When Windows 11 fails to recognize USB drives, the problem could be caused by out-of-date or malfunctioning drivers, as well as specific power management settings. When a USB flash drive is not identified, making differences to the power management settings for USB Root Hubs may assist. Another potential approach to investigate is updating USB controller drivers.
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Many people use portable USB devices to transfer files from one computer to another. Despite the fact that Windows 11 is a brand new operating system, it can still have troubles with USB devices. On Windows platforms, USB device not recognized errors are considered to be in top common.
Some Windows 11 users have already had to deal with USB device not recognized errors. When they plug their USB drives into PCs, they encounter this problem. This problem notice occurs when they insert their USB devices into ports.
The USB device is not being recognized. Windows do not recognize the last USB device you connected to this computer because it failed.
As a result, when this problem occurs, Windows 11 fails to recognize USB storage devices. As a result, customers who have USB disks that aren’t recognized by File Explorer are unable to access them.
What interferes with the USB device-identifying errors?
The USB device not recognized problem is frequently caused by USB controller or device drivers, as well as specific power-saving features. Here are some of the most likely reasons to think about:
- Faulty or incompatible USB port: It’s possible that the USB port into which you’re plugging the device may carry errors or does not go with the storage drive.
- Power management settings that probably suspend (or turn off) USB devices and hubs could lead to this problem
- Faulty USB device driver: Your USB storage device might have a corrupt driver
- Outdated USB controller drivers: It’s time you updated USB hub drivers on your computer.
Is the USB device not recognized error your current problem in Windows 11? Given the case, try out these potential solutions listed below.
How to fix the USB device not recognized error in Windows 11?
Method 1. Plug the storage drive into different USB ports
The first thing to do is to attempt to connect your USB drive to a different USB port. When you insert it into a different port, the error might not appear. If this is the case, one of your computer’s USB ports is most likely broken.
If the problem is with an external hard drive, changing the device’s USB cable may assist. At the very least, inspect the drive’s cord for damage. To fix the problem, you may have to acquire a new USB cable for the hard disk.
Method 2. Disable the selective suspend option
1. Start by hitting the magnifying glass icon on the taskbar of Windows 11 for the search tool to appear.
2. Type edit power plan in the search box.
3. Press Edit power plan to make the Edit Power Plan Control Panel applet show up
4. Then, select Change advanced power settings in the aforementioned applet.
5. On the Power Options window, double-click USB settings.
6. The next step is to double-click on USB selective suspend to start the setting that should look like displayed below
7. Hit the Disabled button on the Setting menu that appears.
8. Select the Apply option on the Power Options window.
9. Click on OK so that you could exit the window.
Method 3. Change the power management settings for USB root hubs
1. In order for a shortcuts menu to appear, right-click on Windows 11’s Start.
2. Choose the Device Manager shortcut.
3. Click on the View menu.
4. Press the Show hidden devices button on the category.
5. Double-click on the Universal Serial Bus controllers menu.
6. Right-click on a USB Root Hub appearing there and choose Properties.
7. Turn on the Power Management tab.
8. Uncheck the Allow this computer to turn off this device to save power checkbox to remove your selection of that option.
9. Click on OK to exit the USB Root Hub window.
10. Do four closest steps above in that order for all USB Root Hubs mentioned in Device Manager.
Method 4. Assign a drive letter to the USB device
1. Get the USB storage drive plugged into your device.
2. Right-click on Start and hit Disk Management.
3. Then, you have to press right-click on the USB drive in Disk Management and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
4. Hit the Add key on the Change Drive Letter and Path window that appears.
5. Click on OK on the Add Drive Letter or Path window.
Method 5. Update drivers for USB root and generic hubs
1. As mentioned in the first couple of stages of the third resolution, open Device Manager.
2. Click on View and Show hidden devices.
3. Double-click on Universal Serial Bus controllers buttons to enlarge that menu.
4. Right-click on a USB Root Hub to choose its Update driver option.
5. Hit Search automatically for drivers in the Update Drivers window that appears.
6. Repeat the 2 steps above for all USB Root Hub and Generic USB Hub controller devices mentioned.
You can also use third-party driver updater software to update USB controller drivers. When you run a third-party driver updater program on your PC, it will show you all of the devices that have outdated drivers.
After that, you can choose to use the software to download and install the most recent drivers, so no need for hesitation to give Driver Easy tool a try in that way.
Method 6. Reinstall drivers for the USB drive that isn’t recognized
1. Plug your USB drive into your device.
2. Make the Device Manager window appear as told in method three.
3. Double-click on Disk drives button in Device Manager.
4. After that, right-click the USB drive. To fix the USB not recognized error, click Uninstall device.
5. To confirm, press the Uninstall button on the window that pops up.
6. Then, remove your USB device from the PC.
Wait for a few minutes, then you can reconnect the USB drive with your device.
NOTE: When you plug the USB drive into the computer this time, Windows should set up the USB’s devices driver again. If it is not the case, click on Action, then Scan for hardware changes to reinstall missing drivers.
In this video, we are gonna show you how to fix USB device not recognized in Windows 11:
Who can I contact about fixing this USB error?
If the USB device not detected error persists, consider contacting Microsoft’s Windows support department. You can do so by going to the Contact Microsoft Support webpage and clicking the Get support option. Then, after submitting an issue description, select Get Help, followed by Contact Support.
Some users may want to visit Microsoft’s Windows support forum instead. To launch a text editor, click Ask a question on that forum. Then, in the text editor, simply type a forum post question and hit the Submit button.
In most circumstances, however, the probable remedies listed above may be sufficient to resolve the USB device not recognized problem. The second method is one of the most frequently accepted approaches to resolving the problem. Before contacting Microsoft support, give them all a shot.
To remedy the problem, you might try formatting the USB drive. However, because this will delete all files on it, this isn’t the best possible solution. Reformatting the storage drive can be worth a try if you don’t have any vital files on it.
Of course, there may be other solutions to the USB device not recognized error that aren’t included here. If you’ve found another solution to this problem, don’t hesitate to tell us in the comments section below.
