Any and all advice, guides, and reviews are unbiased and based on my personal experience. If you buy through affiliate links, I may earn commissions, which helps support my website. This does not have an impact on posts or my opinion of any reviewed products. If you find this post helpful and want to say thanks, please buy me a coffee or take a look at my book on Amazon. It keeps this page ad-free. Thank you!
I own an ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop (Model ASUS TUF F17 FX706HEB) and I am really happy with it (more on that in another post). The only thing I miss is having a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello. This is why I purchased the Kensington VeriMark USB Fingerprint Key Reader from Amazon.
I got my VeriMark FingerPrint reader for about US$30 thanks to a coupon code and while there are cheaper “no-name” alternatives, I figure if you’re buying something for security you’re better off using a known brand. I like the small form factor of the VeriMark, it’s about the same size as a Logitech USB dongle. Some of the cheaper alternatives seemed to stick out further and not blend in, plus it’s black so it looks like it’s part of the ASUS.
The Kensington VeriMark USB FingerPrint reader lets you add fingerprint and Windows Hello capabilities to any computer. So while I did this on my ASUS TUF, these instructions work for any computer.
Setup Kensington VeriMark USB FingerPrint Reader on Windows 11
On Windows 11, at least for me, the VeriMark was not plug-and-play. You will need to go through some manual steps to get it working, but it DOES work on Windows 11. This has been tested and verified by me.
- Download the official drivers here from Kensington
- Scroll down the page, you want to find the “Manually Installing the Driver” section as shown below and click Manual Driver Install.
- If you’re really lazy, you can try this VeriMark USB driver direct download link which was active when I originally posted this article.
- Double Click the Zip file, it will install the Kensington VeriMark Synaptics Driver (the current version, as of January 2025, is v5.5.3536.1066).
- Now in Windows 11 go to Settings, and select Accounts.
- Click Sign-in options, click Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello).
- Add a finger (print).
- The VeriMark FingerPrint Scanner will show a blue light when it is ready to read your fingerprint.
- Follow the steps to scan your fingerprint multiple times and from multiple angles.
- You’re done!
Yes, you can use the VeriMark with any application that supports fingerprint sign-in, as long as you set up your fingerprint in Windows 11 Account Settings first. This is because other apps e.g. LastPass, BitWarden, 1Password, etc. use Windows Hello to interface with the fingerprint reader.
If, for some reason, Kensington discontinues the links above. I have mirrored the older v5.4.3511.1066 software on my server. The mirror is here. But please try the official Kensington VeriMark Driver link first to save my bandwidth (and get the latest software). Thanks!
Update (2024-2025) Verimark Fingerprint Reader Optional Windows Updates
In some versions of Windows 11, you may also need to install Optional Windows Updates to get the Verimark fully working. These can be accessed in Windows Update -> Advanced Options -> Optional Updates.
I recently did a reinstall of Windows and installing the Verimark driver also required to install .NET framework 3.5. This installs automatically as part of the process, but worth knowing. It may require a restart though.
Windows ARM Fingerprint Drivers – Not Supported
I picked up a Windows ARM laptop over the 2024/2025 holidays that doesn’t have a fingerprint reader. Alas, there is no Windows ARM/Snapdragon driver for the Kensington VeriMark fingerprint reader. If that changes, I will update this post.
VeriMark Fingerprint Reader Troubleshooting
If, for some reason, this doesn’t work or the VeriMark stops working, go into Windows Device Manager (Start, Type “Device Manager”) and expand “Biometric devices”.
I had one instance where the Kensington Fingerprint Key had an error of “failed to start”. Just right-click, uninstall the device, then follow the installation steps again and you should be ok.
You may need to re-install the software twice, because if the software is already installed, installing it again will uninstall it (i.e. reinstall uninstalls, so then you to install again to install – crazy, I know!)
Hope that helps!
Any and all advice, guides, and reviews are unbiased and based on my personal experience. If you buy through affiliate links, I may earn commissions, which helps support my website. This does not have an impact on posts or my opinion of any reviewed products. If you find this post helpful and want to say thanks, please buy me a coffee or take a look at my book on Amazon. It keeps this page ad-free. Thank you!