Cheap Lenovo Mouse Fingerprint Reader Combo

I have recently purchased a Lenovo mouse and fingerprint combo and it may be useful to you as well.
Lenovo Optical Mouse with Fingerprint Reader

I ordered this mouse off Lenovo’s website on December 13th and got it on the 26th. It was difficult to find whether it has Linux support at that time, but here’s the info from linux-hardware (short answer: NO).

  • ID USB 06cb:0089
  • Class ff-00-00
  • Vendor/Name Synaptics
  • WBDI Fingerprint Reader
  • USB 061

The same website found it to be part of the following:

  1. HP ProBook 4540s
  2. ThinkPad T420 4236EF4
  3. Microsoft Surface Pro 2

The original price was, supposedly, $64.99, but after Boxing Day discounts, and CA$2.99 taxes it came to US$18.53 or CA$25.98. Ordering this Biometric Lenovo mouse off Amazon costs currently US$27.50 or CA$30.79 with free shipping.

Both the mouse (1600 DPI) and the fingerprint reading functions were entirely PnP under Windows 10. The mouse is clunkier and more cumbersome than the Microsoft mouse it replaces and took some getting used to, but I like that the fingerprint reader is not readily visible – it’s quite hidden, actually – which is an extra layer of security, given that most fingerprint readers are vulnerable to all sorts of physical attacks; it’s best if a potential attacker doesn’t notice it. Furthermore, it can be easily removed or disconnected from the laptop and re-added as needed.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s Choice and #1 Best Seller in USA is a tiny TEC Japan USB Fingerprint Reader, TEC TE-FPA2 which goes after its own discounts for US$20 (CA$26 today) with free shipping in USA, or CA$28.74 + $5.02 shipping in Canada. It’s a bit more expensive and without mouse functionality but according to its Q&A it does have Linux support (plug and play). It shows up as “ELAN WBF Fingerprint Sensor”.

Lenovo website has a nice support page and we can find previous issues on Microsoft answers (msa-sgx, msa-wbdic10). The mouse is currently not available through the Lenovo website, though it might reappear in the future, but it does have a very detailed support page (sln-530).

If you’re not interested in a combo, the “TEC Japan” USB “dongle” is probably your best bet; however, if you like the mouse combo, it’s hard to find a better or cheaper device than the Lenovo one, provided that they will still be selling it.

Sources / More info: lho-usb06cb, msa-sgx, msa-wbdic10, sln-530

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