HP Envy Fingerprint no longer working

[rwilson15]

Finger print reader worked fine for a short while but has now stopped. Biometric devices entry do not appear in the device list and in Sign in options says no compatible finger print scanner could not be found.

[Dragon-Fur]

@rwilson15 

Edits - Change Wording / Clarify

In general, the hardware (fingerprint sensor) does not fail - it is possible, of course.

The following makes some assumptions, including that the Device Manager can (and does) detect the fingerprint driver.  

Please complete what you can do - ignore what you cannot. 

Device Manager - Biometrics Information

1. Device Manager > View “Devices by type” AND “Show hidden devices”
2. Open category Biometric devices
3. Look for and Right-Click on the fingerprint reader device > Properties
4. Tab Details
5. Under Property, “Device description”
6. Under Value, look for the PID number

Device_Manager_Biometrics_2

Hard Reset / Forced Start / Power Reset

Start with a Power Reset / Forced Start of the computer.  This process clears lingering boot instructions from memory and forces the computer to boot clean from the Operating System installed on the computer.

Forcing the computer to boot from the Operating System on disk can clear certain types of errors. 

Power Reset does not wipe out your files nor does it reinstall Windows.

Power Reset is not harmful to a healthy computer.

• Read the instructions, watch the video: Hard Reset

• Close all your programs and shut down the notebook
• Disconnect external USB drives, external monitors, other "extra" bits (NOTE: Little Unifier for the keyboard / external mouse can stay)
• Perform the Hard Reset / Forced Reset procedure for your system model / battery type
• Boot the computer and log in

Video Help:

➡️  Performing a Hard or Forced Reset on Your HP Notebook (Fixed Battery)

Performing a Hard or Forced Reset on Your HP Notebook (Removable Battery)

====================================================

Fingerprint Driver - Remove and Install

Preparation

Create a Backup of your Data

  Create a backup of all your most critical / sensitive files to other than on the computer.  For example, copy your most important folders and files to your Cloud backup. to a USB stick, "Somewhere" you can access the files should the computer become unavailable.

  Create a Restore point before you make changes to your computer's software and setups.

(How to) Create Restore Point

Stop all programs:  Browsers, games, Applications, etc.

Control Panel > icon view > System > System Protection > 

Click (Highlight) your main disk (C) > Select Create a Restore Point

OR

(As available)

Create a restore point now for the drives that have system protection turned on

Create

Windows PIN 

Reminder:  Windows Fingerprint logon requires that you have your Windows PIN set up before you can use fingerprint logon.

You may already have a Windows PIN login set up and ready to go.  Should there be a problem with the PIN, in most cases, you will receive a notice from Windows that there is an issue - you can then reset the PIN as needed.

Reference

Microsoft - Fix problems with your PIN

==================================================================

Fingerprint Driver

Open the Homepage for your computer:  Support Home

Fingerprint Driver is located in Category:

Driver - Keyboard, Mouse and Input Devices

Your Driver:

Synaptics Fingerprint Driver (Windows 10 v1809 / v1903 / v1909)

Driver Information / Description File

1. Open the Full Details web page for the driver
2. Scroll down, open section Associated Files > click Download
3. The information file will open on your screen.

For example,

Look at / for information regarding what Operating System versions are supported by the driver.

Installation

• Download and Save the fingerprint reader driver to your computer
• In the Device Manager > Biometrics, add the step in the Uninstall to include the Delete  of the existing fingerprint driver 
• Restart the computer 
• Log in using your password or PIN
• Open File Explorer
• Navigate to the folder in which you saved the installation package (likely Downloads)
• Right-Click on the installation package and "Run as Administrator" to install the software
• After the software is installed, Restart the computer and log in

Reference and Resources – Places to find help and learn about your Device

Clarification of terms and "what the device can do" (Specifications)

Device Homepage

NOTE:  Content depends on device type and Operating System

HP Drivers / Software and BIOS, How-to Videos, Bulletins/Notices, How-to Documents, Troubleshooting, User Guides, Service and Maintenance Guide (Replacement Parts and Procedures), Product Information (Specifications), more

When the website support page opens, Select (as available) a Category > Topic > Subtopic

HP ENVY 17-ce0000 Laptop PC series

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a world community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP technology.

2020 Year of Rat

[rwilson15]

There is no Biometric Devices category listed. There might have been but not now.

[Dragon-Fur]

@rwilson15 

Understood.

Try the rest.

Hopefully it will work.

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a world community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP technology.

[BridgetJones78]

Hi,

I have the same issue, fingerprint reader worked for 3 days on a newly bought laptop but after windows update it stopped.

On other forums I found the suggestion to uninstall the drive and after restart it will get reinstalled. So I uninstalled it in Device Manager, Biometric Devices but it didn't say as you did to tick the box Delete all files for the driver!

After restart, it did not get reinstalled and Biometric Devices did not show up anymore. I downloaded the latest fingerprint sensor driver from HP for the latest windows. I used HP assistant to download and install but after restart it still does not show in Device Manager. I guess because I didn't delete the driver files just uninstall, the new driver did not install properly. It is there in Windows C / swsetup though.

How can I delete those driver files so that I could install the new driver?

Unfortunately I didn't read your post first and I didn't create a restore point. HP support suggested to do factory reset but I would like to avoid that.

Following another suggestion, with right clicking and install helloface.inf in WinBioPlugins\FaceDriver I got Biometric Devices back in Device Manager but it only has Windows Hello Face Software Device, which I didn't even have before, but no Fingerprint sensor.

So I can only use the PIN, Windows hello face or fingerprint are "currently unavailable".

[Echo_Lake]

@BridgetJones78
Thank you for posting on the HP Support Community.

Don't worry as I'll be glad to help,  I have a few troubleshooting steps we could try to fix the issue:  

Firstly, perform Windows Update and HP Support Assistant: ( do not skip any troubleshooting steps if you feel steps are repeating ) 

To check for updates now, select the Start button, and then go to Settings  > Update & security  > Windows Update, and select Check for updates.

Install updates from HP Support Assistant: Go to Download HP Support Assistant to install the tool.

1. To open the HP Support Assistant, double-click the HP Support Assistant icon .
2. Click My devices in the top menu, and then click Updates in the My PC or My notebook pane.
3. Click Check for updates and messages to scan for new updates.
4. Review the list of updates. Updates with a yellow information icon are recommended. Updates with a blue information icon are optional.
5. Click the update name for a description, version number, and file size.
6. Select the box next to any updates you want to install, and then click Download and install.

And, also run BIOS Update: Follow steps from the link: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c00042629

If the issue persists then create a new user account and check. Click here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04648962 to create a new user account. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[BridgetJones78]

Thank you for your answer @Echo_Lake.

After I posted here I went back to a restore point, which I didn’t consider before as it was after the first windows update (which caused the fingerprint driver not working) and around the time I uninstalled the driver. In fact, computer did a restore point just a few minutes before that.

So I got the driver back, ELAN WBF Fingerprint sensor 3.2.12011.10011 on my 15s-fq1956nz, I updated Windows again (feature update to windows 10 version 1909), updated BIOS again and created a restore point. The fingerprint sensor, which worked in the previous version Windows (I don’t know which one it was, I didn’t check before update), gives a code 45 error, currently this hardware device is not connected to the computer.

I clicked on update driver in Device Manager\Biometric Devices, it said it updated it, after restart nothing changed. I tried to manually point to the downloaded new version, made for windows version 1903 and 1909, ELAN WBF Fingerprint sensor driver 3.2.12011.10012 Rev B. First in Browse my computer for software drive, I pointed the sp100398.exe file in Downloads, restarted, no change. Then I clicked on the exe file to install it, went through the steps, restarted computer, no change. Then in Device Manager, for the update I pointed to this “installed” files in Windows C\ swsetup\SP100398, restarted, no change. I also clicked on Scan for hardware changes. I thought the new driver files cannot overwrite the old ones so I uninstalled the driver again AND ticked the box delete all driver files. After restart, Windows either should have reinstalled the driver itself or noticed that a driver was missing. It didn’t. Scan for hardware changes in Device manager, nothing, HP support assistant says all software and drivers are up to date, it didn't notice any missing driver.

So I downloaded and installed the driver again, as the old one was completely deleted. Still nothing happened and in Device Manager Biometric Devices doesn’t show anymore, as fingerprint driver was uninstalled but it wasn’t reinstalled. I then went back to the restore point I created, so I have again the outdated sensor driver.

If I can do anything else, please let me know. If it’s not the computer’s fault but the new driver is not working properly then I guess I just have to be patient until it will be fixed, and one day it can be updated through Device Mangager.

The laptop is brand new, I could go back to the shop in case it can be replaced but it would olny give me a few days with the fingerprint sensor until the next Windows update, which said was critical, with orange warning.

For the same reason factory reset does not make any sense now, either.

The old fingerprint sensor driver is not compatible with the new Windows version, and the new driver, made for this version, cannot get installed.

[Echo_Lake]

@BridgetJones78

Thank you for posting back.

The last thing I can suggest trying is a restore back to the factory. Performing an HP system recovery (Windows ) While doing the recovery there is an option to backup your personal files. If you have not previously done one now is a good time. 

Restoring Files that were Backed Up Using HP Recovery Manager (Windows )You can also contact HP support for assistance. They can remotely access your system to help alleviate difficulties: www.hp.com/contacthp/

The HP Cloud Recovery Tool allows you to download recovery software to a USB drive. You can use the downloaded recovery image file in order to install the Windows operating system. 

• Click here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04758961#AbT3to perform System Recovery (Windows 10) 
• Click here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c06162205 to Use the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10)

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[Echo_Lake]

@BridgetJones78

Thank you for posting back.

I would request you to contact our Support and our Support Engineers should be able to sort this out. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link:  www.hp.com/contacthp/

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance. Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[BridgetJones78]

Thank you for your posts @Echo_Lake

On this new computer there is no HP Recovery Manager, in Recovery there is Reset this PC with the option to Keep personal files or Delete everything.

So last Friday I did reset it, keeping my files, the computer reinstalled Windows but the latest version 1909 and it completetly deleted the fingerprint driver, it didn't show anymore in Device Manager, there was no Biometric Devices. Windows didn't install the old fingerprint driver, it didn't install the new one, it didn't notice any driver missing as it said all software and drivers are up to date. It also didn't install the new driver after I downloaded it and went through the steps to install it. Nothing. I couldn't even get the old driver back anymore as there were no more Restore points after reinstalling Windows.

As the last step, I clicked on Reset this PC, deleting everything, altough I wasn't happy about recopying everything again. This process took much longer and at the end it was the same result. Latest Windows, no fingerprint driver, no luck trying to install it manually. I gave up.

I went back to the shop, they said to send it to repair, which would have taken longer than I had the computer so I asked for a replacement and I got it.

In this new computer there is the Windows 1903 version and the fingerprint driver works here. In Device Manager I clicked on Update the driver but it says the latest driver is already installed. I paused Windows update for 35 days, which is the max. I hope that by then this issue will be fixed or there was something stuck on that computer and I won't have problem installing the driver on this one.

Thanks again for trying to help.