Windows Hello / Microsoft
To the owners laptops With Windows 11 and the right hardware, Microsoft is introducing Windows Hello, a convenient system for signing in with your face, fingerprint, or PIN. In theory, this is supposed to be the future without passwords — fast, secure, and most importantly, no typing. But here’s a typical IT story: everything worked until Microsoft decided to «improve» the system. And now your laptop may simply not recognize you in low light. Not because you didn’t sleep well, but because the new rules require it.
Previously, Windows Hello used infrared sensors to build a three-dimensional map of your face — much like an iPhone with Face ID. This method worked well even in the dark, because the IR camera doesn’t need light to see your adorable face. But with the April update, Microsoft decided that this was not enough: now Hello requires both an IR sensor and a regular color webcam to recognize your face. They say it’s impossible without it. And now we have the following situation — you have a modern infrared camera that can see in the dark, but the system is waiting for the webcam to see something in color. And if there’s no light, there’s no entrance either. Improvements.
Microsoft explains all this by closing a potential security vulnerability. But for the average user, it sounds something like this: «we turned off a convenient feature because something could happen». And now you either turn on the light, like in a 90s office, or just use a PIN, like in 2010.
According to neowin’s testing results, after these updates, Windows Hello works in low, warm light, but does not work in even dimmer environments, such as with red light.
By the way, users have managed to find a temporary workaround. If you turn off the webcam through the Device Manager, Windows Hello works again only on the IR sensor. But, knowing Microsoft, this window will be closed at the earliest opportunity.
What do we have in the end? It seems that security has won over convenience, and users can only either go back to the good old password or wait for Microsoft to either rethink its «improvement» or at least add a setting «use only the IR sensor at your own risk». Otherwise — you’ll have to keep a desk lamp ready and shine it in your eyes. Who said security should be convenient?
Source: neowin