How To Fix USB Device Not Recognized on Windows? 8 Solutions

USB devices have become the most convenient storage device for sharing and storing information. However, when connecting a USB device, you often receive an error message that the Windows USB Device Not Recognized.

If you are wondering why the message about an unrecognized USB device keeps appearing on your system and how to fix it, this guide is for you. In this guide, you will learn about possible solutions to solve the problem when Windows does not recognize USB devices.

Why is My USB Device Not Recognized and Malfunctioned?

Below is a comprehensive list of reasons that can cause this problem.

The USB device is not working properly, or there are compatibility issues with a storage device.
Another connected USB device is preventing the device from working.
Windows does not recognize the USB device due to the USB port, damage or internal problems.
The most common cause is a corrupt, incompatible or outdated driver.
If the device’s power settings are incorrectly configured, all the main settings that depend on the settings of the connected device will not work properly.
The computer’s BIOS settings are out of date.
The worst case is a hardware failure.

How to Fix the “USB Device Not Recognized” Error?

Solution 1: Preliminary Solutions

We recommend trying a quick repair before attempting an advanced repair, as the USB drive may hang and cause errors.

Restart the computer: Internal system damage or crashes can cause the USB drive to hang and display errors. Restarting the system will resolve the error and restore the USB port, so restart the system and check that the problem is resolved.
Use a different USB port: The problem may be related to the USB port, so try switching to a different port to see if it is causing the problem.

Check the USB device: Another important thing to consider is to check if the USB device is physically damaged. If the cable or connector is damaged, the device will not be recognized.

Solution 2: Update USB Drivers

To resolve issues where the device does not recognize USB due to outdated or incompatible drivers, try updating the USB driver by following the steps below.

To access Device Manager, press the Windows key.
Double-click Universal Serial Bus Controllers from the list of available drivers.

Right-click on one of the drivers and select Update Driver.
Click Automatically Check for driver updates.

Follow the instructions to update the driver. If the driver has already been updated, the following message appears. Because Windows has determined that the optimal driver for this device is already installed, you might be able to get a better driver from Windows Update or from the device manufacturer’s website.
Repeat these steps to update all USB drivers on the device and restart your computer.

You can also run a driver update tool to update drivers automatically. This tool analyzes and updates all system drivers while running in the background.

Solution 3: Repair Your Windows System Files

In some cases, the “USB device not recognized” problem is not only related to the USB device but can be caused by corrupted system files.

You can repair damaged system files using the built-in tools SFC (System File Checker) and DISM (Deployment Image Maintenance and Management).

Follow the steps below:

Press the Windows key and type cmd.
Now click Run as administrator to open a command prompt window with administrator privileges.
In the new command window, type the following command and press Enter
sfc / scan

Wait until you see the message Scanning is 100 percent complete.
Then restart your computer. Next, run the command prompt as an administrator and enter and execute the following commands.
dism/Online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
dism/Online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
dism/Online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Wait until the commands have been executed so that you do not encounter the fact that the USB device is not recognized again.

Solution 4: Change USB Root Hub Settings (If available)

There are certain settings and permissions on the computer that can disable or enable the USB device to save power. This can also cause the problem described above. The problem can be easily solved by disabling this feature or setting it according to the following instructions.

Open the device manager and select Universal Serial Bus Drivers.
Now, double-click USB Root HUB (USB 3.0) in the list of drivers.
On the Properties tab, open the Power Management tab.
Then uncheck. Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
Click OK to save the changes.

Solution 5: Uninstall and re-install the Driver

If Windows 11 does not recognize the USB device after updating the USB driver, reinstall the driver.

Follow the following steps to reinstall the driver.

Go to the Device Manager and expand the Universal Serial Bus Controller.
Right-click the driver and select Uninstall Device.
Click Uninstall and confirm the warnings that appear.
Then, visit the manufacturer’s website to download the latest driver for the Windows device.

Solution 6: Run Scan and Repair Drive

To easily repair an unrecognized USB device, you can use the built-in Disk Scan and Repair option to fix USB-related problems. This utility detects USB device problems and fixes them automatically.

Follow the instructions below to run the USB troubleshooting program on your Windows PC.

Connect the USB device to the Windows computer.
Then open Windows Explorer and right-click on the USB controller. Then select Properties.
Then go to the Tools tab.
Under Error Control, click on Scan.
Then click Scan and Repair Drive to start the repair process. Note that you cannot use the drive during this process.
Finally, restart the computer to save the recent changes. Verify that the USB flash drive is working properly.

Solution 7: Disable the USB Selective Suspend Setting

The device’s selective USB pause function interrupts operation at the port when power needs to be conserved.

Although this function helps to save battery power, some USB devices require more power from the system to be recognized correctly.
Follow the instructions below to disable this setting on your device.

Press the Windows key and type Control Panel.
Then select Hardware and Sound.
Now click on Power Management settings.
Then, select Change power plan settings under the power plan you are using.
Then click on Change advanced power settings.
Now click on USB settings and then on Selective USB suspension.
Finally, change the setting in the menu to Disabled.

Solution 8: Format Your Drive

If you have tried all the above methods and the USB device is not found, it means that the USB drive is damaged and needs to be formatted. This may be due to technical problems or malicious files corrupting the drive. Therefore, when formatting the drive, follow the initial step of the first purchase. Before proceeding to this solution, make sure that you have backed up your data from another device, if possible.

Go to the desktop and double-click This computer.
Then right-click the USB drive that is connected to Windows and select Format.

In the next window, click Start Now and the USB drive will be formatted.
Once formatted, connect the device to your computer and check that it is working properly.

Conclusion USB Device Not Recognized

That’s all. I have tried to list solutions that fix the “USB drive not recognized” error in Windows 10/11. Carefully, one by one, run these solutions, connect the USB drive to your PC/laptop, and check if the problem is solved. I hope you liked this article and that it helped you solve the “USB drive not recognized” problem.

Faqs (USB Device Not Recognized)

How do I fix an unknown USB device?

First, plug the USB device into a different USB port on your computer to see if it’s a port problem. If that doesn’t work, try using the USB device on another computer to check if the problem is with the device itself. Additionally, you can try updating your USB drivers through Device Manager in Windows.

How do I fix USB detected but not showing?

This problem can be caused by a driver problem, a conflict with other devices, or a problem with the USB drive itself. First, try plugging the USB drive into a different USB port on your computer. If that doesn’t work, check Device Manager to see if the USB drive is recognized but not assigned a drive letter. You can assign drive letters through Disk Management in Windows.

Why is Windows 10 not recognizing my USB drive?

There can be several reasons why Windows 10 doesn’t recognize your USB drive. This can be caused by driver issues, incompatible file systems, or physical damage to the USB drive. Start by checking if the USB drive appears in Device Manager. If it does, try assigning a drive letter to it using Disk Management. If not, try updating the USB drivers or connect the USB drive to another computer to rule out hardware issues.

How do I reinstall USB drivers?

To reinstall the USB drivers in Windows, follow these steps:

Open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start button and selecting “Device Manager.”
Expand the “Universal Serial Bus Controllers” category.
Right-click the USB device for which you want to reinstall the drivers and select “Uninstall Device”.
After uninstalling, restart your computer.
Windows will automatically reinstall the USB drivers after restarting. If not, you can install it manually
by right-clicking on the category in Device Manager and selecting “Scan for hardware changes.”