Windows hello face recognition

Question

Hello, I have Thinkpad T14s gen 4 with IR camera, when I set-up windows hello with face recognition I have trouble that it works even with closed cameras(both of them) when I start my pc. I even tried getting my face out of FOV but it can still detect me somehow. Is there any solving for this?

Answer 1

Hello Stepahich,

Thank you for reaching out about your experience with Windows Hello face recognition on your ThinkPad T14s Gen 4. I understand how concerning it can be when the feature behaves unexpectedly especially when it seems to work even with the camera closed. This issue can happen due to how Windows Hello uses cached biometric data or because of driver and service inconsistencies rather than real-time camera input.

To resolve this start by confirming that the Windows Hello Face feature is properly installed under Settings select Apps select Optional Features select Add a feature and reinstall it if necessary. Next restart the Windows Biometric Service through services.msc and clear the biometric database to ensure fresh configuration. It’s also helpful to check the IR camera driver in Device Manager and update or roll back to a Lenovo-recommended version. Disabling Fast Startup and if available, Modern Standby in BIOS can also prevent unexpected behavior during boot. If the issue persists review the Event Viewer logs under Microsoft select Windows select Biometrics select Operational for errors related to FaceAuth or camera initialization as these can provide clues for deeper troubleshooting.

Could you confirm if you’ve already tried reinstalling the Windows Hello Face feature and updating the IR camera driver?

I hope this answer is helpful if you have further questions feel free to reply back

Regards,

Marcelo

Answer 2

You may have dynamic lock (or some other kinds of "proximity" lock) enabled on your laptop.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/hello-for-business/hello-feature-dynamic-lock

Answer 3

I tried to do everything you said, but still have this problem. Dynamic lock is disabled

Answer 4

Hello Stepahich,

Thank you for confirming the steps you’ve already tried. Since the issue only occurs once at startup where the system unlocks immediately without camera input it’s less likely to be a hardware problem with the IR camera and more related to how Windows Hello handles cached credentials or boot‑time authentication.

The next step is to reset your Windows Hello credentials at boot, start by removing your existing face data through Settings select Accounts select Sign‑in options select Facial recognition (Windows Hello) and choose Remove. Now Restart your PC to clear the cache then open Credential Manager from the Control Panel and remove any cached Windows Hello or biometric entries so the system doesn’t rely on a stored token instead of live camera input. After rebooting,re‑enroll your face and make sure the IR camera is unobstructed during setup.

It’s also important to check that cached sign‑in policies such as Convenience PIN sign‑in are not enabled in Group Policy or Local Security Policy as these can cause Windows to bypass the camera on first boot. Updating your BIOS and IR camera firmware through Lenovo Vantage or Lenovo Support can help since Lenovo has released fixes for initialization issues on ThinkPad T14s models. Disabling Fast Startup is another useful step—go to Control Panel select Power Options Choose what the power buttons do select Change settings and uncheck select Turn on fast startup to force a clean initialization of the biometric service at boot.

If the laptop still unlocks without camera input after these changes the next escalation is to reset the biometric database manually. Stop the Windows Biometric Service through services.msc navigate to C:\Windows\System32\WinBioDatabase, delete its contents, restart the service and then re‑enroll your face.

Please try these steps and let me know if the behavior changes as this will help narrow down whether the issue is tied to cached credentials or a deeper initialization problem.

Regards, Marcelo

Answer 5

Well, I also tried to do everything now and nothing helped, I also want to say that I have fresh installed windows with fresh drivers.
Joseph, I tried turning off automatic dismiss, well it helps but if I spam enter while lock screen just pops up it logins me in