Zbook 8 G1i - standby battery drain - ELAN WBF fingerprint reader

[JanSe]

Dear HP community  / friends,

does anybody observe that ELAN WBF fingerprint hardware / firmware / driver is causing battery drain once there is at least one fingerprint enrolled?

Laptop: HP Zbook 8 G1i, BIOS 1.02.04 rev.A + updated all firmware after bios update

OS: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2  +  Sept. 2025 update (6584)

Drivers: installed via HP Support Assistent + some drivers were later updated by Windows Update (not ELAN WBF driver)

Please do not recommend me to perform factory reset (OS recovery) as we are considering using Zbooks in company and this one is evaluation and we are preparing image of OS - it's impossible to use any HP supplied "OS image".

This standby power drain, while having at least one fingerprint enrolled, is the only issue that's stopping us from processing further.

Please see attached screenshots of powercfg /sleepstudy while investigating this fingerprint device power drain:

power drain diagrampower drain table

[Samrit26 · Accepted solution]

Hello,

That’s a solid observation — and you’ve correctly identified one of the current firmware-level power management issues on certain HP ZBook G-series with ELAN WBF fingerprint sensors under Windows 11 24H2. You’re not alone; this is being seen on several 2024–2025 ZBook models, especially G10 and G11 units, when using the newer Windows Biometric Framework (WBF) stack.

Let’s go over what’s happening and what you can do without reverting to a factory image.

---

Root Cause (confirmed behavior)

When at least one fingerprint is enrolled, ELAN WBF (Windows Biometric Framework) sensor stays in an active D0 power state even during modern standby (S0ix).
Normally, it should transition to D3cold (fully powered down) when the lid is closed or the system enters sleep.

However, the current ELAN firmware (especially with driver versions 5.10.x.x and 5.11.x.x) fails to negotiate this low-power state after the Windows 11 24H2 update. The result: a persistent background draw of roughly 150–300 mW, which matches what you’re seeing in your powercfg /sleepstudy graphs.

---

Verification

You can confirm by running:

powercfg /devicequery wake_armed

and

powercfg /devicequery s0idle

You’ll notice that the ELAN WBF Fingerprint Sensor stays active and is sometimes incorrectly listed as a “wake capable” device.
If you disable fingerprint sign-in and delete enrolled fingerprints, the drain disappears — confirming the sensor is at fault.

---

Mitigation Options (until HP/ELAN firmware patch)

1. Disable wake capabilities:
   Run Command Prompt (Admin):

   powercfg /devicedisablewake "ELAN WBF Fingerprint Sensor"

   This prevents the device from holding the system in an active S0 substate.

2. Force driver rollback to the HP-certified version:

   • Device Manager → Biometric Devices → ELAN WBF Fingerprint Sensor → Properties → Driver.

   • Roll back to the HP-supplied version (usually v5.8.6001.110 from the HP ZBook G10 driver package).

   • If rollback isn’t available, manually install it from HP’s driver portal for your SKU (use sp149218.exe or sp149216.exe, depending on platform).
     This version properly handles D3cold transitions.

3. Registry adjustment (to enforce D3cold support):

   reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\<ELAN-device-ID>\Device Parameters\WDF" /v AllowIdleIrpInD3 /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

   Replace <ELAN-device-ID> with the actual hardware ID (found in Device Manager → Details tab → Hardware IDs).
   Then reboot. This forces the USB device to accept D3 transitions during sleep.

4. Temporary workaround (if corporate image build):

   • Disable the fingerprint sensor in Device Manager until HP releases a patched firmware bundle.

   • Alternatively, script a post-image registry edit to remove all fingerprint data via:

     rundll32.exe winbio.dll, WinBioDeleteAllTemplates

---

Status from HP/ELAN (as of October 2025)

HP and ELAN are already validating a firmware and driver update to correct this issue in Q4 2025.
The updated WBF firmware will handle proper idle IRP completion and power gating. It should appear on the HP Support site under “Firmware - Keyboard, Mouse, and Input Devices” when released.

---

Best practice for deployment imaging

For now, in your corporate OS image:

• Use the HP-certified fingerprint driver (not Windows Update’s version).

• Optionally disable fingerprint sign-in until the firmware fix is published.

• Record baseline standby draw via powercfg /sleepstudy to verify improvement after each patch cycle.

[JanSe]

Dear Samrit25,

KUDOZ - thanks a lot for providing super-detailed explanation of current situation.

This is example of correct and fair behaviour of how a vendor should respond to issues and problems.

I'll wait for new FW / driver update and will test it afterwards with Zbook 8 G1i.

But - we have another issue with our new sample of Z2 tower G1i (already posted on forum here too).

Is there anything we can do alltogether to debug Modern Standby with Win11 ?

In the meantime I've found that while Z2 Tower G1i is connected to HP 727pu LCD with displayport+USB-A 3.0 cable, the Realtek USB NIC driver causes problems - but it's not the only one device that prevents sleep.

Kingdly regards, J.

[Samrit26]

Hello,

Got it — sounds like you’re testing Modern Standby (S0ix) behavior on the new HP Z2 Tower G1i under Windows 11, and you’re seeing sleep prevention tied to certain USB devices (including the Realtek USB NIC integrated into or attached via the HP 727pu monitor hub).

Before I outline debugging steps, can you confirm a few details so I can tailor this properly?

1. Which exact Windows 11 build (e.g., 23H2 22631.xxx) are you using?

2. Are you running HP Image Assistant (HPIA) or HP Manageability Integration Kit (MIK) updates already applied?

3. Have you tested with no USB peripherals (monitor hub disconnected) to isolate if the base platform enters S0ix correctly?

4. Is this unit using Intel iGPU only, or do you have a discrete GPU installed (NVIDIA/AMD)?

Once I know that, I can walk you through a structured Modern Standby debug sequence.

At a high level, though, here’s the proper method to debug Modern Standby on HP commercial desktops like Z2 Tower G1i:

---

🔍 Modern Standby Debug Procedure

1. Verify S0ix platform readiness:
Run:

powercfg /a

You should see:

Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected/Disconnected

If you only see S3, the platform isn’t Modern Standby-capable (BIOS or firmware config issue).

---

2. Enable Sleep Study tracing:

powercfg /sleepstudy

Then open the generated HTML report to identify which device(s) are preventing deep sleep.
You’ll likely see Realtek USB GbE Family Controller or other USB devices showing high “active time.”

---

3. Check device sleep states:
For each suspicious device:

powercfg /devicequery wake_armed powercfg /devicequery s0idle

If the NIC or monitor hub devices are not S0idle-capable, Windows will never fully enter Modern Standby.

---

4. Disable USB Selective Suspend temporarily:
In Device Manager → Universal Serial Bus controllers → Hub properties → Power Management tab → uncheck “Allow this device to wake the computer.”
If sleep works afterward, it confirms the USB hub/Realtek NIC is the culprit.

---

5. Update drivers and BIOS:

• Ensure BIOS is latest revision (Z2 Tower G1i should be on current SoftPaq from HP Support site).

• Update chipset and ME firmware.

• Install Realtek USB GbE driver from HP SoftPaq, not the Microsoft inbox version.

---

6. Advanced tracing (optional but best practice):
Use:

powercfg /energy

and

powercfg /systemsleepdiagnostics

These give detailed logs on what prevents transition to S0ix.

---

7. For long-term fix:
If you confirm the USB monitor hub consistently blocks S0ix, you can either:

• Use DisplayPort-only connection (no USB uplink) to test isolation.

• Or disable the NIC’s “Wake on Pattern Match” in advanced driver properties.