How to Fix Windows Hello not Working on Windows 11 PCs

With fingerprint technology and face recognition, Windows Hello offers instant access to your Windows 11 device. The key motive of this functionality is to ensure secure access. The Windows 11 build 22000.100 was recently released to the Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel. Along with it, there came a huge rollout of the Teams Chat and added modifications to the UI. The idea behind this is to make all of them consistent in advance of the anticipated October release for the latest OS.

Related: How To Fix Windows Hello Isnt Available On This Device on Windows 10

It being an Insider build, certain features are not available for certain users. One of those is the Windows Hello Facial recognition. Occasionally, in your Windows 11, you may come across the error message like “Something went wrong” whenever the lock screen engages, or when the PC is locked post a reboot.

Windows 11 Build 22000.100:

The fourth Windows 11 Insider Preview i.e. Build 22000.100 got launched to Insiders in the Dev Channel. It is this latest build that instills new updates and enhancements in terms of the touch keyboard, Teams Chat, Microsoft Store, background activity prompt, and more. Moreover, it instills several fixes on File Explorer, Settings, Taskbar, and Widgets.

Also Read: How to Get Windows Hello On Any Computer Running Windows 10

Till now, the fourth Windows 11 Insider Preview i.e. build 22000.100 got launched to insiders. However, it presents different issues like Windows Hello not working, Go back not working, widgets not working, etc.

Discussing the Windows Hello not working issue, some users come across an error message saying “Something went wrong” whenever the lock screen shows up or the PC once reboot is done. But, some ways are available to resolve this problem.

Causes of ‘Windows 11 Hello’ not working:

Here are the reasons that may be responsible for this error code:

Built-in Camera driver not installed:

This cause is responsible for the mentioned error when the equipped camera utilized by Windows Hello does not come installed with the latest drivers. To resolve this issue, you have to install the latest camera driver either manually or through WU.

Pending Windows Hello Update is not installed:

Microsoft is familiar with this issue and it is quite occupied fixing that issue as it may automatically solve the issue. If the Windows Hello update is not done then you need to access Windows Update and then install each Windows Update.

The biometric driver is corrupted:

Probably the most typical cause for this issue is when the latest Windows 11 build installation got terminated by rewriting certain files that belong to the biometric driver being used by Windows Hello. This issue can be resolved by uninstalling the existing biometric driver along with any linked dependencies for forcing your OS to reinstall that driver.

As per the views of certain Microsoft technicians, this issue chiefly occurs because of certain types of file rewrite taking place when there is the installation of Windows 11 build 22000.100 going on. The same influences the Biometric Services.

Microsoft has validated that the fix will be available soon. So, the first thing you must do is to install the newest Windows 11 build accessible for your specific Preview/Beta channel.

How to fix Windows 11 Hello not working?

Here are the various methods described to fix this issue:

Method-1: Uninstall the Windows Hello Face Software Device:

It is the most effective method by Microsoft for uninstalling the Face Software Device driver. This solution worked well for many users. Follow the steps below:

• Step-1: Press ‘Win + S’ and it will open the Search box.
• Step-2: Now type ‘device manager’ in the search box and choose ‘Device Manager’ from the displayed menu.
• Step-3: Enlarge the ‘Biometric devices category’. Now right-click on the ‘Windows Hello Face Software Device driver’ and choose ‘Uninstall device’.
• Step-4: Now you need to follow the prompts displayed on-screen to finish the uninstallation process.
• Step-5: After uninstalled, you need to reboot your computer to check whether the Windows 11 Hello camera not functioning issue is solved or not.

Method-2: Enable the Biometrics Devices through Local Group Policy Editor

If the Windows Hello functionality is suddenly disabled on your Windows 11 computer, then this method can be useful to you. You can fix this issue through Device Manager by temporarily uninstalling the biometric driver of Windows Hello. Doing this forces your OS to install the new version.

As mentioned by some users who tried this, it would solve the file rewrite problem that is blocking the Windows Hello functionality.

Follow these steps:

• Step-1: Press ‘Win + R’ keys and it will open the ‘Run’ dialog box.
• Step-2: In the Run dialog box, type the ‘gpedit.msc’ and press ‘Enter’.
• Step-3: From the pop-up window, enter the below path from the left navigation bar.
• Step-4: Computer configuration < Administrative < Templates < Windows Components < Biometrics
• Step-5: Choose the ‘Allow the use of Biometrics entry key’. Now click on the ‘Enabled’ button.
• Step-6: In this step, you have to click on ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ to save changes.
• Step-7: Now choose the ‘Allow users to log on using the biometric’ option. You need to enable it similarly.
• Step-8: Finally, restart your computer and confirm whether Windows Hello works or not.
• Resetting the Hello Facial Recognition Settings
• If both the above method fails then you can try to reset the facial recognition settings. For that, follow these steps:
• Step-1: Press the ‘Win + I’ keys and it will open the ‘Settings’ app.
• Step-2: From the ‘Account’ section, you need to click on the ‘Sign-in options’ button.
• Step-3: Find out the ‘Facial Recognition (Windows Hello)’ option from the right sidebar. Now click on ‘Remove’.
• Step-4: Choose the ‘Get Started’ option.
• Step-5: Follow the instructions to reset it.
• Step-6: Now you can reboot your computer and check whether the issue is solved or not.

Concluding Note:

Once Windows Hello is installed, it continues to work flawlessly. It is expected that Microsoft will resolve this issue in the future build. Though the issue is not critical, it can be challenging for those users who depend on Windows Hello to sign into their devices.

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