Solved Fingerprint sensor stopped working

On my Acer Swift SF114-34 laptop, the fingerprint sensor stopped working and was not visible in Device Manager under Biometric devices. There was an unknown USB device with a code 43 error.

I reinstalled the driver for the sensor but it did not help.

I asked ChatGPT for advice and one of its suggestions was to shutdown Windows, remove the charger and hold the power button down for 30 seconds.

I did this and as with most Acer laptops, this caused the laptop to power on and off repeatedly.

But this did fix the problem. ChatGPT says this procedure drains all power from the motherboard and fixes a stuck embedded controller (EC).

I hope this may help somebody else.

Many laptops these days, the Acer Swift SF114-34 included as far as I know, have a battery reset pinhole underneath them which may do the same thing. Not sure.

Mine has that pinhole. If problem reoccurs, I will try it.

According to ChatGPT,

"On the Acer Swift SF114-34, the battery reset pinhole is a hardware feature that allows you to force a reset of the embedded controller (EC) and temporarily disconnect the internal battery, which can be useful in the following situations:

Purpose of the Battery Reset Pinhole​

• Fixes unresponsive behaviour: If the laptop won’t power on, won’t charge, or doesn’t respond after sleep/hibernation, using the reset pinhole can clear the EC’s internal state and resolve these issues.
• Disconnects the battery: It simulates a full battery disconnect, which is not easy to do manually since the battery is internal and not removable.
• Resets power management circuitry: Useful after a power surge or if the system is acting erratically with regard to power or charging."

Thanks, Antspants.

I held it down and tried pressing the power button and no light came on so this is a good way to drain any volts on the motherboard.

kelper said:

Fixes unresponsive behaviour: If the laptop won’t power on, won’t charge, or doesn’t respond after sleep/hibernation, using the reset pinhole can clear the EC’s internal state and resolve these issues.

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I had to do it with my wifes Lenovo due to it not being charged and it got totally drained as a result.
For some reason because of that I couldn’t get it started again, charged or use it whilst plugged in. So I used the Pinhole.

P.S. make sure nothing, especially AC power (Charger), is connected to the Laptop when using the Pinhole.