Forum Discussion
Windows Hello does not automatically dismiss lock screen when Windows recognizes my face
kballs did you ever find a solution to this? over a year later and I am in the exact same scenario with still the exact same issue.
I use an Alienware M16R2 laptop for work, paired with a Dell dock for power and ports, an external 49in monitor with a Logitech Brio camera on top of it. When I turn the computer on, the camera turns on and facial recognition completes, the external screen eventually turns on and the display says Weclome David, dismiss the lock screen to continue. Meanwhile the camera is still running the whole time too even though it has already recognised me and unlocked. If I run with just the laptop screen with inbuilt camera the lock screen dismisses automatically. There is even an option to "dismiss lock screen with windows hello" which is ticked but does nothing
Running:
Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 24H2
Installed on 6/01/2025
OS build 26100.4061
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.84.0
I created a question on the Answers.microsoft.com pages and it has not even been seen...!
It still happens but the behavior is slightly different in the latest released Windows 11 builds. Now hitting the CTRL key always dismisses the lock screen (don't need to use a mouse click like it required 50% of the time before) so you can press CTRL repeatedly before the display comes on without any side effects (like clicking on dialogs) and everything will light up quicker, so it's easier to live with.
I tried some sleep cycles with combinations of cameras and lid open/closed and am now confident the trigger for this behavior is whether or not the laptop lid is open. If the lid is open it will dismiss the lock screen without intervention.
- If you open the lid it seems to use the internal camera and dismiss the lock screen without intervention.
Leaving the lid open and going through sleep cycles, it seems to prefer the external camera and dismisses the lock screen without intervention. - Disabling the external camera (I physically closed it and it disappeared from Device Manager) it uses the internal camera automatically and dismisses the lock screen without intervention.
- Enabling the external camera and going through another sleep cycle, it uses the external camera and dismisses the lock screen without intervention.
- Closing the laptop and waking back up with the lid closed, it uses the external camera but requires a key press again. I can see in device manager that the internal camera is still enabled, but it went to the external camera right away so I don't think it's trying to use the internal camera and just seeing black because the lid is closed. There seems to be some code path that is affected by the lid state and causes Win32k/Winlogon to require a key press (just a random bug or an unintentional side-effect of an intentional design).
Note: Both cameras in my case (internal to the laptop lid and built-in to external USB-C monitor) are connected by USB (I'm not sure if Windows Hello cameras even exist for other buses like GPIO/I2C or PCI, so being USB might be irrelevant).
Repro steps
- Use a laptop with a built-in Windows Hello camera and setup face logon
- Plug in an external Windows Hello camera and setup face logon for that camera
- Sleep the laptop with the lid open
- Wake the laptop, Windows Hello dismisses the lock screen without intervention (using either camera but seems to prefer external unless you wake the laptop by opening the lid)
- Close the laptop lid/sleep
- Wake the laptop with external keyboard, keeping the lid closed, Windows Hello requires a key press to dismiss the lock screen
- If you open the lid it seems to use the internal camera and dismiss the lock screen without intervention.
