Windows Hello not working

Question

I have a 2023 HP Spectre 14, fully updated. I have underwent a full hard reset, as well as attempted BIOS recovery options and diagnistics tests as per instructions from HP support over the span of over a week. This is because my Windows Hello facial recognition simply stopped working from one day to another couple months back (about 6). The camera works, i can see the IR camera is active when i attempt to set up Windows Hello (through my smartphone camera). However the set up process always fails, getting stuck on "Make sure face is centred in the frame" (which it is). The screen eventually turns to "Sorry, something went wrong". This is always in good lighting (same lighting and position Windows Hello was originally set up in succesfully). Camera is clean.

The only option i have been offered by HP as a last resort is to send it in for repair, altough the laptop was not dropped or damaged otherwise when the issue appeared originally, so i know the issue isnt hardware realated, esspecially as all sensors seem to be working fine. My fingerprint scanner and other security options also work as intended. Could someone please help me, i would appriciated it greatly.

Answer 1

Hello Matus Mydliar

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

It sounds like there's something wrong with your infrared facial recognition, and HP recommends taking it to after-sales. But you are not sure if it is a hardware problem.

You can create a new user account. Creating a new user account means creating a brand new configuration file. Then test whether the facial recognition is normal. If it still doesn't work, it's probably a hardware problem.

You can create a new local account by following the steps below and switch to the newly created account to see if the function is normal. Because this cannot be ruled out due to the wrong configuration. Visit****Create a local user or administrator account in Windows - Microsoft Support****for more details.

1. Create a local user account
   1. Select Start> Settings> Accountsand then select Family & other users. (In some versions of Windows you'll see Other users.)
   2. Next to Add other user, select Add account.
   3. Select I don't have this person's sign-in information, and on the next page, select Add a user without a Microsoft account.
   4. Enter a username, password, or password hint—or choose security questions—and then select Next.
2. Change a local user account to an administrator account
   1. Select Start > Settings>Accounts.
   2. Under Family & other users, select the account owner name (you should see "Local account" below the name), then select Change account type.
   3. **Note:**If you choose an account that shows an email address or doesn't say "Local account", then you're giving administrator permissions to a Microsoft account, not a local account.
   4. Under Account type, select Administrator, and then select OK.
   5. Sign in with the new administrator account.

Note: If the new account is normal, please do not delete the old account before backing up the data of the old account to avoid any data loss.

If there is anything not clear or I can't understand your problem, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Best Regards

Patch - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist