Your passkey won't appear, Windows Hello rejects your fingerprint, or the phone connection keeps timing out. The fix depends on where the passkey is saved and what's stopping sign-in. Start with a fresh attempt, then follow the steps for your password manager, phone, or Windows device.
Start with a fresh sign-in attempt
If authentication stalls or the prompt expires, retry before changing your passkeys. Microsoft recommends this when Bluetooth hangs during passkey registration.
Cancel the stalled attempt.
Refresh the sign-in page.
Retry promptly before the new prompt expires.
For a Google Account sign-in that fails in Incognito mode, retry in a regular browser window. Some browser and operating-system combinations do not support Google Account passkeys in private browsing.
Check for Windows 11 updates through Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
Install applicable updates.
Restart when requested. Passkey interface availability also depends on rollout and hardware.
In Edge, open Settings and more > Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge.
Select Download and install if offered.
Select Restart when required.
In Chrome, open More > Help > About Google Chrome to run the update check.
Select Relaunch if offered after the check finishes.
Find the account holding your passkey
For Google Password Manager passkeys, sign in to Chrome with the Google Account that holds them. Unlock them with the requested Google Password Manager PIN or Android screen-lock credential. Your Windows Hello PIN is separate.
Forgotten the Google Password Manager PIN? On a previously authorized computer, open chrome://password-manager/settings > Change Google Password Manager PIN. Authenticate, enter a replacement, and select Confirm.
If that control is missing, check that you're using the correct Google Account. Try another previously used non-Android device.
For Microsoft Password Manager credentials, sign in to Edge with the Microsoft personal profile holding them. Open Settings > Passwords and autofill > Microsoft Password Manager to access the manager. After Edge sign-in, its Windows integration is available on compatible Windows 11 devices through Settings > Accounts > Passkeys > Advanced options.
Connect the phone holding your passkey
Use this sequence when a phone-based passkey won't connect or the QR code is missing.
- 1.On Windows 11, open Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices and turn Bluetooth on. If it's already enabled, switch it off and back on.
- 2.Enable Bluetooth on your phone or tablet and keep it near the PC.
- 3.Connect both devices to the internet. They do not need to share a network.
- 4.Make sure the phone or tablet has a screen lock.
- 5.In Chrome's passkey prompt, select Use Passkey from Another Device or Use a phone or tablet. Select Try another way first if needed.
- 6.Scan the QR code and approve sign-in on the phone.
Get Windows Hello working again
If the passkey prompt opens but face or fingerprint verification fails, address Windows Hello next. For a failed face scan, your Windows Hello PIN provides another way to complete verification.
Use your Windows Hello PIN when facial recognition fails.
To set up Windows Hello, open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > PIN (Windows Hello) > Set up.
Complete enrollment. Compatible cameras and fingerprint readers also offer biometric enrollment on this page.
For a forgotten Windows Hello PIN, open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > PIN (Windows Hello) > I forgot my PIN.
Verify your account.
Create a replacement PIN. This resets the Windows PIN, not a security-key PIN or Google Password Manager PIN.
For face recognition problems, clean the camera.
Uncover the camera if anything blocks it.
Improve the lighting around your face.
Open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Facial Recognition (Windows Hello).
Select Improve recognition.
To enroll again instead, select Remove.
Select Set up to complete a new enrollment.
For fingerprint failures, clean and dry the reader.
Enroll another finger through Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello) > Add a finger. Capturing additional angles during enrollment is another option.
Check for fingerprint-reader driver updates if recognition continues to fail.
For an external biometric reader that's incompatible with Enhanced Sign-in Security, look for Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Additional settings > Enhanced sign-in security on Windows 11 24H2 or later. This control is available only on applicable devices.
To permit non-ESS Windows Hello-compatible peripherals, turn Enhanced sign-in security off. This reduces biometric protection.
Use PIN authentication instead if you want to keep that protection enabled.
Check Windows passkey permissions
On Windows 11 24H2 and later, restore access for an application you previously denied through Settings > Privacy & security > Passkey access. Turn on the affected application's switch.
Retry the application's passkey registration or sign-in.
On updated Windows 11 devices with provider controls, enable your intended provider through Settings > Accounts > Passkeys > Advanced options. Availability depends on your Windows device and organizational restrictions.
For local credentials, enable Save passkeys to this Windows device on that page.
Stop the wrong password manager taking over
If 1Password or Bitwarden opens when your passkey belongs elsewhere, use its bypass option. If the passkey belongs to that manager but no prompt opens, check its passkey settings.
In a 1Password passkey prompt, select the security-key icon to use the browser or a hardware key.
To stop 1Password's extension from offering passkeys, unlock the extension.
Open the account menu > Settings > Autofill & save.
Turn off Offer to sign in with passkeys.
Turn off Offer to save passkeys.
For 1Password's native Windows integration, unlock the desktop app. This integration requires updated Windows 11 and the MSIX installation of 1Password.
Open your account or collection > Settings > Autofill.
Enable Show passkey suggestions.
In Windows, open Settings > Accounts > Passkeys > Advanced options.
Enable 1Password.
In a Bitwarden prompt, select Use your device or hardware key when the credential belongs elsewhere.
For passkeys stored in Bitwarden, open the browser extension's Settings > Notifications.
Enable Ask to save and use passkeys. To stop Bitwarden from handling passkey prompts globally, disable this setting instead.
If Bitwarden has stopped prompting on one website, remove that site from Settings > Notifications > Excluded domains. Choosing Use your device or hardware key can suppress later prompts for that site until its exclusion is removed.
Complete your security key's confirmation
A security-key sign-in times out when the key's response or your physical confirmation doesn't arrive before the prompt expires.
Unplug an unresponsive key.
Reconnect it.
Restart authentication and respond before the prompt expires.
Connect a FIDO2-compatible key through USB or tap it on a supported NFC reader.
Enter the key's PIN when requested.
Touch its button, gold disk, or fingerprint sensor as instructed by its manufacturer.
To add or change a supported key's PIN, open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Security Key > Manage.
Insert or tap the key.
Select Add or Change under Security Key PIN.
Follow the prompts to set the PIN.
Before a factory reset, establish another way into your accounts. Resetting is a last resort because it erases every credential on the key.
Follow the manufacturer's reset instructions.
Register replacement credentials for the accounts that used the key.
Replace a passkey lost with an old PC
For a synced passkey, sign in to the original credential manager on your replacement PC. Windows Hello-local passkeys stay tied to their original device and need replacing after they're lost.
Use another working account sign-in method before replacing a local or invalid passkey.
For a Microsoft personal account, open account.live.com/proofs/manage > Add a new way to sign in or verify > Face, Fingerprint, PIN, or Security Key.
During registration, select Change or Save another way to change the save destination.
Choose your intended password manager, mobile device, Security key, or Windows device / Windows Hello.
Complete registration before removing the invalid credential.
For a Google Account, open myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/passkeys > Create a passkey.
For a hardware key, choose Use another device.
After securing working account access, open Settings > Accounts > Passkeys to remove an obsolete local Windows credential.
Open the menu beside the obsolete entry.
Select Delete passkey.
To remove an obsolete Microsoft-account registration separately, open account.live.com/proofs/manage.
Expand the obsolete passkey's entry.
Select Remove.
For an obsolete Google-account entry, open Security & sign-in > Passkeys and security keys.
Select the obsolete entry.
Select Remove.
Keep a trusted sign-in method available while replacing credentials: Google warns that a newly registered Google Account passkey can take up to seven days to become available for sign-in.
Ask IT to check work-account restrictions
On a managed PC, ask IT to check whether your organization permits the intended passkey provider and phone-based Bluetooth sign-in.
If registration reports an existing passkey, ask IT to check whether Windows Hello for Business already registered a credential for that account.
To register a replacement work or school passkey when your organization permits it, open mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info > Add sign-in method.
Choose Passkey or Passkey in Microsoft Authenticator and complete registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my iPhone passkey missing when I sign in on Windows?
For an Apple-synced passkey, enable iCloud Keychain syncing on the iPhone through Settings > your name > iCloud > Passwords > Sync this [Device]. Authenticate when requested. Apple Account two-factor authentication is required. On iOS 17 and earlier, the section is called Passwords and Keychain.
Why does my Android work-account passkey fail?
Check which Android profile you used to register it. Recreate the work-account passkey using the authenticator or camera in the Work profile. Do not scan its registration QR code with the Personal-profile camera.
Can I use my Google password while a passkey isn't working?
Select Try another way to use an alternative sign-in method. To make password-first sign-in the default, open Google Account > Security & sign-in and turn off Skip password when possible. This preference remains subject to your organization's rules.
How do I report a Windows passkey problem that still isn't fixed?
Open Feedback Hub and select Security and Privacy > Passkey. Include the application, passkey provider, exact error, and steps that reproduce the failure.