36 27 April – 10 May 2022 • Issue 630
Tap the fingerprint sensor several times so it
Select ‘milanFusb’ then Open, so Device Manager knows where it can find the driver file can capture a full map of your fingerprintHow I use a fingerprint reader
How do you use your fingerprint reader?
Please let us know: [email protected]My main laptop has a fingerprint reader in the trackpad, and
I certainly wouldn’t want to be without it. It makes logging in
quick, keeps my computer secure, and gives me confidence
that the chance of anyone else gaining unauthorised
access is very slim. An integrated reader will be one of my
requirements when shopping for my next PC but, should that
not be an option, I’d have no qualms about using an external
device, as long as it could be left plugged in permanently.
Nik Rawlinsonright-click ELAN WBF Fingerprint
Sensor. Click ‘Update driver’ on the
menu, followed by ‘Browse my computer
for drivers’. Click ‘Let me pick from a list
of available drivers on my computer’,
followed by ‘Have Disk...’. Click ‘Browse’
in the box that appears, then navigate to
your Downloads folder.
Open the folder you just expanded (its
name will begin UA002), then click
through each of the folders it contains
until you reach the file ‘milanFusb’. In
each instance, there will only be a single
directory, and milanFusb will be the only
file listed. Select it (^1 in our screenshot
below), and click Open^2 , followed by
OK. Device Manager will change the
name of the detected device to ‘Goodix
fingerprint’.
Click ‘Next’ and Windows will warn
you that the device driver is not
recommended because it can’t verify that
it’s compatible with the fingerprint
reader. Click ‘Yes’ to confirm that you still
want to install it. When installation has
completed, click Yes to restart your PC.2
Enrol your fingerprint
Now that your fingerprint reader
is connected and installed, you
need to enrol your finger or thumbprints.
Open Settings, then click Accounts,
followed by ‘Sign-in options’ in the
sidebar. Windows gives you several
sign-in options, including PIN, security
key and face recognition. Click ‘Windows
Hello Fingerprint (Recommended)’,
followed by ‘Set up’, then ‘Get started’.
Windows needs to make sure you are
authorised to set up fingerprint login, and
not just someone who has wandered past
an active computer and seen an
opportunity for unlocking it in the future.
So, enter your previously set-up PIN or
password, then follow the instructions to
repeatedly place your finger on the
reader, adjusting its position every time.
The graphic that Windows uses to
represent your finger (see screenshot
below) isn’t an accurate depiction of its
print; it just shows how much coverage it
has so far gained. It will take at least 10
taps to complete enrolment, so carry on
touching the reader at different angles
until the fingerprint graphic disappears,When we did this, it detected a
download for ‘ELAN Finger Print -
Biometric 3.10.12001.10102’ (see
screenshot below), which was ready to be
installed alongside the next version of
Windows. If your PC finds a similar
download, the numbers at the end of its
name may be slightly different, indicating
the driver has been updated since we
went to press. Click ‘Install now’ to
download and install both the fingerprint
reader’s driver and any other updates that
are ready for your machine.
If Windows doesn’t find any drivers,
you can install one manually. Visit the
manufacturer’s download page at http://www.
snipca.com/41430 and click ‘UA002
Fingerprint USB Drive (Support Windows
10)-Newest’.
When the download has completed,
open your Downloads folder in File
Explorer, and click ‘UA002 Fingerprint
USB Drive(Support Windows 10)-Newest.
zip’, then click Compressed Folder Tools,
followed by ‘Extract all’ on the toolbar.
When Windows asks where you want to
extract the files to, leave the default
settings as they are and click Extract.
Return to Device Manager andWindows Update found a driver for our
fingerprint reader1
2