Windows Hello Fingerprint not working

Anonymous
2019-12-17T11:18:46+00:00

Hi

I have a problem with windows hello on my laptop. In the normal settings, it says "We couldn't find a fingerprint scanner compatible with Windows Hello Fingerprint".

This problem has been around for about a month a half now, hoping that a software update would fix it. It hasn't been fixed. My laptop is a hp envy x360 convertible ds-0xxx. This laptop has a fingerprint reader on it, and it worked for when I got it.

I have tried all of the obvious things, like shut down and restart. I have looked into other people's similar problems, non of those fixes work.

In device manager, it doesn't say that there is a biometric catergory, to find the device in said catergory. [see photo...]

I have check mostly everything to check if something needs updating, but nothing does.

On the lock screen, it says "Something went wrong on our end".

Can someone help please, nothing makes any sense at all.

***Modified title from: windows hello won't work***

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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2020-10-14T04:07:04+00:00

I had the same problem as everyone else and finally decided to try and fix the problem.  Under my device manage I had the little yellow triangle that signaled an error of some sort.  Synaptics WBDI SGX was the driver name.  Tried everything listed in the various replies of this thread without any luck.  I even tried updating the drivers and got the message that they were already up to date.  Finally I decided to try a different update that I had dismissed previously and it worked instantly!  

What I did that finally worked was this:

windows + X

click on device manager

right click on the driver under Biometric Devices (If it is hidden click view and then show hidden devices to see it)

click update driver

click the SECOND option which says BROWSE MY COMPUTER for drivers. (The first option just told me the best drivers were already installed.)

Click let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer

Click the driver listed.  (I only had one listed and it was the same as the one I was trying to fix Synaptics WBDI SGX)

Click next

Let the install complete.

At this point my yellow triangle vanished.

I then went straight to my sign in options setting screen (which you can type in the search bar for easy access) and when I clicked windows hello fingerprint it said it was ready for me to use!  No restart required.

I share this in the hopes that it helps someone else who had no luck with any of the other methods listed.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-06-26T19:30:27+00:00

    Tried everything in this thread.  nothing works.  See highlighted area in screen print:  How would I  reconnect the fingerprint scanner?

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-07-17T03:09:33+00:00

    None approach is working in my case. my laptop is Dell Vostro 3500

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-07-18T20:06:58+00:00

    Hi,

    Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

    I appreciate the efforts taken by you in resolving this issue. I understand that you are unable to use Windows Hello Fingerprint Reader on your computer. I’ll help you with this issue.

    However, please let us know:

    • Are you aware of any changes made to the computer prior to this issue?
    • Which build version of Windows 10 is installed on the computer currently? To check type: winver in the search bar on the Taskbar and hit Enter.

    I would suggest you to check if there are any hidden drivers for the Biometric device in Device Manager. Refer the steps mentioned below:

    1. Press Windows Logo key + X, and select Device Manager.
    2. Click on View and select Show hidden devices.
    3. If you see Biometric devices, expand it and check if there is any hidden device for Fingerprint Reader.
    4. If there is any hidden device, right click on it and select Update Driver.

    Alternatively, you can also try downloading the drivers from the computer Manufacturer’s website. Go to the HP website and click on Let HP detect your product.

    Also, check if the Windows Biometric Service is running properly. Refer the steps mentioned below:

    1. Press Windows Logo key + R, to open Run dialog box.
    2. Type services.msc and click on OK.
    3. Look for Windows Biometric Service, and double click on it.
    4. Now, select Automatic from the drop down for Startup type.
    5. Click on Start to start the service.
    6. Click on OK.

    Let us know how it goes.

    Regards,

    Nikhar Khare

    Microsoft Community - Moderator

    It still says it "cannot find a fingerprint scanner compatible with Windows Hello Fingerprint".

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-07-24T18:36:52+00:00

    Yes! I also got the message that said I had the current version of the driver when following the steps in other posts. So I did the manual option as you suggested and it worked exactly as you described. Thank you!

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