[Article] How to Setup and Use Windows Hello for Signing into Windows 11 or Windows 10

📌 Note: This article was originally created by Andre Da Costa on Answers Support Community. It provided meaningful insights and proved helpful to many. We're recreating it here to preserve its value and ensure continued access for others.

If you are about to purchase a new Windows 11 device, a top feature you should require is support for Windows Hello. Windows Hello is a biometric method of authenticating on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 device. These include face recognition or fingerprint, which you can use to sign into your device. The industry is working towards providing stronger ways to secure and authenticate on devices. Passwords which we have been using for many decades now, while effective can still be easily compromised. But thanks to added protections such as two factor authentication it remains a common way to sign in and setup a new Windows device. This article shows you how to setup Windows Hello for the first time if you get it on a new device.

For this article, I will be using Face recognition, but there are other Windows Hello authentication methods such as using your fingerprint. For devices that don't include it, you might need to purchase a web cam that includes the Windows Hello technology.

Click Start > Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options

Choose the authentication method available on your device. Please note, PIN is now considered to be a supported Windows Hello method. This article primarily focuses on Facial and Fingerprint.

After selecting your setup method, click on the Set up button

This will start the Windows Hello setup wizard, click Get Started to begin

If you already have a PIN or password setup, proceed to enter it.

Windows Hello will scan your Face and ask you to either move closer or further back to improve the recognition.

When Windows Hello detects things are just right, the wizard will automatically complete:

At the sign in screen, you will see an animated 'eye' looking for you, a smiley face means you have been recognized. If Windows Hello fails to recognize you, Windows might fall back to using your PIN or password to sign in. What this might mean is you need to run the Windows Hello setup wizard again to help improve the recognition.