How to fix biometric driver removal on a first generation Microsoft Surface Go?

Question

I need advice on how to restore biometric drivers on a Microsoft Surface Go (first gen) running Windows S.

Very recently, it upgraded itself to Windows 11.  I was surprised, as my understanding is that the first generation of the Go does not support Windows 11.  After the “upgrade”, my Windows Hello will not support any biometric input.  When I checked Device Manager, I found that all the biometric drivers had been stripped out.  I Googled various repair suggestions, none worked.  When I went to the Microsoft website to manually download drivers, I found that my Go version is no longer supported.

I used to sign on with a PIN, but, last year, I found that my Microsoft account had been hacked by someone who was using my account for free (to them) Xbox Live.  I changed my password and my PIN, but they soon hacked that again.  I was able to lock them out by using Biometric sign on, but now Microsoft has wiped that out.  I have researched extensively online to find out how I can recover my biometric sign on.  Microsoft’s recommendation is that I ought to buy a new Microsoft computer each time to fix the obsolescence issues that they periodically install.

Answer 1

Hi tumbleweedintransit,

Thank you for the response. We look forward for your updates on this once you have performed the steps suggested.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Kind regards,
Marrion

Answer 2

Hi tumbleweedintransit,

Thank you for reaching Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, we understand that you have upgraded your Surface Go to Widows 11 and after that, you are unable to biometric sign-in anymore on the device.

Yes, the Surface Go (1stgen) is not compatible with Windows 11 and thus, this may have caused the issue on the biometrics of the device. I recommend that we reinstall Windows 10 on the device through a clean installation of Windows via USB Recovery. This option will reimage the entire device and reload Windows including the drivers and firmware. It is the most complete form of Reset and it will wipe out everything on the device. You will need also a 16GB/32GB of flash drive that must be formatted into FAT32 prior to downloading the Recovery Image. See the steps below for guidance.

How to Download, Create and Use a USB recovery drive

To download the Recovery Image:

• You'll need another working device running on Windows.

1. Go to: Download the recovery image for your Surface
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account
3. From the list of Surface devices available, select the device that you need a recovery image for
   Please note that while you will only be presented with devices that are currently registered on your account, you will also be presented with the option to get an image for a different type of device. If you try to use this option, you will be prompted to enter the serial number for that device
4. Download the recovery image using the button on the page
5. When the download bar pops up at the bottom of your screen, save the file in a location you will be able to find it.

 Format USB Drive:

• Note: Formatting a recovery drive will erase anything that is already stored on your USB drive. Make sure to transfer any important data from your USB drive to another storage device before using it to create a Surface USB recovery drive.

1. Insert your USB drive into the USB port of your PC.
2. From the desktop, open File Explorer
3. Tap and hold or right-click on the USB drive and choose Format
4. Select FAT32 as the file system and enter a Volume label to name the USB drive, such as RECOVERY, and then tap or click Start
5. Tap or click OK to erase the contents of the USB drive
6. Tap or click OK when the format is complete

Create a recovery drive:

1. On your Surface or PC, open recovery image that you downloaded by double-clicking it or right click then select Extract and then Extract all.
2. Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location and click Extract.

Use a USB recovery drive to reset your Surface:

1. Shutdown the Surface
2. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port
3. Press and hold the volume-down (-) rocker
4. Press and release the power button
5. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down (-) rocker
6. Surface will start the recovery software on the USB recovery drive
7. When prompted, choose your language options and keyboard layout
8. Select Troubleshoot
9. Select Recover from a Drive. Choose Remove Everything and Fully Clean the Drive. Recovering this PC.
10. If prompted, select Repartition the drives
11. If prompted for BitLocker Key, tap Skip this Drive

Kind regards,
Marrion

Answer 3

Thank you. I will give this a try when I have a couple hours available.

Answer 4

Today, my problem was fixed with no interaction on my part. The biometric drivers were added back and Microsoft Hello now functions normally. My Surface Go is still running Windows 11 in S mode. I wondered if the repair happened due to a background update, but my Windows history shows the last update installation was on June 15th.

Windows S just does its own thing I guess. I find it strange but I am not complaining that it got fixed! Thank you!!!

Answer 5

By the way, Microsoft Support, thank you for the help. You guys are the best!!!