How To Identify Fingerprint Enrollment Types and Numbers on Dell Laptops

Summary: The following article provides information about the fingerprint enrollment on Dell laptops in Windows Hello.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Instructions

Table of Contents:

  1. The fingerprint options on Dell laptops
  2. Affected Products
  3. Identify the fingerprint reader on your laptop
  4. Do they enroll the same number of fingerprints?
Note: The following link is to an article for troubleshooting fingerprint problems:

The fingerprint options on Dell laptops

 

There are two types of fingerprint reader options for Dell laptops that work with the Windows Hello fingerprint feature:

  • Fingerprint Reader
  • Fingerprint Reader with ControlVault

What is the difference?

The operating system handles your biometric data on a fingerprint reader. However, your biometric data and other credentials are held in a secure hardware module with a fingerprint reader with ControlVault. The second option offers a more secure defense against unauthorized access.

What is ControlVault?

ControlVault is hardware-based. It uses a dedicated processing chip to store sensitive data. It is a security option to save passwords, biometric data, and cryptographic keys on a chip. It is isolated from the Windows operating system and the storage drive.

Affected Products

 

This article is applicable to all Dell laptops with a fingerprint reader option.

Identify the fingerprint reader on your laptop

 

There are several different ways to identify your fingerprint reader type:

Review your Documentation from Dell:

  • Check the invoice of your laptop for information about the hardware included. (It shows the selections made at the point of sale.)
  • Read your laptops manual to find out specific hardware specifications:

Use Device Manager on your laptop:

  • Identify the fingerprint reader from the Biometric Devices section in Windows Device Manager.

Use the Dell Support site:

  • Go to our product support site and enter your service tag to see a lot of information specific to your laptop. The website page has a section on your laptops hardware when shipped and a page with the drivers for your laptop. Either look through your hardware list for the fingerprint device or see which device the fingerprint driver is for on your laptop:

Do they enroll the same number of fingerprints?

 

The maximum enrollment number on a Dell laptop depends on the flash size of your fingerprint sensor:

Fingerprint Only:

  • This option supports up to 10 enrollments

Fingerprint with ControlVault:

  • This option supports more than 10 enrollments
Note: Microsoft's Windows Hello feature supports a maximum of 10 enrollments on a single device. (This allows enrolling up to 10 fingers.)


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Affected Products

G Series, Alienware, Dell Laptops, Dell Plus, Dell Pro, Dell Pro Max, Dell Pro Plus, Dell Pro Premium, Inspiron, Latitude, Dell Pro Rugged, Vostro, XPS, Legacy Laptop Models, Mobile Workstations, Dell Pro Max 14 Premium MA14250 , Dell Pro Max 16 Premium MA16250, Dell Pro Max 16 Plus MB16250, Dell Pro Max 18 Plus MB18250, Dell Pro Max 16 XE MC16250 ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000370873
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 19 Sep 2025
Version:  1
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