TEC SecureTouch TE-FPA4-MC USB Fingerprint Reader - Windows Hello, FIDO U2F, Compatible with Windows 10 & 11, 360° Quick Match, Secure File Encryption

Works great after easy set up and finger print definitions.

I bought the TE-FPA4-MC fingerprint sensor for my desktop PC for a couple of reasons, one for logging in with a finger print, and secondarily to help with MFA. I found this device was plug and play on my Windows 11 PC, and all I needed was a reboot for it to become fully effective. While there are drivers on the manufacturer's website, they're no different to what gets installed automatically by Windows. Windows 11 25H2 seems to work fine for Windows Hello sign-in. I've so far found the finger print sensor fast and reliable, even from different angles. What this device is not though, is a security key. I was hoping that it would act like a YubiKey, but it itself does not store any security keys on it - just your biometrics. If it was also a security key, it can provide a secure store for PassKeys etc which can then be used on another device. It does however enable PassKeys to be saved on the local computer with access confirmed by a Windows Hello popup when needing to be accessed (instead of having to type a password in). I don't know if there is a combined Windows Hello and Security Key product out there.

This review is for the TEC TE-FPA4. TEC also sells a TE-FPA3 and TE-FPA2 on Amazon, but I don't know how well those do or don't work. Very easy set up. I just plugged it into my USB 3 hub and Windows detected and installed it. I didn't have to download drivers or do anything at all. After that, I was able to use Windows Hello to add fingerprints. I put in my index fingers and thumbs of both hands. Now I can unlock Windows 10 by just tapping the fingerprint reader for 1 second. Google's 2-factor authentication works with Windows Hello now, so you can just enable it in your Google account and use your fingerprints there as well. Very smooth process and fast to log in.

You may or may not need a driver, but know that the images are stored on the machine and not on this device, which is going to be a problem for some instantiations of multi-factor authentication and good security. It does work, I'll give it that.

Trivial to install. I plugged it in, waited about 1 minute, then used Accounts/ Sign-in options / Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello) settings to add a fingerprint. No drivers or additional software was needed. Once set up, it was as fast as a laptop reader for login, windows UAC prompts, Passkey logins. I reviewed the USB hardware tree in Device Manager to confirm no additional hardware components were included. only "Realtek MOC Fingerprint" shows as connected to my USB Root hub. For about $25, this is a tremendous upgrade for usability. I was typing my PIN > 50x / day, so touching the fingerprint is much easier.