Windows Hello Not Working,(We couldn't find a camera compatible with Windows Hello Face)

All of a sudden my Windows Hello has stopped working and on the lock screen it says, "sorry something went wrong, please enter PIN" and in settings it says We couldn't find a camera compatible with Windows Hello Face. what do I do?

Often, when installing or updating Norton 360/Lifelock ®, the product disables the Windows HelloFace driver. This is very annoying and Norton/Symantic has no documentation about this, nor do any of their tech support or customer support staff know what you are talking about. This has happened to me several times when Norton interrupts my day by pushing a screen to my PC telling me I need to do an update right now.

It also can happen after you make a tech support call to them and the tech support clerk takes over your computer, trying to find viruses (see below). They always follow a step-by-step protocol which they always have to follow when you call them. Often this has nothing to do with the problem you called about, but they are required to do it. You want to know why Norton has broken your camera, but they don't know anything about that. They are trained to look for viruses, so that's what they do. In the process they can possibly disable stuff on your computer, delete stuff, or unneccesarily reconfigure stuff.

You can google all over the galactic internet for solutions. You'll find tons of differing suggested solutions, most of them quite extensive and time consuming with many, many steps.

However, in the specific case of a Norton install or update, the following simple solution usually works. (Note: it's not a camera issue. The camera works fine. It's just the Windows HelloFace sign-in that is broken.)

In Windows Explorer, go to C:\Windows\System32\WinBioPlugIns\FaceDriver. Locate the HelloFace.inf and HelloFaceMigration.inf files.  These are the driver setup information files that tell Windows the instructions and parameters needed to install the 2 drivers.

Right-Click on each of the info files (highlighted about in yellow) then click on "install." 

Restart your computer and the problem should be resolved. 

Each time your Norton anti-virus app is updated or re-installed, there is a risk that the problem will pop up again, so be aware.

___

Related -- but less serious (only annoying) issue:

When an app -- including routine use of Edge browser -- accesses your camera, Norton checks to see if the use is questionable. For example, is a hacker trying to get access to your camera. If Norton detects a risky encounter, it will warn you and block it.

The annoying thing is, if there is nothing risky and the access is benign (for example you want your browser to access your camera and the person who will be seeing the camera image is you or someone you trust), Norton shoots out an annoying and disruptive message box letting you know that Norton allowed the access and that "there's nothing to see here."

This is how my own HelloFace feature broke in the first place. When I called Norton to see if this message could be turned off, the tech/customer support clerk went thru his required protocol of taking over my computer, closing all my browser windows, trying to delete my browser history (fortunately, I stopped him before he could do this), reinstalling the Norton product (to insure I had the latest version of the Norton product), and then scanning for viruses.

Then he opened my camera to see if it was working. Of course it was working. That wasn't the issue. it's not a camera issue. The camera works fine. It's just the Windows HelloFace sign-in that is broken. He ended the "support" session by simply explaining to me what the pop-up message meant and the fact that its purpose is prevent hackers from opening the camera and invading my privacy. He then simply told me that, annoying as it is, it can't be stopped.

Unfortunately, by re-installing the Norton product, the Windows HelloFace sign-in feature broke. 

It was this experience that forced me to learn how to re-install the Windows HelloFace and HelloFaceMigration set-up info files.

I hope this, long-winded, explanation will help other Norton users get around the problem.

Thanks It worked for me

thanks for your help! did step 1 and then step 2 and it totally fixed the problem!

Hello Hadrien,

Thank you so much for this post. After a recent Windows update on my surface pro 6, the facial recognition just stopped working. I guess not really a big deal, but it annoyed me. 

I have been searching all over the place & as with so many things, it's how you phrase the question - what you type in the search bar. I was seeing all sorts of really drastic ideas, like 1 post said I need to do a full reset using a USB boot file. I figured there had to be a better & less drastic (more Knowledgeable) solution.

Yours was just that. I followed the recommended steps, restarted the computer & bingo - fixed !!!

Thanks again 

-Richard.

I have the same problem with you, cannot fix the Face recognition, my finger print recognition turns to unavailable too.