Fix: Error Code 52 - Windows Cannot Verify the Digital Signature

Jun. 24, 2022 / Updated by Bessie Shaw to Windows Driver Solutions

Have you ever encountered the error code 52 after you installed Windows updates or upgraded your operating system? It always appears with the following error message in Device Manager: “Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)”

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If the error code 52 occurs, it usually means that there is a driver failure in the Device Manager. But don’t worry. It can be troubleshot. Here are several workable methods to help you get rid of the error code 52 - Windows cannot verify the digital signature.

Fix 1. Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

Driver signature enforcement often comes with some changes after the Windows update, which may result in failing installation of many third-party drivers. The failing installation of the drivers will lead to many driver issues including the error code 52. Therefore, to fix error code 52, the first method we can try is to disable the driver signature enforcement.

To disable the driver signature enforcement, you can refer to the detailed steps in this post: Top 2 Ways to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement on Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista.

Read Also: Fix: Driver Signature Issue on Windows 10 Anniversary

Fix 2. Delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters Registry Values

Deleting the UpperFilters and LowerFilters registry values from the Windows Registry can help resolve a lot of error codes in Device Manager including the error code 52. If you have disabled the driver signature enforcement but the error code 52 is still there, you can try this method as well. Do as follows.

Step 1. Use shortcuts Windows + R to launch Run. Type “regedit” into the box and hit Enter to run it.

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Step 2. Navigate to the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}

Step 3. Find UpperFilters and LowerFilters in the right window. Then right click on them to select Delete.

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Step 4. After deleting the UpperFilters and LowerFilters registry values successfully, restart your computer to let the change take effect.

Note: You’d better back up the registry before you make any changes in Windows Registry. Then if issues occur after the changes, you can quickly resolve the issues by restoring the registry.

Fix 3. Disable Secure Boot

Sometimes this method can also fix the error code 52. Take the following steps.

Step 1. Launch Settings and select Update & security.

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Step 2. Select Recovery in the left menu and then click on the Restart now button under Advanced startup.

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Step 3. Select Troubleshoot when the blue screen appears. And then select Advanced options and UEFI Firmware Settings.

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Step 4. Select Restart and then you will enter the BIOS setup utility interface.

Step 5. Get to the Security tab and disable the Secure Boot.

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Step 6. Save the change and restart your computer.

Fix 4. Repair or Update All the Device Drivers

It’s reported that corrupted or outdated drivers may lead to the error code 52. In this case, repairing or updating the drivers can help troubleshoot the issue.

To repair or update drivers effectively and safely, you’d better use a reliable driver manager to help you. Driver Talent can be your best choice. It will detect all the missing, corrupted and outdated drivers on your computer and will help you fix all the driver issues in several minutes. If you don’t have it installed on your computer yet, click on the Download Now button to get it directly at once. And the following guide will show you how to repair or update drivers with Driver Talent.

Download Now


After you install the Driver Talent, you can follow the steps below.

Step 1. Launch Driver Talent and click on the Scan button to perform a full scan on your computer.

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Step 2. After the scan, all the iffy drivers will be listed including the corrupted and outdated ones. Click the Repair button to repair the corrupted ones or click the Update button to update the outdated ones.

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Step 3. Reboot your computer to let the changes take effect.

If you can’t fix the error code 52 - Windows cannot verify the digital signature after you try all the solutions above, leave comments below to let us know. We will try our best to help you. To get more solutions to other computer issues, you can click here.

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