working.

How to roll back the biometric driver safely

How to roll back the biometric driver safely

If your check pointed to a recent driver change, try this before you remove your face or fingerprint record. Roll back returns the device to the driver it used before. Sign in with the PIN you tested earlier, and keep using that PIN after every restart until sign-in works again.

1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
2. Open Biometric devices for a fingerprint reader, or Cameras for face sign-in, and double-click the device name.
3. Select Properties, then the Driver tab, and write down the driver date and version shown there.
4. On the Driver tab, select Roll Back Driver. If Windows asks why, pick an answer and confirm.
5. Restart the PC when the rollback finishes.
6. Sign in with your PIN, then press Windows key + L to lock the PC and test face or fingerprint.

If Roll Back Driver is grayed out, Windows has no earlier driver to return to, so do not keep clicking or reinstall at random. Check Settings, then Windows Update, for a pending or newer update. Then check the PC maker's support page for your exact model. A driver from the maker is the safer source. Do not use driver updater tools.

Stop at once if the device says its drivers are not installed. That message is Code 28, and there is no working driver to roll back to. Use the Code 28 page for that repair instead, then come back here only to test sign-in.

How to remove and re-enroll your face or fingerprint

How to remove and re-enroll your face or fingerprint

Use this route only if Windows still lists your camera or fingerprint reader, with no warning on it. You will remove the old face or fingerprint record and make a fresh one, using the PIN you tested earlier.

1. Open Settings, then Accounts, then Sign-in options. Select Windows Hello Face or Windows Hello Fingerprint, whichever one you use.
2. Select Remove, and enter your PIN when Windows asks. Wait until Windows confirms the old record is gone.
3. Restart your PC, and sign in with your PIN.
4. Go back to Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options. Select Face or Fingerprint, select Set up, and follow the prompts to make the new record.

For a fingerprint, touch the same finger to the sensor slowly each time and lift it between touches, as the prompts show. After it is accepted, enroll a second finger as a backup for a cut or bandaged finger.

For face sign-in, sit facing the camera in the light you use most often and look straight at it. If Windows offers Improve recognition after setup, run it with your glasses on and again with them off.

Test the result before you trust it. Press the Windows key and L together to lock the PC, then sign in once with your face or fingerprint. If it lets you in, the new record is working.

If it still does not work, try this order before a reset

If it still does not work, try this order before a reset

Start with the Windows Biometric Service. Press the Windows key, type Services, and open the app. Find Windows Biometric Service in the list, select it, then select Restart. Restart the PC, sign in with your PIN, then lock the PC and try face or fingerprint once.

Next, check Windows Update again. A later update sometimes fixes a fault that an earlier update caused. Open Settings, then Windows Update, and select Check for updates. If a newer update does not help, see our guide to removing a bad Windows update for the uninstall steps.

If the reader or camera never appears in Device Manager at all, stop changing Windows settings. That points more to a hardware fault, or to software that only the PC maker provides for that model. Check the maker's support page for your exact model, or ask the maker or a repair shop about testing the part.