Brand Representative for Microsoft
The service you are talking about is called Windows Hello and some parts can be controlled via Group Policy but I expect you have Windows 10 on this new Surface 3 and the back end Domain Controllers have not yet had those Windows 10 Admin templates imported yet.
There is a new group policy setting:
Computer Confguration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Biometrics / Allow domain users to logon on using biometrics
Computer Confguration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Biometrics / Allow domain users to logon on using biometrics
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48257
Report back your findings for the group.
There are many who would use their laptop camera for an online meeting or live streaming or maybe just call their loved ones to for celebration, and if that camera stops working, there is much of trouble. If Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book rear/front facing Camera is not working and not visible in Device Manager, then here is how you can fix the problem. We will be suggesting you set of tips if your Surface or Windows 10 OS does not detect the Camera even though its right there.
Surface Pro Camera not working
1] Update Camera app from Microsoft Store
It is possible that an update to the Camera app can restore. Open the Camera app by following the link, or just search for Windows Camera in the Microsoft Store, and see if there is an update. If yes, update it right away, and check if the issue was resolved for you.
2] Rollback or Update Camera drivers
Every hardware needs a driver so it can work properly. It is possible that you either need to rollback to the old driver where it was working for you, or update to the latest version. First, try to rollback, and then update if that doesn’t work.
- Open Device Manager using WIN+X+M shortcut, and click on the arrow next to Imaging devices.
- Right-click on Microsoft Camera Front or Microsoft Camera Rear.
- Go to Properties, and see if you have an option to Rollback. If yes, then rollback, and see if the camera works for you.
- If not, click on the Update Driver Software, this will kick-start Windows Update to find new drivers for Windows Camera. You will get an option to Search automatically for updated driver software.
You might want to restart your Windows 10 PC and then use a camera software to see if works for you.
3] Run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter
If the issue persists, we suggest that you run the Hardware and devices troubleshooter. Go to Settings > Update and Security > Troubleshoot > Hardware and Devices > click on Run The troubleshooter.
4] Disable/Enable Camera from UEFI
UEFI is an upgraded version of BIOS which works on the hardware level. It allows you to enable and disable hardware. Boot into UEFI, and then disable the camera. Boot into Windows 10 again. Restart your PC, and boot into UEFI again, and then enable it. This will force Windows 10 to detect for new hardware, and reinstall drivers as well.
Hopefully, one of these solutions will help you figure out why your Surface Pro Camera not working, and then make it work if the solution works for you.
TIP: Download this tool to quickly find & fix Windows errors automatically
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You might already know that since the first release of Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface 3, Microsoft has implemented a new firmware called Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) on those devices. As this new firmware interface allows your Surface boot faster and providing better security improvements.
Starting with Surface Pro 4, Microsoft has created their own Surface UEFI for using with newer devices. This new Surface UEFI is currently used on newer devices including Surface Book and Surface Studio.
In this article, you will find out how to get to the Surface UEFI settings. You will see also about how to configure the UEFI settings to improve the device security, check your device information and more.
1 How to access Surface Pro 4 UEFI settings?
You can enter Surface Pro 4 UEFI setup screen only while your device is starting up. Here is how you do that:
- Shut down your Surface.
- Press and hold the Volume Up button on your Surface, then press and release the Power button.
- When you see the Surface logo screen appear, release the Volume Up button. The Surface UEFI screen will appear in a few seconds.
After you have made any changes to the UEFI settings, you can restart your Surface by:
- In Surface UEFI menu, choose Exit, and click on Restart Now
2 How to Check Your Surface Pro 4 Device Information via UEFI settings?
The first displayed page when you enter UEFI settings is PC information page. On the page, you can find out more information about your device identities such as Model,System UUID (Universally Unique Identifier), Serial Number, and Asset Tag. Moreover, it also displays all important system other components version that you might need for troubleshooting.
3 How to Configure Device Boot Order on Surface Pro 4?
To change the alternate system boot order on your Surface Pro 4:
- Enter Surface UEFI settings as the instructions above.
- In Surface UEFI menu, go to Boot Configuration pageas below:
On the “Configure boot device order” page, you can:
- Rearrange boot order by drag and drop any boot option available in the list.
- Enable or disable any boot option by using the checkbox
- Remove available boot option permanently by using the trash button.
Note If you accidentally delete Windows Boot Manager from your Master Boot Record, simply restart your Surface and Windows Boot Manager will reinstall automatically.
4 How to Manage Device Components on Surface Pro 4?
Surface Pro 4 allows you to disable some of your surface device components and features to meet your specific security requirements. You can enable or disable those components by:
- Access Surface UEFI settings as the instructions above.
- In Surface UEFI menu, go to Devices and you will see the following options:
- In my Surface Pro 4 with System UEFI version 106.1427.768, you can choose to enable or disable following device’s components or ports:
- Docking USB Port
- Front Camera
- Rear Camera
- IR Camera
- On-board Audio
- SDcard
- Wi-Fi & Bluetooth
- Bluetooth
- Type Cover port
5 How to Protect UEFI settings with a password on Surface Pro 4?
You can prevent others from changing your UEFI settings by setting an Administrator Password in UEFI settings. To do that:
Turn Off Surface Camera
- Enter Surface UEFI settings as the instructions above.
- Go to Security section as below:
- To set UEFI password, click on Add or Change button and you will see the following requirements:
- You will need to enter a password in the box with your keyboard or the on-screen keyboard with following criteria:
- Minimum Length: 6 characters
- Maximum Length: 128 characters
- May contain a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
- In case that you have already set the password before and you want to remove it, simply leave the password box as blank.
Note If you enter the administrator password incorrectly three times, you’ll be locked out of the UEFI. Restart your Surface to enter the password again.
Important If you set a password for the UEFI, record it in a safe place. If you forget the password, you won’t be able to access the UEFI settings. You can only reset the administrator password from within the UEFI.
6 What is Secure Boot Control?
The Secure Boot is a technology which blocks the loading of uncertified bootloaders and drives. It helps to prevent your Surface being loaded with unauthorized operating systems and malicious software applications.
If you desire to install other operating systems like Ubuntu, or other Linux distributions, you may need to disable this feature in the UEFI settings above.
7 What is Trusted Platform Module (TPM)?
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a technology that provides a major advancement over BIOS in hardware-based security features. It is a specialized chip that stores RSA encryption keys specific to each Surface device for hardware authentication.
The TPM technology is a requirement of BitLocker disk encryption. The TPM helps you to encrypt/decrypt entire disk without required your complex long passphrases. It means that the encryption key and decryption key are stored within the TPM chip. So your encrypted disks can’t be accessed on other devices.
Other Surface’s UEFI Settings
We have also covered this topic for other Surface PCs as well, to learn more about other Surface’s UEFI settings check the link below: