Windows Hello Face Recognition fails only after cold boot on Windows 11 25H2 (Build 26200.8737)

Question

Windows Hello Face Recognition fails only after cold boot on Windows 11 25H2 (Build 26200.8737)

윤석 이 15

Hello,

I'm experiencing a reproducible Windows Hello Face Recognition issue after upgrading to Windows 11 25H2 (Build 26200.8737).

Device

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (GU605CW-QR115W)
BIOS Version 311 (latest)
TPM 2.0 (Intel) – Healthy
ASUS IR Camera – Working normally
ASUS FHD Webcam – Working normally

Problem

Windows Hello Face Recognition works normally except after a cold boot.

If the laptop remains powered off for approximately 1–2 hours, Windows Hello does not initialize at the sign-in screen.

Only PIN sign-in is available.

After signing in with PIN and performing a normal Windows restart, Windows Hello immediately starts working again.

This behavior is 100% reproducible.

Steps to Reproduce

Shut down Windows.
Leave the computer powered off for 1–2 hours.
Power on the computer.
Windows Hello Face Recognition does not activate.
Sign in using PIN.
Restart Windows.
Windows Hello works normally again.

Repeating a long shutdown reproduces the problem every time.

Event Viewer

Every failed cold boot records the following event:

System Log

Kernel-PnP

Event ID 219

Driver:

Device:

Status:

A Kernel-Boot Event ID 124 is also recorded during the same boot.

Troubleshooting Already Performed

Updated BIOS to version 311
Reset BIOS to default settings
Windows Fast Startup disabled
Windows Hello Face removed and enrolled again
Windows Biometric Service verified
TPM verified healthy
ASUS IR Camera working correctly
ASUS FHD Webcam working correctly
Removed and reinstalled Facial Recognition (Windows Hello) Software Device
DISM /RestoreHealth
SFC /scannow
Windows 11 In-place Repair completed

None of these steps resolved the issue.

Additional Information

The problem started immediately after performing an in-place recovery/repair to Windows 11 25H2 on June 26, 2026.

Windows Hello always works after a normal restart.

It only fails after a cold boot following a long power-off.

Because the hardware, TPM, IR camera, and Windows Biometric Service are all functioning correctly, I suspect this may be related to the initialization sequence of:

Windows Hello Face Recognition
WUDF (Windows User-Mode Driver Framework)
Windows Hello Software Device
Windows 11 25H2 cold boot initialization

My Question

Has anyone experienced the same issue after upgrading to Windows 11 25H2?

Is Microsoft aware of this problem, or is there any known workaround besides using PIN after a cold boot?

Thank you.

윤석 이 15 Reputation points

2026-07-12T15:37:35.7266667+00:00

I found another important Event Viewer warning that appears only after a cold boot when Windows Hello Face fails:

Driver: \Driver\WUDFRd

Device: ROOT\WINDOWSHELLOFACESOFTWAREDRIVER\0000

Status: 0xC0000365

This warning does not appear after a normal restart, where Windows Hello works correctly.

2 answers

Your answer

윤석 이 15 Reputation points

2026-07-12T15:37:35.7266667+00:00

I found another important Event Viewer warning that appears only after a cold boot when Windows Hello Face fails:

Driver: \Driver\WUDFRd

Device: ROOT\WINDOWSHELLOFACESOFTWAREDRIVER\0000

Status: 0xC0000365

This warning does not appear after a normal restart, where Windows Hello works correctly.

Answer 1

윤석 이 15

During every failed cold boot, Event Viewer consistently records the following warning:

Kernel-PnP Event ID 219

Driver: \Driver\WUDFRd

Device: ROOT\WINDOWSHELLOFACESOFTWAREDRIVER\0000

Status: 0xC0000365

This event appears only after a cold boot when Windows Hello Face Recognition fails.

After signing in with PIN and performing a normal restart, Windows Hello works correctly and the problem does not occur.

This additional evidence suggests that the Windows Hello Face Software Device fails to initialize through WUDF during cold boot.

0 comments

Answer 2

Carl-L 21,485 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello 윤석 이,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description, this issue point to the Windows Hello Face Software instead of an issue with your camera. This indicated that the service is running before the device infrastructure can fully initialized, that is why it only happen in a cold boot where the computer is fully shut down.

In this case, please try these steps to see if they can help.

Go to "Device manager"
Right click on your camera > Properties.
Go to "Power Management".
Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
Restart your computer and try again later.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes". If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Carl-L 21,485 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-15T10:14:39.8766667+00:00

Hello 윤석 이,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if you have any updates.
Amirul Azrai Che Azman 0 Reputation points

2026-09-11T12:59:33.8533333+00:00
Hi, this issue is the exactly same as mine. My laptop Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GU605CP just had a screen and lid replacement (warranty claim), before the replacement Facial Recognition was working properly cold boot no issues. After the replacement and factory reset (updated to 25H2) the problem as per main topic occur and already tried disable fast start up, re-factory format and so on.

“In this case, please try these steps to see if they can help.

Go to "Device manager"

Right click on your camera > Properties.

Go to "Power Management".

Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

Restart your computer and try again later”

in your feedback, this steps irrelevant as there are no tabs for power management in device manager (under Asus FHD Camera and Asus IR Camera)

Kindly reply, as this issue seems to be a headache for me.

Dear @윤석 이 , nice to know that there are other user face the same issue