Windows Hello Facial Recognition Stopped Working

Question

Windows Hello Facial Recognition Stopped Working

David Graeff 5

Unable to remove and setup facial recognition. I ran camera trouble shooter and did not help,

Lizzy Terrell 0 Reputation points

2026-08-20T19:41:28+00:00

Hello, I've done the second step and my biometrics work on a test account. Do you have any advice on how to fix my current profile so the biometrics will work there? If not is there a good way to transfer all my data to a new profile?
Clary-N 16,995 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-22T07:30:44.0933333+00:00

Hi Lizzy Terrell,

Thanks for testing that. Since Windows Hello Face works correctly in the new account, that indicates the camera, biometric service and drivers are functioning properly. The issue is likely isolated to your original Windows profile.

At that point, there is unfortunately no simple repair tool that can reliably fix a corrupted user profile. You can try removing any existing Windows Hello Face enrollment from Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and setting it up again, but if the option is still unavailable or continues to fail, creating a new profile may be the most practical solution.

If you choose to move to the new profile, you can copy your personal data from the old account's Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music and Videos folders. If you sign in with the same Microsoft account, OneDrive files, Edge favorites, passwords and other synced settings should also be available automatically after synchronization completes.

Before proceeding, could you share your Windows version and build number? Press Windows + R, type winver and let us know the results. Also, when you try to set up Windows Hello Face in the original profile, do you receive an error message or is the option simply unavailable?

2 answers

Your answer

Lizzy Terrell 0 Reputation points

2026-08-20T19:41:28+00:00

Hello, I've done the second step and my biometrics work on a test account. Do you have any advice on how to fix my current profile so the biometrics will work there? If not is there a good way to transfer all my data to a new profile?
Clary-N 16,995 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-22T07:30:44.0933333+00:00

Hi Lizzy Terrell,

Thanks for testing that. Since Windows Hello Face works correctly in the new account, that indicates the camera, biometric service and drivers are functioning properly. The issue is likely isolated to your original Windows profile.

At that point, there is unfortunately no simple repair tool that can reliably fix a corrupted user profile. You can try removing any existing Windows Hello Face enrollment from Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and setting it up again, but if the option is still unavailable or continues to fail, creating a new profile may be the most practical solution.

If you choose to move to the new profile, you can copy your personal data from the old account's Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music and Videos folders. If you sign in with the same Microsoft account, OneDrive files, Edge favorites, passwords and other synced settings should also be available automatically after synchronization completes.

Before proceeding, could you share your Windows version and build number? Press Windows + R, type winver and let us know the results. Also, when you try to set up Windows Hello Face in the original profile, do you receive an error message or is the option simply unavailable?

Answer 1

Clary-N 16,995 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi David Graeff,

In addition to the steps already shared above, I’d like to add a few more checks that can help if Windows Hello Face still can’t be removed or set up:

Step 1: Reset the Windows Hello biometric data

This can help if the stored face data is corrupted or stuck.

Press Windows + R, type services.msc and press Enter
Find Windows Biometric Service, right‑click it, and select Stop
Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\WinBioDatabase
Delete all the files in that folder
Go back and Start the Windows Biometric Service again
Restart your PC, then try setting up facial recognition again

Step 2: Test with a new user account

This helps determine if the issue is specific to your current profile.

Go to Settings > Accounts > Other users.
Select Add account and choose I don't have this person's sign-in information > Add a user without a Microsoft account.
Enter a username and password > click Next.
Sign out of your current account and sign in to the new one.
Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign‑in options and try setting up Windows Hello Face.

If the feature works in the new account, the issue is likely limited to your original user profile. If it still does not work, let me know what you see and I can help narrow it down further.

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

David Graeff 5 Reputation points

2026-04-21T22:29:18.0966667+00:00

Thanks for your help. Problem solved.
Clary-N 16,995 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-22T02:26:05.73+00:00

Hi David Graeff,

Thanks for the update. I’m glad to hear everything is working now.

If anything else comes up, I’m always here to help.

If you think my reply is helpful to you, please remember to mark it as an answer. This helps others in the community facing similar problems.

Thanks for your understanding.

Best regards.
Solarix 0 Reputation points

2026-10-11T15:32:02.64+00:00

Hello, I recently ran into Windows Hello signin issue as well, and found this article which finally solved it. However, this issue comes back very often for some reason on my Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x. Each time it appears, I follow the steps to delete the files in C:\Windows\System32\WinBioDatabase, then restart laptop. Afterwards it says Windows Hello has an error and needs to re-setup. After setting up again, it works for a few days, or sometimes even a week or so, before randomly one day when I open my laptop it says something like "Camera not available, please signin using your PIN", or sometimes something mentioning an error. Is there a reason why this continually happens?

Thanks in advance

Answer 2

Use the PIN or password to sign in first, then try these steps in order:

Re‑train Windows Hello Face
1. Select Start > Settings > Accounts > Sign‑in options.
2. Under Facial recognition (Windows Hello), first try Improve recognition and follow the on‑screen steps to re‑scan the face.
3. If that option is not available or does not help, under Facial recognition (Windows Hello) select Remove, then select Set up and follow the steps to configure facial recognition again.
Check camera and drivers
1. Confirm the camera works in the Camera app. If it does not, follow the camera troubleshooting steps, including checking drivers.
2. Open Device Manager (search for it from Start).
3. Expand Cameras or Imaging devices and locate the webcam.
4. Right‑click the webcam and select Properties > Driver.
5. If the camera is not working correctly, either:
  - Select Uninstall device, check Delete the driver software for this device, select OK, then from the Action menu choose Scan for hardware changes to reinstall the driver and restart the PC; or
  - Switch to the in‑box UVC driver:
    1. Right‑click the webcam and select Update driver.
    2. Select Browse my computer for drivers.
    3. Select Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
    4. Select USB Video Device, then Next, then Close.
6. After the driver is reinstalled or changed, restart the PC and try setting up Windows Hello Face again from Settings > Accounts > Sign‑in options.
Run the Windows Hello troubleshooter If facial recognition is still not working or cannot be set up, run the dedicated Windows Hello troubleshooter, which can automatically detect and fix some Hello Face issues:
- Run Windows Hello troubleshooter

If the camera itself continues to fail (for example, not detected or not working in any app), follow the broader camera troubleshooting guidance, including checking hardware connections (for external cameras) and updating firmware and Windows.

References: