How To Disable Windows Hello To Prevent Excessive Battery Drain On Surface Book Surface Pro 4

For those unfamiliar, Windows Hello, is a new feature in Windows 10 that allows users to sign into the operating system using biometric authentication. In the case of the Surface devices, which come equipped with an infrared camera, users can simply use facial recognition to sign into Windows 10. The root of the problem seems to make sense, as Windows Hello didn’t become available until Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 went on sale, as such reviewers couldn’t pick up on the battery drain issue. In addition, we have to keep in mind that the infrared camera and Windows Hello for Surface devices are still in the early days, as such we are expecting to see isolated incidents where facial recognition won’t work or other problems like battery drain and heating will affect some users, and some other users won’t find any issues. However, if you’re experiencing this problem, you can temporarily disable Windows Hello on your Surface to try to improve battery life.

Disable Windows Hello

Alternatively, you can put your computer into Hibernate mode to improve battery life.

If you don’t see the option available in the power menu do the following: You can also disable Wi-Fi when you put the computer to sleep:

Of course, you can save all your work and shut down your Surface Book or Surface Pro 4 to save the most power.

Microsoft has already rolled out two firmware updates since the launch of the new Surface devices, which address many of the key issues, but battery drain and heat while sleep isn’t one of the fixes. The company plans to soon release the Windows 10 Fall Update (Threshold 2), which will include a number of changes and improvements to make the operating system more stable, and we also hope a new firmware will roll out as well to permanently resolve all the major issues on Surface Book and Surface Pro 4. Source Reddit via Windows Central All content on this site is provided with no warranties, express or implied. Use any information at your own risk. Always backup of your device and files before making any changes. Privacy policy info.