Accidentally Uninstalled Biometric using Device Manager and its not coming back

Anonymous
2019-01-10T04:37:08+00:00

Hello,

I seem to have permanently deleted the "biometric devices" category in the Device Manger. Windows Hello using a biometric device no longer works. 

I have a home built desktop with a Mouse Cm-01a Window Hello camera. It was working very well for about a year. Some combination of the 1809 update and new AMD Graphics Card Drivers stopped it from working consistently.

I began trying to roll back graphics card drivers and do other troubleshooting. I even performed a recovery and it did not solve the issue. I read that I could uninstall the camera and have Windows reinstall the drivers. When this didn't work, I attempted to uninstall biometric devices and have it reinstall the divers. Unfortunately this category has never returned.

Now my Window Hello setting in Sign-in options says "Face and fingerprint recognition are not available on this device".

I have tried a lot of the steps you would see from other troubleshooting sites (edit group policy settings, restart the Windows Biometric Service), but no luck. 

I'm at my wits end here. I would rather not have to do another restore (that state wasn't working perfectly well as it was). Perhaps I have to do a Repair Install. Let me know if I have any other options (or if I just need to bite the bullet). Thanks!

Here are some system stats:

Processor: Intel i5-4690

RAM 16 GB

OS: Windows 10 Pro

Version: 1809

Build: 17763.253 (I am in the release preview track)

GPU: Radeon RX 580 Series (XFX brand)

Radeon Software Version: 18.40.21.06

Edit: Some of the responses have asked that I contact the manufacturer. Unfortunately, that would be me since this is a home-built desktop. I will see if I can find anything through Intel or ASRock (motherboard manufacturer).

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows Hello, lock screen and sign-in

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-02-18T22:46:48+00:00

    Did you go to the top in Device Manager and Scan for hardware changes?

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-02-18T22:39:27+00:00

    Hello everyone,

    I did a lot of things for fix this problem. It's all about Windows Biometrics Plugin.

    C:\Windows\System32\WinBioPlugIns\FaceDriver. Go to this folder and right click the HelloFace.inf file and click install. WHen you do this, Wİndows opening the plugin and install the Windows Hello Biometrics device.

    I hope this fix your issue!

    My file only reads .dll instead of .inf

    Any suggestions how to solve this issue? It is driving me crazy that I can't seem to fix this problem with biometrics.

    Many thanks in advance for any response.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-01-23T21:02:56+00:00

    Hi,

    Can I ask, did it fix Hello Windows Face AND Fingerprint for you?

    After windows update I uninstalled the fingerprint sensor in device manager without deleting the driver files. Biometric devices did not show up anymore in device manager. I downloaded new fingerprint sensor drive from HP but it still does not show up.

    This fix worked in that Biometric devices is back but only with the face software device that I didn't even have before, the fingerprint is still not there.

    Windows hello face and windows hello fingerprint are still "currently unavailable".

    Any idea how I could get the fingerprint sensor back? As I uninstalled the driver, I need to delete the driver files too but I don't know where to find them. Until then I guess I can't install the new driver succesfully.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-01-23T20:59:16+00:00

    Hi,

    Can I ask, did it fix Hello Windows Face AND Fingerprint for you?

    After windows update I uninstalled the fingerprint sensor in device manager without deleting the driver files. Biometric devices did not show up anymore in device manager. I downloaded new fingerprint sensor drive from HP but it still does not show up.

    This fix worked in that Biometric devices is back but only with the face software device that I didn't even have before, the fingerprint is still not there.

    Windows hello face and windows hello fingerprint are still "currently unavailable".

    Any idea how I could get the fingerprint sensor back? As I uninstalled the driver, I need to delete the driver files too but I don't know where to find them. Until then I guess I can't install the new driver succesfully.

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    1 person found this answer helpful.
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