Fingerprint Scanner Not Working Windows 10 Lenovo
Laverne Levenstein
So recently I have installed a version of Windows 11 through the Dev channel on both my desktop and my laptop. My laptop (Lenovo IdeaPad 14 15ARE) has a fingerprint reader (ELAN WBF) which I used occasionally. But since I updated the driver through the Lenovo site. That seemed to work, but only after I put the laptop to sleep. When I restart the laptop the option to sign in with my fingerprint seems to be gone...
@DennisWin Nothing.. I cannot even load the Drivers for it.. As I said this fingerprint reader is from 2004. I did a clean install of windows 10, and there were no drivers for it.. I couldn't get it to work, so there are no old fingerprints. Would be nice if you could explain how you got it to work. I am sure a whole bunch of us would appreciate it.
@The_MartianSo I am running Windows 11. It always worked in Windows 10. My Laptop is a Lenovo Thinkbook 14s, so it is newer than 2004. As soon as I updated to 11, it stopped working. I updated the drivers but it still didn't work. I went into the Hello config and tried re-recording my fingerprint but it would never finish and complain. When I read this post, I noticed it wasn't very long, so I went back into Hello config and removed fingerprinting and rebooted. I then added fingerprinting again and rescanned my finger. This time the scan went further, and further and finally finished. I think Windows 11 scanned more of the finger to get the sides and all around. Now it works every time.
I upgraded from a Windows 7 install (not factory image) to Windows 10 and decided to try out the new build-in OS sensor support. On Win7 I didn't use it because it needed the HP tools installed and that was more bloat then i am comfortable with.. of course the problem is getting the drivers.. Windows seems to have installed a driver which is over 2 years old and doesn't even seem compatible with the OS fingerprint API. I'm not entirely sure whether Win10 is using the same one as Win7, but in any case, driver update didn't find a newer one which was compatible with the OS fingerprint features.
I downloaded and installed the version Lucadebe posted ( Removed link for error in link ). (Note that the installer does seem to dissapear all of a sudden, this is normal i think, it just adds the driver to windows, it won't actually update the device.)
2. use an older (but still relatively recent; a few months old) driver (from lenovo) which does support my sensor, but isn't certified as Win10 compatible. There are several versions to chose from here, although NONE from HP..
The first driver does list the newer VFS495 sensor (mine is VFS491), so i figured i'd force it and see if it works, rather than use a slightly older driver (also from Lenovo) not listed as Win10 compatible.
I went into device manager and opened the properties for the biometric sensor. On the driver tab i selected 'Update driver' -> 'Browse local dirvers' -> 'Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer'.
If you are using the HP provided driver it will by default have a driver selected from manufacturere 'Validity Sensors, Inc.'. They were acquired by Synaptics, so the new driver will be available under 'Synaptics FP Sensors'. I actually installed a number of newer drivers, but the one posted above should be listed as 'Synaptics FP Sensors (WBF) (PID=003d)'. Select it and click next to install..
@PeerOne: I would get the driver from the HP site with the right driver match... IF HP actually bothered providing driver updates. As it is, the only recent drivers for the VFS491 are available through lenovo. I have the HP Softpaq manager installed.. while the application itself got an update for Win10, the only 'driver' still being updated through it is the BIOS. Everything else is ancient...
It saddens my that we have to rely on another manufacturer to provide us with drivers for HP products... Lenovo is still providing drivers for laptops that are older than mine, even drivers for newer operating systems..
Dude, there's NOT an "actual hardware site to ge the right driver match", did you ever tried to find it? That's why so much people is asking about that, because HP's site do not have the driver, neither the manufacturer.
Exactly, who hasn't this fingerprint reader can't even imagine how many driver issues we had after any windows major updates.
I just wanted to share a solution (after a single day since the release of W10).
For me, now it works even better than before (with W8.1).
If you receive an error message that says, "we couldn't find a fingerprint scanner compatible with Windows Hello Fingerprint" when trying to set up Windows Hello fingerprint login, then your device either doesn't support fingerprint recognition, the fingerprint scanner (or reader) isn't working correctly, or Windows is unable to detect it.
Windows may not detect the fingerprint scanner for several reasons: the fingerprint reader may have malfunctioned, the biometric drivers could be outdated or corrupted, or biometric recognition could be disabled in the BIOS. If you're tired of dealing with this problem, try these solutions.
The Windows Hello fingerprint recognition feature requires your device to have a fingerprint reader. If you encounter the error "we could not find a fingerprint scanner compatible with Windows Hello Fingerprint" when setting up fingerprint recognition for the first time, make sure your device is equipped with a fingerprint reader compatible with Windows Hello.
Usually, it is located near (or on) the power button or in the empty space above or below the keyboard. Look around and see if you can find a fingerprint reader. If you fail to find it, check your device's specifications on the manufacturer's website to see if it has a fingerprint scanner.
If your device does not have a fingerprint reader, you cannot enable biometric authentication on it. However, if your device has a scanner, and you've used it many times before, ensure that it is working correctly.
If your device has a fingerprint sensor, but Windows is unable to detect it, ensure the sensor hasn't gone bad. To test the fingerprint reader, sign in to another app where you've set up biometric login. If that app fails to accept biometric verification, use a dry cloth to wipe the dust off your fingerprint scanner.
After that, try scanning your finger again. If the app fails to recognize the fingerprint scan even after thoroughly cleaning it, there is probably an issue with the scanner. So, have your device inspected by a technician. However, if the scanner works fine on other apps but not when you set up Windows Hello fingerprint login, then apply the remaining fixes.
Have you encountered the error under discussion after updating the biometric driver or installing a Windows update recently? If this is the case, you should roll back these updates. Don't know how to do that? Our guide on how to roll back a driver update on Windows describes the process. If you want to roll back a Windows update, then you need to uninstall the most recent Windows Update.
Once you've undone both driver and Windows updates, try setting up Windows Hello biometric login again. If you continue to experience the same problem after rolling back these updates, it suggests that undoing these updates hasn't made a difference. In that case, you should reinstall the drivers and Windows update.
If the biometric service is already enabled, yet the fingerprint recognition feature isn't working, the biometric drivers could be outdated or corrupt. To ensure that isn't the case, update the biometric device drivers. To do so, follow these steps:
If updating the drivers does not fix the problem, right-click the biometric device again and select Uninstall device. After uninstalling the drivers, reboot your device, and Windows will automatically install them again. If you prefer, you can also download the relevant drivers from the manufacturer's website and install them manually.
According to some users on a Microsoft community thread, disabling the Fast Startup feature has solved fingerprint recognition issues on their devices. Although Fast Startup speeds up your device's boot process, turning it on is known to cause unforeseen problems.
So, if you also keep this feature enabled on your device, disable it to see if it makes a difference. Don't know how to do that? Refer to our guide on enabling or disabling Fast Startup on Windows 11.
Some laptops allow users to disable the fingerprint reader in BIOS. If you're setting up a fingerprint login for the first time and getting the error, ensure the fingerprint scanner isn't disabled in BIOS. Accessing BIOS and navigating to the option to enable or disable the biometric device varies between manufacturers.
If nothing else works, run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter, enable biometrics in the Local Group Policy Editor, and check for account-specific issues. If these steps fail to resolve the issue, perform a system restore as a last resort. Our guide on fixing Windows Hello fingerprint recognition explains how to make the above-mentioned changes.
If you encounter an error when setting up Windows Hello fingerprint recognition, it does not mean the feature can't be used. If your device supports biometric authentication, the above fixes will help you resolve the annoying error.
In this article, we want to show you eleven ways to effectively eliminate the problem on your Windows PC. Before we jump into that, let us understand why the Windows Hello fingerprint option is not working in the first place.
The software drivers for the biometrics hardware on your Windows PC may be outdated and are due for an update. The update can fix bugs and problems that you are facing with the Windows Hello fingerprint service. Additionally, if the biometrics driver was installed through a corrupt package, it may cause issues with Windows Hello.
If the Microsoft Account that is linked to your Windows Hello fingerprint is facing an issue, you may notice a few problems. Therefore, convert your existing account into a local account and check if the fingerprint scanner works without any issues.
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