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Windows Hello, use external camera instead of Laptop
Ok, this has been working, although a bit of a hit-n-miss sometimes for the screens we have in the office, Philips Brilliance 499P, which have Windows Hello compatible cameras. Most often if I boot m...
I got pinged about the answer about "Sign in with an external camera or fingerprint reader" in the Sign-in options, so I figured to circle back...
The external camera issues was solved some months (maybe a year+) after I made this post, at least to work like 90% of the times.
The setting for using external camera was added to Windows 11 in version 22H2 late October 2023, which finally solved this issue to 100%.
I still have issues on the Philips Brilliance 499P sometimes, but I think that's related to a crappy implementation by Philips as my Logitech Brio 4K works every time at home.
To resolve the issue with Windows Hello not consistently recognizing and using the external camera instead of the laptop camera, you can try the following steps:
Update drivers: Ensure that you have the latest drivers installed for both your laptop's integrated camera and the external cameras (Philips 499P and Logitech BRIO). Visit the manufacturer's support website for each camera to download and install the latest drivers.
Disable laptop camera: To force Windows Hello to prioritize the external camera, you can try disabling the laptop's integrated camera temporarily. Here's how:
Open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start button and selecting "Device Manager".
Locate the camera under the "Cameras" or "Imaging devices" section.
Right-click on the laptop camera and select "Disable Device".
Confirm the action when prompted. Note that this will disable the laptop's camera across all applications until re-enabled.
Reconfigure Windows Hello settings: Try reconfiguring the Windows Hello settings to ensure that it recognizes and prioritizes the external camera correctly. Here's how:
Open Settings by pressing Windows key + I.
Go to "Accounts" and select "Sign-in options" from the left sidebar.
Under the Windows Hello section, click "Remove" next to your face or fingerprint settings.
Set up Windows Hello again, ensuring that you do this while the external camera is connected and working.
Clean boot: Perform a clean boot to eliminate any conflicts caused by background processes. Here are the steps:
Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type "msconfig" and hit Enter to open the System Configuration window.
In the General tab, select "Selective startup" and uncheck "Load startup items".
Go to the Services tab, check "Hide all Microsoft services", and click "Disable all".
Click OK and restart your computer.
Test Windows Hello with the external camera after the clean boot.
Update drivers: Ensure that you have the latest drivers installed for both your laptop's integrated camera and the external cameras (Philips 499P and Logitech BRIO). Visit the manufacturer's support website for each camera to download and install the latest drivers.
Disable laptop camera: To force Windows Hello to prioritize the external camera, you can try disabling the laptop's integrated camera temporarily. Here's how:
Open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start button and selecting "Device Manager".
Locate the camera under the "Cameras" or "Imaging devices" section.
Right-click on the laptop camera and select "Disable Device".
Confirm the action when prompted. Note that this will disable the laptop's camera across all applications until re-enabled.
Reconfigure Windows Hello settings: Try reconfiguring the Windows Hello settings to ensure that it recognizes and prioritizes the external camera correctly. Here's how:
Open Settings by pressing Windows key + I.
Go to "Accounts" and select "Sign-in options" from the left sidebar.
Under the Windows Hello section, click "Remove" next to your face or fingerprint settings.
Set up Windows Hello again, ensuring that you do this while the external camera is connected and working.
Clean boot: Perform a clean boot to eliminate any conflicts caused by background processes. Here are the steps:
Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type "msconfig" and hit Enter to open the System Configuration window.
In the General tab, select "Selective startup" and uncheck "Load startup items".
Go to the Services tab, check "Hide all Microsoft services", and click "Disable all".
Click OK and restart your computer.
Test Windows Hello with the external camera after the clean boot.