How to fix Windows Hello from not working in latest Windows 11 Preview

Is your Windows Hello face camera broken after the latest Windows 11 release? It's a known issue, and there's a simple fix.

Windows 11 build 22000.100 was released yesterday to Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel. With it came a larger rollout of Teams Chat and further changes to the UI to make it all consistent ahead of the expected October release for the new OS.

Being an Insider build, some things broke for some users, and one of those is Windows Hello Facial recognition. Specifically, you will see the error message "Something went wrong" when your lock screen engages, or the PC is locked after a reboot.

Luckily, this issue is a known problem as Microsoft lists both it and the fix in its long list on its blog. (Another known issue is Settings will crash when clicking "Facial recognition (Windows Hello)" under Sign-in Settings if Windows Hello is already set up.)

Lesson: always read the release notes!

The fix is actually very simple to get Windows Hello working again. Here's what you need to do:

1. Type "Device Manager" into Search (Start Menu or Search icon)
2. Open Device Manager
3. Double click on "Biometric devices"
4. Right-click on "Windows Hello Face Software Device"
5. Choose "Uninstall device"
6. Reboot the PC

What this trick is doing is removing the old driver and forcing it to reinstall when Windows reboots. Once the driver is reinstalled, your Windows Hello Face recognition should be good to go.

Need more? Our help and how to section is chock full of guides on other common Windows and hardware fixes, so make sure to check it out.