We couldn't find a camera compatible with Windows Hello Face

Anonymous
2023-03-15T10:02:25+00:00

I have a Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 1 running Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit. I am having trouble trying to setup Windows Hello Face.

The initial problem was that the setup proceeded all the way to the phase where it showed my face and was supposed to recognize it, but then nothing happened and the only option available was to cancel the setup. In order to solve that issue I did according to the instructions here https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hello/facial-recognition-not-working-for-windows-10/0253a932-4313-4536-858d-abebb50bfad9 i.e. removed the camera drivers ("Integrated Camera" and "Integrated IR Camera") and one driver with "Hello" in its name (can't recall the exact name anymore) from Device Manager. The camera drivers appeared back automatically but the Hello driver does not even if I scan for hardware changes.

Now after doing that the Windows Hello Setup does not even start but shows the error message "We couldn't find a camera compatible with Windows Hello Face" (see the screenshot). I contacted Lenovo support and they say the camera is compatible (after all, it showed the video in the setup before I removed the drivers), also the camera cannot be physically broken because no other application has any problems using it. Lenovo's solution would have been to reimage the whole computer, which I obviously cannot do because I have all my vital work related stuff installed in it.

So I'm quite stuck now and afraid to try things arbitrarily as my earlier attempt to do so only made the situation worse. My own guess is this has something to do with the drivers but I don't know where to get drivers that are definitely compatible with my device and will make this work. Help from anyone who understands how this thing works will be highly appreciated. Thank you.

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

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  1. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-03-15T11:35:53+00:00

    Hello, I’m Virginia, a fellow user like yourself.

    Sorry to hear you’re experiencing problems. May I ask which Windows 10 build are you running - 20H2, 21H1, 21H2 or 22H2?

    You might have to reinstall an older driver via the device’s entry within device manager if it doesn’t show then check under show hidden devices.

    Right click device.

    Choose update driver.

    Choose ‘browse my computer for drivers’.

    Choose ‘let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer’.

    Choose the compatible hardware from the list, then choose next.

    Choose one of the older drivers from the list shown, then click next.

    This will then reinstall the driver.

    You would usually find the driver on Lenevo’s website. I will check for you.

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  2. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-03-15T11:39:36+00:00

    https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/products/laptops-a...

    The device is listed as having an optional IR camera so please ensure this is the case.

    Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products).

    Please do not download any repair tool which may be offered by this site other than the ones I mention/recommend.

    Thoroughly research any product which is mentioned here before you decide to download and install it.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-03-16T07:41:27+00:00

    Thank you for the reply. I am running running Windows 10 Pro 22H2 64-bit.

    I tried installing a camera driver I downloaded from the Lenovo site you gave a link to. It did not change anything. I think I had already tried that before.

    Here's a screenshot of my Device Manager

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/4340bdcc-f3dc-42bf-a304-ec8239770e34?platform=QnA

    I'm not sure which device you meant I should try the older drivers for, but I did that for both "Integrated Camera" and "Integrated IR Camera". They both had four older drivers and I tried all of them one by one but none of them made the Windows Hello Face setup available. I kind of think that the problem is likely to be that the driver with "Hello" in its name is no longer there as I removed it earlier like I described in my original post. I suspect that one missing is likely the reason for the latest error message I posted a screenshot of before. Do you have any ideas how I could get that driver back?

    In the Device Manager screenshot above there is also the item named "Camera Firmware" with an exclamation mark on it. I'm not sure what that is and of course it would be nice to get that fixed also, but I'm sure that is not at least the initial cause of this problem because that one did not exist (I mean, at least the exclamation mark did not exist, about the item itself I'm not sure) when I first started trying to setup this Hello Face.

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  4. Virginia M 42,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-03-16T09:48:17+00:00

    The Camera firmware is showing an error so is either corrupt or not installed. If you uninstall this & restart the pc it should reinstall it. If not then the firmware can be downloaded from the pc manufacturer.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-03-16T13:22:34+00:00

    When I uninstall it and restart the computer, it appears back with the same error. But as said previously, I don't think it is related to this problem (to be exact, it may also be causing a problem but it is not the original problem). Please remember that every other application on this laptop using the camera works just fine and has no issues using the camera. I think that item appeared in the Device Manager when the Lenovo support guy told me to install every optional update found in Windows Update. I think doing so was a mistake but regardless it is not the original problem. I still wonder where I could get the "Hello" item back to my Device Manager, that's what changed when the Windows Hello Face setup stopped starting. Is anyone else having an item in Device Manager with the word "Hello" in its name?

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