Fingerprint entry worked well when used withe Dashlane. My Bitwarden extension version is 2025.11.1 & Bitwarden desktop app is version 1.0.0.1 Windows 11 Hello has url’s enabled. Fingerprint is installed in Windows11. Also using Windows11 Hello pin does not work either.Any suggestions wellcome Adjer
The current version of Bitwarden’s desktop app should be 2025.11.1, so either you are not using an official Bitwarden app, or you need to update the app, or you misread the version number from the Help > About Bitwarden pop-up.
After you have ensured that you have installed the most recent version of the official Bitwarden Desktop app, open the app and go to File > Settings. In the “SECURITY” section at the top, ensure that you have enabled (checked) the option “Unlock with Windows Hello” (and optionally disable the option “Require master password or PIN on app restart”). Next, scroll down to the section titled “APP SETTINGS (ALL ACCOUNTS)” and confirm that you have enabled the option “Allow browser integration”. It will also be helpful if you enable (check) the 5 options immediately above “Allow browser integration”, as well.
Next, in your browser(s), right-click the Bitwarden browser extension icon in the top right corner, and select “Manage extension”. In the window that opens, if you see an option labeled “Allow access to file URLs”, then you must enable it.
At this point, open the Bitwarden browser extension, go to Settings > Account Security, and enable (check) the option “Unlock with biometrics” (and optionally enable “Ask for biometrics on launch”). If prompted for permission to “communicate with cooperating native applications”, click “Allow”. Next, go to your Bitwarden Desktop app, click “Approve” at the verification prompt, and complete the Windows Hello authentication when prompted.
Hello grb, thank you for your comprehensive help. I assume I need to delete my Bitwarden app 1st? Will all my password data be still present by doing this? Assuming yes, where is a safe source to download version 2025.11.1? Thanks very much, Adjer.
If your app really does have a version number of “1.0.0.1” (which we can verify if you go to Help > About Bitwarden, click the Copy button, and paste the result in your response on the forum), then that is highly suspicious, and could potentially mean that you have been using a compromised (malicious) app all this time, exposing all of your passwords to hackers. If that is the case, then you will have a lot of clean-up to do beyond just updating the app.
So let’s first rule out that possibility. Exactly where did you see the version number “1.0.0.1”? Please post the version information from Help > About Bitwarden, so that we can have a closer look at the real version information. Also, if you have any recollection about where you downloaded this app, please share. Finally, please open Windows Settings (⊞ Win > 
), go to Apps > Installed Apps, and check the date shown for the Bitwarden Password Manager app — this will be the installation date, which may give us additional clues.
But to answer your question: Deleting or uninstalling any Bitwarden app or browser extension will not affect your vault data, which are stored in the cloud (or in your case, on a self-hosted server that you have set up on a computer somewhere — unless you chose the forum topic tag “server:self-hosted” by mistake). At most, you will lose app preferences, such as vault timeout settings, or appearance settings (light vs. dark theme, etc.).
Thanks for your reply. See below a snip showing the info concerning my Bitwarden version1.0.0.1 that is currently installed in Windows11. I use the M.S. browser Edge. Hope this helps your understanding of my problem. Adjer.
@Adjer Thank you for that information, however, this is still very mysterious/suspicious to me. Can you go back to Apps > Installed Apps (without clicking on “Bitwarden”) and check the installation date that is shown below the app name? You posted only last month that you were switching from Dashlane to Bitwarden — did you install Bitwraden around that time, or did you find an old installation already on your computer?
Do you have any recollection of where you might have downloaded the Bitwarden app installer?
Furthermore, please follow my previous instructions to open the Help menu in the Bitwarden app, and selecting the menu item “About Bitwarden”. You will see some version information in a pop-up window, which will have a “Copy” button. Please click this “Copy” button, and then paste the copied information into a response in this forum thread. Please refer to the screenshots below:
I downloaded it 08/10/25 but it is registered as 09/2025 due to the time difference here in the UK. I thought I got it from the Bitwarden web site. The snip was from Win11/ settings /apps /Bitwarden app. Sorry I am struggling to find the help menu you want me to use. I have done a Bitwarden search for help but it is Currently down for maintenance. Sorry I have to go now. Other commitments for my time . Will resume this tomorrow. Thanks for your Patience Ggrb.
@Adjer If you cannot see the Help menu in the app’s top menu bar (as I’ve shown it in my screenshots above), then I have no idea what app you are using that is calling itself “Bitwarden”.
Could you please restart your “Bitwarden” app, and take a screenshot of the entire app window? In Windows, you can use the keyboard shortcut Alt+PrintScreen to take a screenshot of the active window.
Presumably, the app will open to some kind of “Unlock” screen; your email address may be visible in a few places on that screen, but otherwise no other sensitive information should be displayed. If you are able to use a photo/image editor to cross out or erase your email address from the screenshot before posting it, please do so. If you are unable to redact the screenshot yoruself, you could send it to me in a private message, or you could take another screenshot of the app window after clicking the “Log out” button (after logging out, there should be no more personal information visible on the screen).
Hello again grb. I am trying to find this help menu in my Bitwarden extention. When opened, after typing my master password, the display is: a menu across the bottom, which is, Vault: Generator: Send: Settings. Displayed above this menu, are my vault items. For security reasons, I cannot take a screen shot of this screen. I have searched all the sub menu’s but cannot find the help menu anywhere. I am completely baffled.
May I suggest another way of getting Bitwarden v.2025. .11.0 installed? I assume new clients coming to Bitwarden have another way of installing the latest version. How can I do this?
I meant for you to take a screenshot of what you see before typing in your master password, just showing the unlock prompt. But from your description, it is clear that you have opened your Bitwarden browser extension, and not your Bitwarden desktop app.
Please open the Windows Start menu by pressing 
Win on your computer, then click All > in the upper right corner of the Start menu; from there, select 
Bitwarden in the list of apps. This should open the Bitwarden Desktop app (as a window that is completely separate from your browser), and there should be a menu bar across the top of the app window. The last menu item on the right side of the menu bar should be “Help”; open the Help menu, and select the menu item “About Bitwarden”; then click “Copy”, and finally paste the copied information into your response.
It is not difficult to install the latest version. However, my priority right now is to ascertain whether you have installed a malicious trojan app masquerading as the Bitwarden desktop app, in which case it may have been stealing all of your passwords from under your nose all this time. If that is the case, you have a critical situation on your hands, the mitigation of which is going to be significantly more important than your goal of making fingerprint unlocking work on your extension.
Sorry, It not possible to do this. I replied earlier with a snip screen display showing all that is available. That is all there is. Thanks for your concern that I am being scammed. I suspect that I have inadvertently downloaded the very earliest version of Bitwarden that does not have the help menu you describe. It works OK, opening my sites nicely, but has no Biometric facilities. Please give me the direct address for me to download Bitwarden v.2025.11.0 When complete I will confirm the result for you. Thanks, Adjer.
It’s not possible to open the Bitwarden Desktop app? OK, since you do not seem to be concerned about what this mystery app is installed on your computer but that you cannot open, then I will not worry about it, either. I would suggest that you go to Win > > Apps > Installed Apps. From there, find the “Bitwarden” app in the list, and click on the ⋯ (“More Options”) button, then select Uninstall.
After you have you have uninstalled the mystery app (confirm that it no longer appears in the Installed Apps list), please click this link (also available as a link labeled “Standard Installer – Bitwarden-Installer.exe” on the official Bitwarden Downloads page). After you have downloaded the installer file (Bitwarden-Installer-2025.11.1.exe), double-click it and follow all prompts to complete the installation.
When you have completed the above, please confirm that it is now possible for you to actually open the Bitwarden Desktop app that you just installed.
The earliest versions had version numbers like 0.0.1 or 1.0.0 — never anything like “1.0.0.1”… 
grb: Sorry for the delay but I have been busy lately & not able to reply to you. I have uninstalled the rogue Bitwarden app & downloaded Bitwarden v.2025.11.0. Today I find that I have version 2025.11.2 & biometric finger print does not work otherwise things seem OK. When I put cursor on Unlock with windows Hello I see icon meaning not available. Have I download the wrong app again or has Bitwarden upgraded to v.2025.11.2 ? Thanks, Adjer.
The current version of the Desktop app is indeed 2025.11.2, released 4 days ago (and before that, version 2025.11.1 was released 2 weeks ago) — so I’m confused about how you were even able to download version 2025.11.0, which had been superseded by 2025.11.1 already at the time that you first started this forum topic (on Nov. 23). Did you actually use the download link that I gave you in my previous response?
I would recommend that you uninstall again, and re-install using the proper link to download the installer.
After you have downloaded and installed the most recent version of the Bitwarden Desktop app, please carefully follow the instructions given below (do not skip any steps).
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SETTING UP BIOMETRIC UNLOCK:
Log in to the Bitwarden Desktop app, and open File > Settings. In the “SECURITY” section at the top of the Settings, ensure that you have enabled (checked) the option “Unlock with Windows Hello” (and optionally disable the option “Require master password or PIN on app restart”); also ensure that the “Timeout Action” is set to “Lock” (not “Log out”). Next, scroll down to the section titled “APP SETTINGS (ALL ACCOUNTS)” and confirm that you have enabled the option “Allow browser integration”. You should also enable (check) the 5 options immediately above “Allow browser integration”:
After completing the Desktop app configuration as described above, re-start (close & re-open) your browser(s), then right-click the Bitwarden browser extension icon in the top right corner, and select “Manage extension” in the pop-up context menu. In the window that opens, if you see an option labeled “Allow access to file URLs”, then you must enable it. If there is no such option, that’s OK — just continue with the rest of the instructions.
At this point, open the Bitwarden browser extension, go to Settings > Account Security, and enable (check) the option “Unlock with biometrics” (and optionally enable “Ask for biometrics on launch”). If prompted for permission to “communicate with cooperating native applications”, click “Allow”. Next, go to your Bitwarden Desktop app, click “Approve” at the verification prompt, and complete the Windows Hello authentication when prompted. While still in the Account Security section of your browser extension settings, set the “Timeout Action” option to “Lock” (not “Log out”).
After the above set-up procedure has been completed, biometric unlocking should work. However, for best results, please observe the following advice:
- Never log out of the browser extension.
- Never log out of the Desktop app.
- Never quit the Desktop app using File > Quit Bitwarden (clicking the
in the upper right corner of the window is OK, and is the correct way to close the window while leaving the app running in the background). - If you restart your computer (or log out of and log back in to your Windows account), wait for the Desktop app to (automatically) start up before opening the browser extension.
grb: Very many thanks for the comprehensive instructions. I have completed everything except for the very end item: “Next, go to your Bitwarden Desktop app, click “Approve” at the verification prompt, and complete the Windows Hello authentication when prompted” I have not done this because I do not get a verification prompt to complete Windows Hello authentication. Every thing else was OK. Thanks, Adjer.
In the Desktop app, please lock your vault by going to File > Lock all vaults. Then, unlock your Desktop app using biometrics. Does this part work?
If so, please leave your Desktop app unlocked and running, then go to your web browser and right-click the Bitwarden browser extension icon in the top right corner, then select “Manage extension” in the pop-up context menu. In the window that opens, temporarily disable the extension by toggling the blue slider in the upper right corner:
Next, re-enable the extension by clicking the toggle once more:
This should change the slider color from white to blue again.
Having done this, ensure that the Bitwarden Desktop app is still unlocked, and re-start (close and re-open) your Edge browser.
Next, open the browser extension, and go to Settings > Account Security. There, temporarily uncheck the checkbox for the “Unlock with biometrics” option, and then re-check (re-enable) “Unlock with biometrics”.
If prompted for permission to “communicate with cooperating native applications”, click “Allow”. Next, go to your Bitwarden Desktop app, click “Approve” at the verification prompt, and complete the Windows Hello authentication when prompted.
grb: I have done all the last paragraph instructions OK, no problem, but as before, I am not prompted at all, so no Allow or Approve has been done. Windows 11 fingerprint entry seems to work the couple of times I have tried it, so I assume it’s all done?? Do you have any further instructions? Do I need to look at Windows11 start Menu, to confirm that Bitwarden is there? Adjer.
@Adjer If biometric unlock is working to your satisfaction in both the Desktop app and in the browser extension, then you do not have to do anything further.
grb: Very,very many thanks for leading me through this maze of a set-up. I could never have done it myself. Yes, every thing seems to be working OK, Adjer.
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grb: I switched on my laptop this morning & biometric access is not working today. It was working until I switched off. When the access dialog comes on biometric entry has a red circle with diagonal slash when cursor moves over it. Very disappointing. I have now changed to pin entry which does work after switch off. I will use this method for the time being & hope your program writers solve this problem. Ultimately I will look elsewhere for another P. Word manager if this matter is not resolved totally. I wanted fingerprint access as another level of security which is better than Pin. Thanks grb, Adjer,