How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized Error in Windows 11

🔧Detailed Step-by-Step Fixes

Solution 1: Update or Reinstall USB Drivers

Corrupted USB drivers are the most common cause of this error:

1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager
2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers
3. Look for any entries with a yellow exclamation mark
4. Right-click the first USB Root Hub and select Update driver
5. Choose Search automatically for drivers
6. Repeat for all USB Root Hub entries

If updating doesn't work, try reinstalling:

1. In Device Manager, right-click each USB Root Hub
2. Select Uninstall device and check the box to delete the driver
3. After uninstalling all of them, restart your PC
4. Windows will automatically reinstall the USB drivers

Solution 2: Disable USB Selective Suspend

Windows turns off USB ports to save power, which often causes recognition errors:

1. Press Windows + R, type powercfg.cpl, and press Enter
2. Next to your active power plan, click Change plan settings
3. Click Change advanced power settings
4. Expand USB settings, then expand USB selective suspend setting
5. Change both On battery and Plugged in to Disabled
6. Click Apply, then OK
7. Restart your computer

Solution 3: Adjust Power Management for USB Hubs

Similar to selective suspend, this prevents Windows from shutting down USB ports:

1. Open Device Manager
2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers
3. Right-click the first USB Root Hub and select Properties
4. Click the Power Management tab
5. Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power
6. Click OK
7. Repeat for every USB Root Hub in the list

This prevents Windows from cutting power to USB devices unexpectedly.

Solution 4: Run the Hardware Troubleshooter

Windows has a built-in troubleshooter for USB problems:

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings
2. Click System, then Troubleshoot
3. Click Other troubleshooters
4. Scroll down to Hardware and Devices and click Run
5. Follow the on-screen instructions and apply any recommended fixes

Solution 5: Assign a Drive Letter (for USB Drives)

Sometimes USB drives appear in Device Manager but not in File Explorer because they don't have a drive letter:

1. Press Windows + X and select Disk Management
2. Look for your USB drive in the list (check the size to identify it)
3. Right-click the USB drive's partition and select Change Drive Letter and Paths
4. Click Add
5. Select a drive letter from the dropdown and click OK
6. The drive should now appear in File Explorer