Windows 10 Face Recognition

Question

How do I turn on face recognition to unlock my computer, after having done a computer re-set that disabled it?

Answer 1

Hi RIchard. I'm Greg, a volunteer installation specialist and 8 year Windows MVP, here to help you.

Can you confirm what you did was a Reset as defined by this tutorial? http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/reset-windows...

There are other methods that are similar but not a Reset.

Try a few restarts to see if Windows will load the cam and other drivers needed for Hello.

If that fails try starting in Safe Mode via one of these methods: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-saf...

Then try these steps that are working so far for Fixing Windows Hello issues after Fall Creators Update:

1. Reset Facial Recognition and/or Fingerprint Options Press Windows key + I to open Settings. Click Accounts and select Sign-In options. Locate Fingerprint or Facial Recognition options and click Remove under them. After that, click Get Started and follow the on-screen instructions to reset Fingerprint and Facial Recognition. Reboot your PC if needed.
2. Modify Group Policy Settings

Creators Update might have modified some of the crucial settings of Group Policy. Therefore, we would recommend to launch the Group Policy Editor and check/edit the settings related to Windows Hello functionality.

Pres Windows key, type gpedit, and press Enter.

Click on Computer Configuration and open Administrative Templates.

Select Windows Components and open Biometrics.

Click on Facial Features and right-click on Configure enhanced anti-spoofing option.

Select Edit and disable the Configure enhanced anti-spoofing feature.

Reboot your PC.

3. Update drivers

If some of the system drivers, most probably webcam and fingerprint reader drivers, were corrupted during the upgrade process, Windows Hello may fail to perform. To fix that, try to update the corresponding drivers:

Right-click on Windows key and select Device Manager.

Locate the Hello, webcam, and fingerprint drivers individually and right-click on each of them.

Select Remove driver software and wait for the removal to be finished.

Repeat the removal with all Windows Hello related drivers and then reboot your PC.

Once done, open Device Manager, click Action -> Scan for hardware changes.

The system should automatically detect and reinstall the drivers.

If none of the methods listed above helped to fix Windows Hello problems, the last thing you should try is resetting your PC. http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/reset-windows...

If this fails You can create Windows 10 Installation Media on another PC by installing the Media Creation tool, choosing to Create Media, then choosing the matching version. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m...

Insert media, boot it by powering up PC while pressing the BIOS Boot Menu Key: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/hardware-tutor...

Choose the boot device as a UEFI device if offered If the media won't boot you may need to enter BIOS/UEFI Setup (pressing key given in chart in link above) to turn off Fast Boot or Fast Startup first.

On second screen choose Install Now and follow these steps for Clean Install which should get you past all difficulties as it has hundreds of thousands of others who have followed the steps in this link and never come back to report another problem: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

There is a step included to rescue files from the booted media if needed:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Remember to delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space to get it cleanest, then click Next to auto-create and format the necessary partitions, begin install - this makes it foolproof.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

Answer 2

If your computer supports Windows Hello, see:

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/Set-up-Windows...

Answer 3

Thanks very much for your reply, Andre.  But I already went through that procedure and still have sign-in problems.

Answer 4

Thanks very much, Greg.  Yes, I did a reset as per that tutorial, and selected 'save my files', because my computer had slowed down to a crawl (much faster after the reset).  I have also restarted my Surface Book about 25 times trying to get Face Recognition to work. 

As to your other solutions, I'm afraid you are "over my head" and beyond what I'm willing to try.  I'd rather slam this thing down hard on the driveway, drive over it a few times with my SUV, and then throw it into our local sewage treatment pond.

FYI, here's what it does now:  when I restart, the screen shows a symbol of a person and says under it "The username or password is incorrect.  Try again."  (At this point I have not even entered a username or password.) The only option given is to click "Okay".  Do that, and two images appear at the lower left corner:  (1) my name and my picture, and (2) my name and that 'symbol' of a person again.  At the center it also asks for my password.  If I enter my Microsoft password, it finally opens.  If I click on either of the images at the lower left, it asks for a password again and below thaat offers 'sign in options'.  One option is a smiley face, and if I click on that sometimes the camera comes on and it opens, but most of the time it just does nothing.  Sometimes a red light comes on above the screen and it says "Getting ready" -- but after a long wait, it says "Couldn't turn on camera".  It's all very frustrating.

And by the way, I have reset my password in Settings, and have also gone through the Settings sign in procedure of taking my picture with the camera, etc.

I suppose I will have to either a) live with it, b) do another hard reset of the computer and again loose everything that I have spent the last day downloading and recovering, or c) trash this thing and buy an Apple.  I damn sure will never buy another Microsoft Surface Book!

Answer 5

Can you remove Windows Hello in Settings>Accounts>Sign In Options?

When you get into the account do you recognize it as your own? You may have a Temporary Profile if there is a second account in the lower left of Sign In page which wasn't there before the Reset. Normally you'd get a warning error about needing to start with a Temp Account. If so that has a fix here: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/48012-fix-y...