windows hello face recognition is not setting up

Question

windows hello face recognition is not setting up

raymund devaraj 0

my windoes hello facial recognition does not work but the pin does. i have tried to reset and the image is seen but ther facial recognition is not confirming it.
Moved from: Windows for home | Windows 11 | Security and privacy

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Answer 1

Clary-N 10,570 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi raymund devaraj,

To help me better understand the behavior, could you please confirm whether Windows Hello Face worked previously on this device, or if the setup has never completed successfully?

In the meantime, I can see that Q&A Assist has already suggested a few steps, so I’d like to add a few additional checks that may help further narrow down the cause:

Step 1: Verify the Windows Hello–compatible camera driver

Even if the camera preview appears during setup, Windows Hello Face requires a compatible infrared (IR) camera and driver.

Right‑click Start and open Device Manager
Expand Cameras (and Biometric devices, if listed)
Look for entries such as IR Camera, Depth Camera, or Windows Hello Face
If available, right‑click the device and select Update driver > Search automatically for drivers

Step 2: Confirm the Windows Biometric Service is running

This service is required for facial recognition to complete enrollment.

Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter
Locate Windows Biometric Service
Make sure the Startup type is set to Automatic and the service status is Running
Restart the service and the device if any changes are made

Step 3: Check camera privacy and security settings

Please ensure camera access is fully enabled:

Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Camera
Turn on Camera access
Turn on Let apps access your camera

These settings can affect Windows Hello Face even when the camera image is visible.

Step 4: Install all available Windows, driver, and firmware updates

Go to Settings > Windows Update
Install all available updates
If applicable, also review Optional updates for camera or biometric‑related drivers

Please let me know the results of these steps. I'm happy to support further.

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

raymund devaraj 0 Reputation points

2026-03-24T21:09:38.03+00:00

Dear Claryn-N

Thank you for supporting me. I have tried all the steps, but the facial recognition does not work. It is stuck after it says please ensure your face is in the middle of the screen and you can see the camera light flickering but it does not move further than that

It used to work before and i believe after a recent Windows update it stopped.

Any further help is very much appreciated

Raymund
Clary-N 10,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-25T07:11:29.9966667+00:00
Hi raymund devaraj,

Thank you for confirming that, and I really appreciate you taking the time to try all of the suggested steps.

The next steps we can try focus on resetting the Windows Hello components and ruling out a driver or system-level conflict:

Step 5: Reset Windows Hello biometric data

Open File Explorer

Navigate to:
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\NGC

Take ownership of the NGC folder (if prompted), then delete its contents

Restart the device and try setting up Windows Hello Face again
(This forces Windows to rebuild the biometric enrollment data.)

Step 6: Reinstall the camera / IR driver

Open Device Manager

Expand Cameras

Right‑click the IR / Windows Hello–related camera and select Uninstall device

Restart the device and allow Windows to reinstall the driver automatically

If the issue still persists after these steps, an in‑place repair upgrade of Windows can help repair system components without affecting your personal files, especially if something changed during a recent update.

Please let me know how it goes after trying the steps above, or if you notice any error messages during setup. I’m happy to continue helping and explore the next options with you if needed.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Clary-N 10,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-26T09:08:34.9933333+00:00

Hi raymund devaraj,

Have you had a chance to check my answer yet?

Please do keep me updated.
raymund devaraj 0 Reputation points

2026-03-26T10:14:07.5433333+00:00

Sorry Clary-N

I did post a reply. Apologies. I have tried all the steps but still no joy. It used to work before. It is stuck at recognising the face and i can see the image but it dosent go further. i had tries to reset it and tried set up again. it got all the new drivers and it IR Hp camera..
raymund devaraj 0 Reputation points

2026-03-26T10:15:56.1933333+00:00

I must have posted it in the general answer thread after the AI generated suggestion . I am not used to posting so apologies again. Thank you for helping.
Clary-N 10,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-27T08:34:37.43+00:00

Hi raymund devaraj,

Thank you for the update.

From your description, the IR HP camera is detected, drivers are installed, and the image appears, but the setup gets stuck at recognizing your face and does not proceed, even after a reset and re‑setup.

As the next step, I recommend starting with a clean boot. This helps determine whether any third‑party software or background service is interfering with the Windows Hello recognition process. Issues like this are often caused by security software, camera utilities, or other startup services.
*Disclaimer: A "clean boot" starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.

These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step so that it will help you get back on track.

If the issue still occurs in a clean boot state, we can then move on to an in‑place repair upgrade of Windows to repair the Windows Hello components without affecting personal data.

Please let me know how it goes after the clean boot, or if you’d like help walking through the steps. I’m happy to assist further.
Clary-N 10,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-28T07:46:01.5266667+00:00

Hi raymund devaraj,

Please let me know if there is anything I can help by leaving your comment down here.

Answer 2

Follow these steps to get Windows Hello Face working again:

Clean up basic conditions
- Make sure the camera is clean and not covered.
- Sit so your whole face is clearly visible.
- Avoid very bright light from one side or a very dark room, as this can prevent recognition.
- Remove hats or accessories that cast shadows on the face. Some makeup styles can also interfere.
Improve the existing face enrollment
- Sign in using the PIN (since that still works).
- Open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
- Under Windows Hello Face / Facial recognition (Windows Hello), select Improve recognition.
- Follow the on‑screen steps to rescan the face. This adds another face template and often fixes cases where the image is seen but not accepted.
Recreate the face enrollment If improving recognition does not help:
- Go again to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
- Under Facial recognition (Windows Hello), select Remove.
- Then select Set up and follow the instructions to scan the face from scratch.
Run the Windows Hello troubleshooter
- If setup still will not complete or keeps failing, run the dedicated troubleshooter: use the Run the troubleshooter link from the Windows Hello article to detect and fix common issues.
If using a Surface device
- Make sure Windows and firmware are fully updated.
- If the error shown is “Couldn’t recognize you. Please sign in with your PIN.”, use Improve recognition as above, especially if wearing glasses now or changed lighting/location.

If none of these steps allow Windows Hello Face to complete setup, continue using the PIN and use the troubleshooter output to decide next steps (for example, camera/driver issues).

References:

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