My Surface camera never recognizes my face anymore. It always tells me to sign in with a pin.

Hi Kate Ponton,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum. I know how frustrating it can be when Windows Hello suddenly stops recognizing your face, especially when it used to work reliably.

Have you had a chance to try the suggestions shared earlier? I also wanted to add a few more steps that can further narrow down what’s causing the issue. I’ve put together a clear, step‑by‑step guide you can follow as below:

Step 1: Check if the camera works normally

Before we dive deeper, please open the Camera app and switch to the front camera. If you see a normal video feed, the camera itself is fine. If the image is black, flickering, or shows an error, that points to a driver or hardware issue.

Step 2: Perform a full forced restart

This refreshes the device at a hardware level:

• Select Start > Power > Shut down.
• After it turns off, wait a few seconds.
• Press and hold the power button for 20 seconds. Even if the logo appears, keep holding until it appears again.
• Release and allow the device to boot.

Step 3: Check the IR camera status in Device Manager

This helps identify deeper firmware or driver issues:

• Open Device Manager.
• Find the IR camera under Cameras, Imaging devices, or System devices.
• Right‑click to open Properties > Events.
• Look for messages like device not started, device migration errors or firmware update failures.

Step 4: Repair system files (DISM & SFC)

If system components are damaged, these commands help repair them:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

After they finish, restart the device.

Step 7: Test in Safe Mode

This helps determine whether another app or driver is interfering:

• Go to Settings > System > Recovery.
• Under Advanced startup, choose Restart now.
• Navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
• Press 5 to enter Safe Mode with networking.
• Open the Camera app and test the front camera.

If it works here, something in normal mode is interfering.

I hope these steps help restore Windows Hello face functionality. If you encounter any issues during these steps or need further assistance, please let me know.

I'm here to support you every step of the way.

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If your Surface camera is not recognizing your face anymore, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can take:

1. Check Windows Hello Configuration: Ensure that your device supports Windows Hello facial recognition and that it is properly configured. You can do this by going to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and checking the Windows Hello Face settings.
2. Restart Biometric Services: Sometimes, restarting the biometric service can resolve issues. You can do this by opening a command prompt as an administrator and entering the command net stop wbiosrvc && net start wbiosrvc.
3. Re-enroll Your Face: If the camera still fails to recognize your face, try removing the existing facial recognition enrollment and re-enrolling it. Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, remove the facial recognition entry, and then set it up again.
4. Check for Driver Issues: Ensure that the camera drivers are up to date. You can check this in Device Manager under Imaging devices. If necessary, uninstall the driver and restart your device to allow Windows to reinstall it.
5. Lighting and Position: While you mentioned that lighting and positioning are good, ensure that there are no obstructions in front of the camera and that you are sitting at an appropriate distance.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, consider filing a feedback item using the Feedback Hub to report the problem.

References:

• Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security
• Facial recognition logon doesn't work after you apply a Group Policy setting in Windows 10