USB Device Not Recognized Error: Fixed [8 Possible Solutions]

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Updated April 1, 2025

This tutorial will explain the reasons for the USB Drive not showing up and various ways to fix the USB Device Not Recognized Error:

Sharing information and storing them in handy storage devices has become quite common these days. Flash drives have turned up to become more common storage devices, which are used by users to share files and software.

With such a dependency on the USB storage devices, you can easily understand the situation that might occur when suddenly the USB isn’t readable on the system, and you have essential data stored in the drive.

Table of Contents:

USB Device Not Recognized Error
- USB Drive Not Showing Up: Causes
Ways to Fix USB Device Not Recognized Error
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion

USB Device Not Recognized Error

If a user needs to save data externally with the most affordable method possible, then flash drives are the best choice.

In this article, we will talk about USB devices and their usage and will also discuss ways to fix the USB drive not recognized error.

First, let us understand USB Devices and their usage.

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, which is a term coined for flash drives. A USB is a storage device used to store data, and it acts as an external mode of data storage. USB drives are quite handy and useful in today’s world, as hard drives are quite expensive for the cause.

The various uses and advantages of USB devices are as follows:

Allows saving data externally.
Affordable
Provides security as flash drives can be made password-protected.
Small in size.
Possesses faster processing speed.
The USB drives can be made bootable and used as a boot device.

Suggested Reading =>> Hard Drive Not Showing Up In Windows 10: Solved

USB Drive Not Showing Up: Causes

When the user connects a USB to his/her system and the USB does not show up error comes, and the contents in the drive remain undiscovered. This doesn’t mean that the USB is dead and hence cannot be used further. The cause of such a USB drive not showing up error may be due to some hardware or software setting/permission in the system and can be fixed easily.

The various reasons for USB devices not recognizing errors are as follows:

The drive software couldn’t completely load in the system.
The drive may contain any malicious file; therefore, the system doesn’t read it.
Due to the low system battery, the Root hub settings may have unrecognized the drive.
There might be a bug in the driver that needs to be updated.
Windows might need an update to the latest patches and fixes.

Recommended Reading =>> VCRUNTIME140.dll Missing Error: Fixed

Recommended OS Repair Tool – Outbyte Driver Updater

Updating your system’s drivers is perhaps the most effective way of fixing the ‘USB Device Not Recognised error. The most efficient way to update your drivers is using Outbyte Driver Updater.

This tool is capable of performing thorough diagnostic operations to identify drivers on your system that are outdated and suggest updates from official and reputable sources online that resolve the issue.

Features:

Automatic Driver Updates
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Ways to Fix USB Device Not Recognized Error

The different ways to fix USB not showing up error are as follows:

#1) Restart Your Computer

Most of the errors are caused due to malfunctioning the system. In such cases, if the system shows any error, then the first step should include restarting the system. The user can restart the system by using the below step and fix the computer not recognizing the USB error.

#1) Click on the “Start” button and then click on the ‘’Power off’’ button. A drop-down list will appear. Now, click on “Restart,” as shown in the image below.

Restart If USB Device Not Recognized Error Occurs

#2) Update Computer

The manufacturer’s record of all the errors encountered by the users makes it easier for them to develop fixes and patches in their updates. The manufacturers keep providing the system updates so the user can use the system without any issues.

Follow the steps mentioned below to update your system:

#1) Click on the “Settings button”, the Settings window will open, as shown below. Now click on the “Update & security” option.

Settings button - USB Device Not Recognized Error

#2) The Update & security window will open. The system will check for updates, and updates will start downloading, as shown in the image below.

windows update if USB Device Not Recognized Error Occur

#3) Change USB Root Hub Settings

The system has permissions, that can turn off connected USB devices to save power. This can be the reason for the computer not recognizing a USB error. So by removing the permission, the user can quickly fix this error.

Follow the steps mentioned below to make the changes in the USB Root hub settings:

#1) Open Device Manager and click on “Universal Serial Bus controllers,” as shown in the image below.

#2) A drop-down list will appear; double click on “USB Root Hub (USB 3.0),” and a window will appear as shown below.

#3) Click on “Power Management,” and then click on the “Allow the computer to turn off the device to save power” option and uncheck the checkbox. Now press “OK,” as shown in the image below.

#4) Update USB Driver

The system provides its users with updates and fixes for the drivers. The user can quickly fix the USB drive, not showing up error by updating the USB drivers in the system.

Follow the steps mentioned below to update the USB drivers:

#1) Open Settings by clicking on the ‘’Setting’’ button on the start menu. A window will open. Click on the search bar and type ‘’Device Manager’’ as shown in the image below, and press Enter.

#2) The Device Manager window will open, Locate ‘’Universal Serial Bus controllers’’.

#3) A list of options will be visible. Right-click on “USB Root Hub (USB 3.0),” and a drop-down list will be visible, as shown in the image below. Click on the “Properties” option.

#4) A window will open, now click on the “Driver button,” and a window will be visible. Then click on ‘’Update Driver’’ and press ‘’OK’’.

#5) Check And Change Ports

The system is equipped with USB ports, USB port 2.0, and USB port 3.0. If the system shows a USB drive is not recognized, then try using the device on another port. This may fix the USB device not recognized error.

#6) Change USB Selective Suspended Settings

There may be another possible reason that occurs due to the selective suspend setting in the power options, which provides the hub with the permission to suspend USB automatically and does not recognize it in the software.

Follow the steps mentioned below to disable this setting.

#1) Right-click on the Windows option, and a list will appear. Now click on ‘’Power Options” as shown in the image below.

#2) Click on “Additional power settings”.

#3) A window will appear, click on “Change plan settings,”.

#4) On the next window, click on “Change advanced power settings,” as shown in the image below.

Change advanced power settings - USB Device Not Recognized Error

#5) A window will open, locate ‘’USB settings’’, and click on it.

#6) A drop-down option will be visible, as shown below.

#7) Click on “USB selective suspend settings,” to expand the options. Two options will be visible as shown below.

#8) Turn the settings to Disabled for both the options and click on “Apply,” and then click on “OK,”.

#7) Format Your Drive

If the user has tried all the methods mentioned above and the error is not yet fixed, then the USB drive is faulty and needs to be formatted. Due to some malicious files or some technical error, the device gets corrupted and therefore isn’t recognized by the system. So if we format the drive, it will reach the initial phase of when it was first purchased.

Follow the steps mentioned below to format the device.

#1) Double-click on the “This PC” option as shown in the image below.

#2) Right-click on the USB drive connected to the system from the list of options, and click on the “Format” option as shown in the image below.

#3) A window will appear, click on the “Start” button, as shown in the image below, and the USB drive will be formatted.

#8) Data Recovery Software

The methods mentioned above are quite beneficial in fixing the flash drive not showing up errors. Still, there’s a possibility that when the USB is recognized in the system, it might have some important files missing. In such cases, using third-party software can be beneficial to retrieve files in the flash drive.

We can use the steps mentioned below to recover the data in such cases.

Download Recoverit from the link or visit the Recoverit Data Recovery software‘s official site. This will open the window as shown below.

Data Recovery Software - USB Device Not Recognized Error

#1) Install Recoverit on your system and launch the software after the installation is completed.

#2) Select the external device to be restored, as shown in the image below.

Select the external device - USB Device Not Recognized Error

#3) Scan the external devices.

Scan the external devices - USB Device Not Recognized Error

#4) Preview and recover the file as shown in the image below.

Preview and recover - USB Device Not Recognized Error

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How to reset a USB Port?

There are possibilities that your hardware may be working fine, but the USB port may have some issues, so it is best advised to use other ports on the system. If the user wants, then he/she can reset a USB port by using the steps mentioned below.
– Right-click on the Windows button and select the “Device Manager” option.
– Click on the “Universal Serial Bus controller” option.
– A list of options for various ports will be available.
– Click on the “Uninstall” option available.
– Now restart the system, and then Windows will reinstall the drivers on your system.

2. How do you check if a USB device is working?

Some USB drives contain a little LED attached to them, which blinks when the drive is connected to the system and is in use. But if you have a USB drive that does not contain LED, then you can follow the steps mentioned below.
– Right-click on the Windows button and then click on “Device Manager.”
– Click on ‘’Universal Serial Bus controller’’.
– Click on the port setting to which the USB drive is connected.
– From the list of options, click on “Scan for hardware changes.”
– Check the USB Device option to see if it’s working.

3. Why is USB Tethering not working?

If the USB Tethering is not working, then try updating the Network Adapter driver in Device Manager. Follow the steps mentioned below to update the Network Adapter drivers.
– Open “Device Manager” and click on “Network Adapters”.
– Right-click on “Remote NDIS-based Internet Sharing Device”
– Select “Properties”, then click on “Drivers”, and click on “Update Drivers”
– Click on “Browse my computer for driver software”
– Click on “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”
– Uncheck the box titled “Show compatible hardware”
– Under the Manufacturer section, select “Microsoft” as a manufacturer
– Click on “Remote NDIS based Internet Sharing Device”
– Click “Next” and the correct driver will be installed.
– Turn to tether off and then back on.

4. How do I enable USB access?

The user can enable USB access to a port by using the steps mentioned below.
– Right-click on the ‘’Windows’’ button and select the “Device Manager” option.
– Click on the “Universal Serial Bus controller” option.
– A list of options for various ports will be available.
– Right-click on the port you want to enable.
– For the list of options, click on “Enable.”

5. Do USB ports go bad?

When you connect a drive to a USB port and it does not get recognized, then try the same with another port, and if it gets recognized, then there is an error with the port. This may be because of some technical error, or it may have gone bad because of some physical damage.

Conclusion

USB drives have turned out to be very useful and effective in storing information, so when it comes to USB devices not recognizing errors, it turns out to be a grave one as a user holds his/her crucial information in the drive. There are chances that the user’s important data might get lost forever if such an error occurs in his/her system.

In this article, we talked about USB devices and their usage and discussed various ways to fix USB drive not recognized errors which involved changing the settings and using third-party software to retrieve the data.

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