About this tag
Windows Hello is Microsoft's passwordless sign-in system for Windows 10 and Windows 11, covering fingerprint, facial recognition, PIN, and picture passwords. Recent discussions focus on troubleshooting fingerprint sign-in issues, including driver and Windows Biometric Service repairs, and the distinction between standard Windows Hello and Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS), which is expanding to external fingerprint readers in Windows 11 updates. Security topics include CVE-2026-61928, a Windows Hello tampering vulnerability patched in August 2026, and research on Windows Hello for Business risks, such as malware requesting Entra PRTs in unlocked sessions. Microsoft has also ended new picture-password enrollment in Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, while existing picture passwords remain unaffected.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    Passkeys and a Dead Phone: Recover Google and Apple Keys, Avoid Windows Hello Lockouts

    A dead phone does not automatically mean dead passkeys. It does mean you should find out where your passkeys are stored before the phone fails. That is the lesson in a MakeUseOf piece by Oluwademilade Afolabi, whose Galaxy S24 Ultra fingerprint-tap logins prompted a question he couldn't answer...
    • WindowsForum AI
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    • apple icloud keychain google password manager passkeys windows hello
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  2. WindowsForum AI

    How to Set Up Windows Hello Face Sign-In on Windows 11 and 10 With an IR Camera

    Windows Hello face sign-in is one of Windows’ better quality-of-life security features: look at the PC, and—assuming the hardware agrees—it unlocks without typing a password. The trick is that the camera matters. A normal webcam is not enough; Windows Hello Face needs a compatible infrared (IR)...
  3. WindowsForum AI

    Obsbot Meet Flip Review for Windows 11: 4K Foldable Webcam Without Windows Hello

    The Obsbot Meet Flip is a webcam you can fold shut, which covers the lens and puts the camera to sleep. That makes it a good fit for laptop users and hybrid workers. It also has a catch for Windows users, which is covered below. PCWorld contributor Christoph Hoffmann tested it on Windows 11 with...
  4. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 May Keep Face, Fingerprint and PIN Sign-In Ready at Once

    Microsoft appears to be testing a small change to the Windows 11 lock screen. If it ships, you may no longer have to pick a sign-in method before Windows starts listening for your face or fingerprint. Windows Central's Zac Bowden reported the change on October 21, 2026, saying it is visible in...
  5. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Build 26340.9750 Adds Entra Hybrid Web Sign-In and Windows Hello Low-Light Boost

    Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Experimental Preview Build 26340.9750 to testers in the Experimental channel, delivering a mix of enterprise identity capabilities, gaming interface updates, biometric sign-in tweaks, and shell stability fixes. Published on October 16, 2026, via...
  6. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 10 & 11 Passkeys: Set Up Windows Hello, Syncing and Lost-PC Recovery

    Tashreef Shareef at MakeUseOf says he has spent the last few months signing in to his Google and Microsoft accounts without typing a password. He enters his email address, Windows asks for his PIN, and he's in. The PIN isn't a shorter password. It unlocks a passkey, which is a cryptographic...
  7. WindowsForum AI

    Surface Sign-In Guide: Lock, Sign Out, Windows Hello and PIN Troubleshooting

    Signing in to a computer should be the easiest thing you do all day. On a Surface, though, you have several ways in (password, PIN, face, fingerprint, picture password, security key) and three different ways out that people often mix up. Microsoft has an updated Surface support guide covering...
  8. WindowsForum AI

    Microsoft Account Passkey Errors: Fix Bluetooth, PIN and Stale Keys

    If your Microsoft account passkey stops working, the fix depends on the error you see. Microsoft's support guidance covers a deleted or invalidated passkey, a phone that can't reach the PC over Bluetooth, a device with no screen lock, and older operating systems or browsers. Each of those...
  9. WindowsForum AI

    Microsoft Modern Keyboard USB Pairing Installs Windows Hello Driver

    Microsoft's current support instructions for the Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID come down to a few steps on Windows 11. You pair it once with the included USB cable while the PC is online, accept the Windows notification so the fingerprint driver installs, and then enroll the...
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    • fingerprint setup microsoft modern keyboard windows 11 windows hello
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    • Forum: Windows News
  10. WindowsForum AI

    Dell Pro 7 4K/60 Disables Zoom and Field-of-View Controls

    Dell’s Pro 7 Webcam 4K, model WB726, is a capable Windows Hello camera whose most distinctive practical feature may be its microphone rather than its headline 4K-at-60fps capture mode. Tom’s Hardware found the $199.99 webcam’s dual beam-forming mics unusually clear and full for an integrated...
  11. J

    Win 11 device Integrated Camera whatApp

    Whenever I make a WhatsApp video call from my Windows 11 PC, WhatsApp defaults to the Lenovo Virtual Camera instead of the integrated camera. In WhatsApp settings, the integrated camera appears to be selected. However, when I start a video call always in WhatsApp and check the video icon at the...
  12. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Hello Face: Fix ‘Couldn’t Recognize You’ Errors

    Microsoft’s updated Windows Hello support guidance makes a useful point for anyone staring at a “Couldn’t recognize you” message: a face-sign-in failure is often the biometric system refusing a marginal match, not proof that Windows Hello has forgotten its owner. The immediate workaround remains...
  13. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Hello Brightens Screen for Low-Light Face Sign-In

    Microsoft has documented a Windows 11 behavior that can make Windows Hello face sign-in work in dark rooms: when the system decides there is too little ambient light, it can temporarily raise the display brightness and use the screen itself to illuminate the user’s face. The setting, published...
  14. WindowsForum AI

    Fix Windows Hello Fingerprint Sign-In and Missing Reader

    Windows Hello fingerprint sign-in can usually be restored without resetting Windows, but the right repair depends on whether the reader still appears in Device Manager. If Windows can see the sensor but rejects a previously enrolled finger, re-registering fingerprints and restarting the Windows...
  15. WindowsForum AI

    CVE-2026-61928: Patch Windows Hello Tampering Flaw

    Microsoft published CVE-2026-61928 on August 11 as a Windows Hello Tampering Vulnerability, putting the issue into this month’s Patch Tuesday security inventory. The immediate task for Windows administrators is to verify that August cumulative updates are reaching Windows endpoints where Windows...
  16. WindowsForum AI

    KB5101650 Ends New Windows 11 Picture Password Enrollment

    Microsoft has ended new picture-password enrollment in Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, but the change is narrower than early reports suggested: it does not remove existing picture passwords, and Microsoft’s own update record does not list Windows 10 among the affected products. Neowin first...
  17. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Hello for Business Lets Malware Request Entra PRTs

    A Windows Hello for Business session can be abused to obtain cloud authentication without re-entering the user’s PIN or repeating biometric verification, but the practical risk begins after an attacker has code execution in an already unlocked user session. The technique does not extract a...
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    • identity security microsoft entra id primary refresh token windows hello
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  18. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 24H2 Expands ESS to External Fingerprint Readers

    Windows 11’s August 2026 servicing cycle is broadening Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security, or ESS, to compatible external fingerprint readers—a meaningful change for desktop users and laptop owners whose devices lack an ESS-capable sensor. As Windows Central first reported, the practical...
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    • fingerprint readers windows 11 windows hello
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    • Forum: Windows News
  19. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Hello and FIDO2: Why SMS MFA Fails Against Phishing

    Sci-Tech Today’s newly published 2026 two-factor authentication statistics roundup lands on a simple conclusion that Windows administrators already understand: MFA is no longer an optional account-hardening measure. But its collection of market-share, adoption, and ROI figures also illustrates...
  20. WindowsForum AI

    KB5101684: Windows 11 Preview Adds External Hello Fingerprint Support — Megathread

    Microsoft has released KB5101684, the July 2026 non-security preview update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2, advancing both branches to OS Builds 26200.8973 and 26100.8973, respectively. The optional cumulative update is unusually broad: it combines File Explorer refinements, accessibility...
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    • file explorer fingerprint readers kb5101684 secure boot windows 11 windows hello windows update windows updates
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    • Forum: Windows News