Wondering why your Windows 11 face login doesn’t work sometimes? It’s because of Microsoft’s recent push for ‘enhanced security’.

If your PC only has one or the other, you don’t really have a choice — use whichever Windows Hello method is available to you. If it has both, then you can actually use both.

The newest revision of Windows Hello Face requires a color camera to authenticate logins in addition to the use of IR sensors, somewhat limiting the function's usability in low-light scenarios.