Solved Windows Hello Facial Recognition Stopped Working, Cannot Configure

Hi all,

Windows Hello Facial Recognition stopped working on my laptop about 2 weeks ago. I finally got around to troubleshooting it today.

Completed the following steps:

• Attempted to reconfigure existing setup, could not proceed past the "Make sure your face is centered in the frame" message.
• Removed existing Facial Recognition, tried to add, same as above.
• Recorded a test video with Camera app, the camera works
• Tried to configure again, same results
• Uninstalled all recent updates (2 or 3)
• Disabled Fast Startup
• Reset Windows Biometrics: Windows 10: Resetting the Windows Hello Biometrics | Dell US

All failed.

Thank you for your help and advice

Double checked the camera is working properly?

One way to test.

antspants said:

Double checked the camera is working properly?

One way to test.

How to record a webcam video - Microsoft Support

Learn how to easily record a video with audio from your webcam in Clipchamp's video editor.

support.microsoft.com

Click to expand...

Oh, good idea and definitely. I had 2 Zoom calls today, and then recorded a short video with the Camera app when I started troubleshooting. Editing the original post now.

Is there an IR Camera Driver listed under “Camera” in Device manager?
Have you checked Lenovo for updates?
If there is an IR Camera driver on the Lenovo website for your specific laptop model, download it, uninstall/remove the one installed and reinstall it?

Also, check Windows Update>Advanced Options>Optional Updates for anything related to Biometrics, IR or Camera Drivers.

It would seem the most recent camera driver for your laptop is from 2022. However, it may be worth a try to remove it from device manager, that is up to you though. I don’t see an IR specific driver so it must be integrated into the camera driver. I can’t be certain though.

Correction, sorry.

I just checked my YOGA. The IR Device is listed under “Camera” not imaging devices. So I will assume the IR device driver is incorporated into the camera driver

There have been a number of other posters with the same problem. I'll be honest, most were Lenovo owners and only a few of them were able to resolve their problem. Try these suggestions.

1. Whether you use bluetooth or not, make sure it is turned on. Check facial recognition again. Turn Bluetooth on or off in Windows - Microsoft Support

2. Open Services. Make sure Windows Biometric Service is enabled and set to Manual Trigger Start

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3. Run Windows Hello troubleshooter Windows Hello common issues and troubleshooting tips - Microsoft Support

4. Run Lenovo Vantage to update all drivers and firmware.

5. Remove facial recognition as a means of signin. Wait for several days, restarting several times in the meantime using your password or pin. Then set up facial recognition again.I know this sounds crazy but give it a try if nothing else works.

6. There is a possibility your user account is corrupted in some way. Create another user account, make it an administrator, and test to see if facial recognition works using the "set up facial recognition signin" tutorial above. Note: the pin option of signing in has to be enabled and set up before you can use facial recognition.

TLDR: Solved, steps:

1. Removed "Integrated IR Camera" from the Device Manager
2. Right-clicked the computer name in Device Manager, ran "Scan for hardware changes
3. Ran Windows Hello Wizard, successfully registered the face

More:
I was able to solve the issue (see above) after remembering I can fiddle with the Device Manager. It's been a while since my troubleshooting days. Today I came back to update the post and found all these great suggestions.

@antspants & @glasskuter: thank you both so much!

Glad you were able to have it fixed, cheers.