• Set up facial recognition login on Windows 11
  • Disable facial recognition login on Windows 11

UPDATED 8/11/2025: On Windows 11 , you can securely sign in without typing anything on the screen using your face with the Windows Hello facial recognition feature.

Windows Hello has been around for many years, and it’s a feature that offers several ways to ditch your password in favor of a more secure authentication method, such as PIN, fingerprint, and face.

Although you can enable and configure the feature on virtually any device, you still need special hardware. For example, fingerprint authentication requires a fingerprint reader, and the facial recognition option requires an infrared or Intel RealSense camera.

This guide will teach you the steps to configure Windows Hello facial recognition using a biometric camera on Windows 11.

Set up facial recognition login on Windows 11

To configure Windows Hello Face to unlock a computer on Windows 11, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 11.
  2. Click on Accounts .
  3. Click the Sign-in options page on the right side.
  4. Select the “Facial recognition (Windows Hello)” setting under the “Ways to sign in” section.
  5. Click the Set up button.
  6. Click the Get started button.
  7. Confirm your current password (or PIN).
  8. Look directly into the camera for Windows 11 to create a facial recognition profile of your face.
  9. Click the Close button.
  10. (Optional) Check the “Enhanced facial recognition protection” option to enable the anti-spoofing feature .

Once you complete the steps, you can lock your device ( Windows key + L ) and look into the camera to sign in.

If the sign-in experience is not working as expected, under the “Facial recognition (Windows Hello)” setting, you will find an “Improve recognition” option to keep training the system.

It’s important to note that Microsoft has disabled face unlock in dark rooms to fix a bypass vulnerability with the operating system. After configuring this feature, you will need a well-lit room for the unlock process to work correctly.

Furthermore, as part of this change, the webcam needs to be uncovered to unlock the device. In the past, you could close the camera part while still being able to use the infrared part of the webcam to log in, but that’s no longer the case.

Disable facial recognition login on Windows 11

To remove Windows Hello facial recognition to sign in on Windows 11, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings .
  2. Click on Accounts .
  3. Click the Sign-in options page on the right side.
  4. Select the “Facial recognition (Windows Hello)” setting under the “Ways to sign in” section.
  5. Click the Remove button.
  6. Confirm the account credentials.
  7. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, you can continue signing in with a traditional password. If you have configured a PIN or fingerprint reader, you must remove those configurations using the same steps to disable the Windows Hello feature.

If you have a desktop computer, you don’t need to spend much money to experience biometric authentication. You can get the Logitech BRIO webcam featuring a facial recognition camera for around $120.

Update August 11, 2025: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.

  • To set up a fingerprint reader on Windows 11, open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options , select “Fingerprint recognition,” click “Set up,” click “Get started,” and use the sensor to register your fingerprint.

On Windows 11 , you can set up a fingerprint reader to sign in using only your finger, and here’s how. Windows Hello is the name of the feature that Microsoft has chosen to describe the support for more secure ways to sign in to Windows 11 using biometric and Personal Identification Number (PIN) authentication.

This feature allows you to replace a traditional complex and less secure password with a more secure and easy-to-use authentication method, including facial recognition , fingerprint, and PIN to unlock a Windows 11 computer.

This guide will teach you how to configure and remove Windows Hello using a fingerprint reader on Windows 11.

  • Enable Windows Hello fingerprint recognition
  • Remove Windows Hello fingerprint recognition
  • Windows Hello compatible hardware

Enable Windows Hello fingerprint recognition

To unlock Windows 11 using a fingerprint reader, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 11.
  2. Click on Accounts .
  3. Click the Sign-in options tab.
  4. Under the “Ways to sign in” section, select the Fingerprint recognition setting.
  5. Click the “Set up” button to enable the Windows Hello fingerprint feature.
  6. Click the Get started button.
  7. Confirm your Windows 11 account password.
  8. Touch the fingerprint sensor as indicated in the wizard.
  9. Continue with the on-screen directions to capture your fingerprint from various angles. Quick tip: It’s recommended to click the “Add another finger” option to configure a second and even a third finger you can use if you encounter problems signing in.

Once you complete the steps, you should be able to lock your device (including using the “Windows key + L” keyboard shortcut) and then use the fingerprint reader to sign in with the finger that you configured.

Remove Windows Hello fingerprint recognition

To remove the Windows Hello fingerprint on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings .
  2. Click on Accounts .
  3. Click the Sign-in options tab.
  4. Under the “Ways to sign in” section, select the Fingerprint recognition setting.
  5. Click the Remove button.
  6. Click the Remove button again to disable the Windows Hello fingerprint option.
  7. Confirm the Windows 11 account password.
  8. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, you can continue signing in with a traditional password. If you have configured Facial recognition or PIN, you must remove those configurations using the same steps to disable the Windows Hello feature entirely on Windows 11.

Windows Hello compatible hardware

If you want to sign in to Windows 11 using your facial recognition or fingerprint, you can find many devices with Windows Hello built-in, such as the Surface Pro 8 , Surface Laptop 4 , Surface Go 3 , and many others.