HP Envy Touchsmart 15 finger print reader not working

Question

Hello, I've had my HP Envy touchsmart 15 for little under a month now and it's been going great until yesterday and today, the finger print reader hardware has started acting up.I log into my account fine and then when I leave my laptop for a little bit, I then return to log in and it won't let me use the finger print reader, it doesn't flash red or white, it just stops working. So I then try to log in using my password but I can't because it's saying my finger print is not recognised and keeps flicking bad and forth to that message. So basically it seems to think I'm rubbing my finger over it when i'm not even when the lights aren't flashing or anything and to solve this I have to power it off with the power button, which is not ideal at all. This is a problem, any help?

Answer 1

I've had this issue on and off with my laptop, as well. It has persisted through Windows 8, 8.1, and even started up again after upgrading to Windows 10 this week. I've also done the Simple Pass uninstall/reinstall thing, as well as used updated versions of such with the problem recurring. I reloaded a fresh install of Windows 8.1 earlier this year, only to have the problem persist. This week, I decided to forgo the HP software entirely and start using the Windows Hello feature that allows Windows to natively access the fingerprint reader without any other software required. Here's what I have figured out:The issue seems to be caused by the activation of a power saving profile at shuts down the fingerprint reader out of perceived conservation. Disabling this feature seems to have wholly rectified the issue.Windows 10 has installed the most recent Validity Sensors driver for the device, and it seems to work well.Here's how I fixed it, which should work for you:At the risk of shilling for Microsoft, run all the Windows Updates needed to get your PC to prompt an update to Windows 10. (The HP software seems to be at least partly to blame, and I hated the latest iteration of Simple Pass.) The Windows Hello feature should work well, as this device is supported. All instructions below assume you have installed Windows 10.Before continuing, uninstall HP Simple Pass from the control panel or through the new Windows 10 applications window (in Settings).If you have the "My Computer" icon on your desktop, right-click it and select Properties to open the System window. Then, select "Device Manager" from the upper left column of the System window.  (If you don't have the icon on your desktop, type "device manager into the search/Cortana dialog on the Windows taskbar, and select the top/highlighted result.)In the Device Manager window, click on the small right-carat next to the "Biometric Devices" entry.Right-click on the Validity Sensors entry, and select Properties to bring up a device properties window.First, select the Power Management tab at the top of the dialog. DESELECT the checkbox marked, "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."Next, select the Driver tab. Click on the Disable button near the bottom of the dialog.Press OK.Again, right-click on the Validity Sensors entry, and select Properties to bring up a device properties window.Again, navigate to the Driver tab.This time, select the Enable button (where the disable button was previously).  Press OK to close the dialog. (Your fingerprint sensor should flash a couple of times, but don't worry if it doesn't.)Close all of the windows you have opened.Open the Start Menu and select Settings.Click on Accounts at the far right side of the window.Click on Sign-in options in the left-side list.Under the Windows Hello heading, follow the step it gives to set up your fingerprint reader.Since doing so, I have had no further problems with the fingerprint reader. It seems to work reliably, but I'll update this post if I run into any issues. Good luck!