The “USB device not recognized” error is a familiar scene for Windows 11/10/8/7 users. Most of the time, this error gets fixed instantly after reinserting the affected device. Sometimes, it does not. This issue is quite alarming especially when your USB drive contains important files.
There are various reasons why a USB device is not recognized by your system. The worst case is that there may be hardware damage. Let’s hope this is not your case as your only solution would be either a hardware repair or replacement.
Other factors that might cause the problem are misconfiguration on your operating system (OS), or system errors caused by malware or file corruption.
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If the error is the result of a software issue, we’ve listed down 10 simple ways you can try to fix the problem yourself. So, before tossing your USB drive into the trash bin, try out these quick fixes first.
There’s a possibility that your USB device is not compatible with your computer. Although most USB versions nowadays are backward compatible, we can’t disregard the fact that with the swift advancement of technology, USB devices may also require more advanced and powerful ports for them to function.
To make sure that you won’t be shooting blind when trying out the other methods, check out your USB device’s user manual or packaging first for compatibility information.
It’s always a good idea to restart your computer when things are not going smoothly. This will force close all running applications, including those that might be causing your system to not recognize your USB device.
To perform a system restart, you can open your start menu, click on the power button, and select Restart. You can also use the hotkey for the ShutDown Windows dialog box, which is Alt + F4. From the dialog box, select Restart and wait for your system to reboot.
Upon restarting, check if your system finally recognizes your USB device. If this doesn’t work, let’s try the other methods we’ve listed below.
An unrecognizable USB device may also be an indication of a connectivity problem. This usually stems from a damaged USB port. To rule this possibility out, try plugging your USB device into another port on your computer. If it remains unrecognized, connect it to a different computer and see if the problem persists. If after all these efforts, the issue remains, then it’s likely that the problem lies in the USB device.
If your external hard drive and other devices require a USB cable to connect to the computer, you’ll need to look into the likelihood of the cable being defective. Under this circumstance, try out other USB cables to hopefully solve the problem.
Occasionally, Microsoft releases updates to fix lingering issues in your computer’s OS, which may include the persistent “USB device not recognized” issue. To make sure that your OS is up to date, follow these steps:
If this method still does not solve the problem, check out the next solution.
The USB selective suspend feature of Windows is a power-saving setting that suspends the operation of an individual port. While this may help in conserving your computer’s battery power, some USB devices do require more energy for the system to properly detect them.
Fortunately, you can disable this feature to make sure that your affected USB device is able to receive enough energy. Here’s how to do it:
Another technique that you can do to fix USB problems is to run the USB troubleshooter tool, which is available in Windows. Below are the steps to access and use it:
If none of the previous solutions worked to fix your unrecognized USB device, it’s most likely that your device is corrupted. Nothing can be done to repair your USB at this point, but maybe your files can still be salvaged. Thankfully, our data recovery solution called Stellar Data Recovery Professional can recover data even from completely crashed and unbootable systems.
Here’s how to use Stellar to recover your files:
That’s really all you need to do with our Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool. It’s pretty straightforward compared to other recovery tools out there and is your best chance at recovering the files from your drive. They even offer a 100% full refund if you’re not satisfied. Give it a try and see for yourself!
One way to check whether your USB drive is defective or not is through the built-in Windows program called the Disk Management tool. This program lets you assign a letter, partition, or format a drive to make it easily recognizable by your computer. To use this tool, follow the steps below.
Issues on your device drivers may also cause the unrecognized USB device problem. An indication of this is when USB devices are perfectly working on other computers, but not on yours. It is possible to fix this issue by troubleshooting your drivers. Here’s how you can do it:
Windows comes with USB controllers that regulate the communication between USB devices and your computer. Issues on your system might cause these controllers to get corrupted and stop working. As a result, your computer may suddenly stop recognizing USB devices.
To fix this mess, you can force your computer to reinstall the USB controllers to their previous, working state. Here are the steps on how to achieve this:
If your USB device is suddenly not recognized by your computer, try out the solutions discussed in this article. Start by checking out your device’s user manual or packaging for compatibility information or you can also restart your computer to flush out some issues that may cause the problem.
One way to force Windows to detect a USB device is by disabling the USB Selective Suspend feature. Using this approach can resolve USB-related issues like the annoying unrecognizable USB device problem.
The most popular technique for resetting the USB ports is to uninstall the USB controller through the Device Manager program. The steps on how to do this are defined in the Reinstall USB Controllers section of this article.
Mako is a freelance writer with a passion for all things tech. Whether you\'re talking about the latest macOS updates, the new features from Windows 11, or need to know something about recovering deleted files—he\'s your guy. He\'s been writing about tech and how-to guides for more than 4 years across dozens of websites. You can also find Mako\'s articles on sites such as onMac, Sheetaki, saintlad.com or howtogeek.com.
