220-1102 Question 502
Single answerFingerprintA company issues Windows 11 laptops with fingerprint readers for Windows Hello sign-in. After a recent laptop replacement, a user reports that the fingerprint reader powers on, but Windows says the fingerprint could not be recognized each time they try to sign in. The user can still log in with their password. As the technician, which action should you take FIRST to restore fingerprint sign-in for this user?
- A
Delete the user's PIN and require password-only sign-in
- B
Re-enroll the user's fingerprints in Windows Hello
- C
Disable BitLocker so the biometric database can resync
- D
Run chkdsk to repair the local user profile
- E
Clear the TPM so the old fingerprint template can be imported
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The best first step is to re-enroll the user's fingerprints in Windows Hello on the replacement laptop. In real-world support, biometric sign-in problems after device replacement are commonly caused by the fact that fingerprint enrollment is device-specific rather than something that simply transfers from one PC to another. CompTIA A+ Core 2 expects candidates to understand biometrics such as fingerprint readers as authentication factors and to apply practical troubleshooting steps that preserve security. Microsoft Windows Hello documentation and standard enterprise deployment practices support setting up Hello methods, including fingerprint recognition, on each device individually. More invasive actions such as clearing the TPM or disabling BitLocker are not appropriate first-line fixes and can create avoidable security and recovery issues.
- A. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Windows Hello biometrics depend on a sign-in method such as a PIN, but removing the PIN does not fix fingerprint recognition. In fact, password-only sign-in would reduce convenience and does not address the likely issue that biometric templates from the old device are not valid on the replacement laptop.
- B. Correct.
This is correct. Fingerprint data used by Windows Hello is enrolled per device and tied to that device's secure authentication configuration. After a hardware replacement, the user commonly needs to set up Windows Hello again and scan their fingerprints on the new laptop. Since the user can still sign in with a password, re-enrollment is the appropriate first troubleshooting step.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. BitLocker drive encryption is separate from Windows Hello fingerprint enrollment. Disabling BitLocker is unnecessary and introduces security risk. There is no normal support procedure requiring BitLocker to be turned off to restore fingerprint recognition.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. A file system scan with chkdsk is used to detect and repair disk-related file system issues. The scenario points to a biometric enrollment problem after device replacement, not storage corruption or a damaged profile.
- E. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Clearing the TPM is a disruptive action that can affect credentials and encrypted data protections, including BitLocker recovery requirements. Windows Hello fingerprint templates are not imported from an old device by clearing the TPM. This would not be the first troubleshooting step and could create additional problems.