Windows Hello facial recognition unavailable on Surface Pro 9 — sensor adapter error 0x80004005

Farima Rahimi 0 Reputation points
2026-10-10T10:03:57.59+00:00

Hello, I’m having a problem setting up facial recognition on my Surface Pro 9 with Intel. In Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options, Windows Hello Face says it’s unavailable and shows “Something went wrong. Try again later.” I can still sign in with my PIN. In Device Manager, Facial Recognition (Windows Hello) Software Device appears and says “This device is working properly.” However, the Windows Biometric Service log shows that the service failed to initialize the face sensor adapter, with error 0x80004005. The latest events occurred on October 10, 2026, at 11:53:13 AM. I’ve already tried: • Restarting the Surface. • Starting the Windows Biometric Service, which is set to Automatic and now stays running. • Running DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, which completed successfully. • Running sfc /scannow, which found no integrity violations. • Installing and restarting after the Surface Pro 9 with Intel drivers and firmware package. The problem is still present. Windows Update offered no optional updates. My Windows version reports build 26300.9550. Does anyone know what could cause this adapter initialization error or what safe diagnostic step I should try next? Could this be a driver or Windows build compatibility issue, or does it need device-level diagnosis? Separately, my attached Surface keyboard and touchpad also do not work, although their device appears in Device Manager. I’m not sure whether that is related. Thank you.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Accounts, profiles, and login
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  1. Farima Rahimi 0 Reputation points
    2026-10-10T12:05:53.4633333+00:00

    There is no Bioiso.exe on the list and ngciso.exe is unavaible.

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  2. Farima Rahimi 0 Reputation points
    2026-10-10T10:57:20.78+00:00

    Update: Windows Hello Face still unavailable on Surface Pro 9 Hello, I’m adding the results of some further checks. Windows Hello Face still says “This option is currently unavailable” and “Something went wrong. Try again later.” I can still sign in with my PIN. • Windows Biometric Service (WbioSrvc): It was stopped when I checked its Properties. I started it, and it is now running. Its startup type is Automatic. Trying to set up Face again still failed. • Biometrics Operational log: A new Event ID 1105 was recorded on October 10, 2026, at 11:53:13 AM. It says the Windows Biometric Service failed to initialize the Facial Recognition sensor adapter, with error 0x80004005. A second event at the same time reports the same error for the virtual face sensor. • Device Manager: “Facial Recognition (Windows Hello) Software Device” currently says “This device is working properly,” and I don’t see a yellow warning symbol. Its driver version is 10.0.26100.9549. The Events tab also has an older “Device not started” entry. • System Information: Virtualization-based security appeared to be active; the listed running services included Hypervisor-enforced Code Integrity and SMM Firmware Measurement. • Repairs and updates: DISM completed successfully, and SFC found no integrity violations. I installed the Surface Pro 9 with Intel drivers and firmware package and restarted. Windows Update and the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit say the device is up to date. The toolkit did not offer a system repair. Searching Get Help for the Windows Hello troubleshooter only showed support articles.

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  3. Farima Rahimi 0 Reputation points
    2026-10-10T10:56:53.97+00:00

    Update: I’ve done some additional checks on my Surface Pro 9 with Intel. Windows Hello Face is still unavailable under sign-in options with the message, “Something went wrong, try again later.” The Windows Biometric Service is set to automatic and stays running, and it’s logged on as local system. In Event Viewer, the Biometrics Operational log keeps showing Event ID 1105. The Windows Biometric Service failed to initialize the sensor adapter for the Facial Recognition Windows Hello Software Device, Error 0x80004005.In Device Manager, the Windows Hello Face software device currently says, “This device is working properly,” and I don’t see a yellow warning symbol. The driver version is 10.0.26100.9549, but its Events tab shows a past Device not started entry. I also found Event ID 411, saying the device had a problem starting. It reports Problem 0x25 and Problem Status 0xC0000034.

    The regular Camera app works, but I know that’s not necessarily testing the infrared camera. System Information lists Hypervisor-enforced Code Integrity under Virtualization-based Security Services configured. Under Services running: Hypervisor-enforced Code Integrity and SMM Firmware Measurement. DISM RestoreHealth completed successfully and SFC reported no integrity violations. I installed the Surface Pro 9 with Intel driver and firmware package and restarted, but Hello Face is still unavailable. The Surface Diagnostic Toolkit says the device is up to date. I haven’t uninstalled any devices or removed my PIN. What would you suggest checking next for the repeated Sensor Adapter initialization failure? Could this be a driver or build compatibility issue, or does it need further diagnosis of the IR camera? For the keyboard, you can post this separately: My attached Surface keyboard and touchpad still don’t respond in Windows or UEFI. Detaching and reattaching didn’t help. In Device Manager, I see two Surface HID Keyboard entries. Both say “working properly” but their locations show button devices. Since it doesn’t respond in UEFI, what is the best way to determine whether the problem is the keyboard, the Surface connector, or firmware? And just make sure you crop out personal info from screenshots.

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  4. AI answer

    2026-10-10T10:04:20.05+00:00

    The safest next steps are the standard Windows Hello recovery path plus a hardware check, because the current symptoms point to either a biometric stack problem or a broader Surface hardware/driver issue.

    1. Sign in with the PIN, then remove and re-enroll Windows Hello Face:
      • Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
      • Remove the current Windows Hello Face enrollment if it appears.
      • Set it up again.
    2. Check whether Enhanced Sign-in Security components are running:
      • Open System Information > System Summary and confirm Virtualization Based Security shows Running.
      • Then go to System Information > Software Environment > Running Tasks and check for bioiso.exe and ngciso.exe.
      • If these are missing, the biometric secure components did not start correctly.
    3. Reinstall the biometric device driver:
      • Open Device Manager.
      • Under Biometric devices, uninstall the biometric sensor/device.
      • Restart the Surface so Windows reinstalls the driver.
      • Then test Windows Hello Face again.
    4. Restart the biometric service stack:
      • First remove the PIN in Sign-in options.
      • Open an elevated Command Prompt and run: 
             net stop wbiosrvc && net start wbiosrvc
      • Then add the PIN again and test facial recognition.
      • This changes sign-in configuration, so make sure the account password is available before removing the PIN.
    5. If facial recognition still does not work, use the fallback sign-in method:
      • Continue using PIN or password.
      • If the PIN also stops working, reset it from Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > PIN (Windows Hello) > I forgot my PIN.
    6. Because the attached Surface keyboard and touchpad also are not working, treat this as potentially device-level rather than only Windows Hello:
      • For a Surface with a detachable keyboard, detach the keyboard and reattach it, then test again.
      • If both the Type Cover input path and Windows Hello remain affected after driver reinstall and biometric service restart, device-level diagnosis is warranted.

    About the likely cause:

    • The context supports driver, biometric enrollment, or secure component startup problems as causes when Windows Hello Face is unavailable.
    • The context does not confirm that build 26300.9550 specifically has a known compatibility issue with Surface Pro 9 facial recognition, so that cannot be concluded here.
    • Since the biometric software device appears healthy but the service cannot initialize the face sensor adapter, and there is also a keyboard/touchpad issue, a broader hardware or platform integration problem is plausible.

    If Windows Hello worked before, a recently installed app, driver, or update can also be involved. A restore or reset is listed as a later recovery option, but it is more disruptive and should be considered only after the steps above.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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