USB is a very convenient standard, but not every device will work properly with every USB port. At their contact, problems arise related to the speed of data transfer and power efficiency. Sometimes they come from hardware. Sometimes it is enough to intervene in system settings or drivers.

Many laptop users may experience a situation where the USB ports on a laptop do not work and the devices connected to them are not recognized by Windows. This problem is quite common and can have many causes, making it difficult for the user to work with the USB devices of the computer they need. In this article, I will tell you how to fix the USB ports on a laptop are not working, what are the causes of this phenomenon.

With the USB port, you can connect the USB drives to your computer or electronics device and then transfer digital files. In addition, the USB port can also be used to supply electric power across the USB cable for the USB devices which need it.

Usually, there is more than one USB port on the machine, and they are important interfaces for you. However, not everything just goes smoothly when you are using the computer. USB port not working Windows 10/8/7 issue may happen suddenly.

For example, some users from the Microsoft forum reported that their Surface Book 2 USB ports not working and they still need to use the USB port to transfer file between USB drives and computer. Is it possible to fix this USB slot not working issue?

Best Fixes for USB Port Stopped Working Windows 10/8/7 Issue
Fix 1: Restart the Computer
Sometimes, you are just very lucky enough to fix this USB socket not working issue by restarting the computer since many things get refreshed under the hood after you reboot the computer which can eventually repair some different problems.

This is the easiest way and it costs very little time. So, just restart the machine to have a try.

After rebooting computer, please connect the USB drive to your machine to see whether it can work normally. If yes, it means that the USB port not working issue has been solved itself and there is no need to worry about it.

If unfortunately USB port not working on startup after rebooting the machine, you need to move on to the rest solutions to fix the USB port problem.

Fix 2: Inspect the USB Port Carefully
Normally, the USB port is pretty robust. However, you can see that the port is wide open when there is no device plugged in. This means that debris like dust or food is particularly easy to access the USB slot.

So, when the USB port not working issue occurs, you can take a close look at the USB port to see whether there is anything stuck inside. If there is, please shut down your computer and use a thin plastic or wooden implement to remove the obstruction gently.

Besides, if the USB port internal connection is loose or broken, USB port not working issue can also happen.

How to verify this?

One way is to connect the USB drive to the computer and then gently wiggle the connection. If it keeps connecting and disconnecting all the time, there should be a physical problem with either the cable or the USB port.

If you can feel a great deal of movement, it means that the board which is supposed to be connected to is bent or broken.

Regardless of which of the above two conditions occurs, we think you’d better take the machine to a professional.

While, if the USB port seems OK physically, you may need to try the next solution.

Fix 3: Plug into another USB Port
In general, the computer has more than one USB port. Thus, a good way to rule out a single broken USB port is to remove the USB drive and then plug it into another USB port.

If the USB drive works normally after plugging into another port, it means that the first USB port may have a physical issue. If you want to use it, you need to ask a professional for help to repair it.

Perhaps, it’s time for you to try the following method if the USB device still doesn’t work.

Fix 4: Use a Different USB Cable
As a matter of fact, USB cable failure is more common than USB port failure. Thus, if you are using a USB cable to connect the device to the computer and you have another USB cable at hand, you can swap to another cable to try whether the USB port can work normally.

If the USB device starts working, you will know that the former is broken. If the USB device is still not working, you need to go to try the next solution.

Fix 5: Plug the USB Drive into a Different Computer
If there is another PC handy, you can connect the USB drive to it to see if it can work as normal.

If the USB can be used as normal, it indicates that all the USB ports are not working on the other computer. Then, you need to try to fix the faulty USB ports.


If the USB drive still can’t work, the next way may be helpful.

Fix 6: Try another USB Device
If you have another USB flash drive or any other USB device lying around, you can plug that one into the computer to see whether it is working.

If it works well, you will know that the computer USB ports are in good working state. In this case, the other USB drive may be damaged and you need to fix or replace it then.

While, if the USB port still doesn’t work after trying the above fixes, this USB port not working Windows 10/8/7 issue will be a little complicated. A relatively complex method will be introduced in the following section.

Fix 7: Check the USB Controllers in Device Manager
There are two kinds of things you can do in the Device Manager Windows 10/8/7 to make USB ports work again: Scan for hardware change and re-enable the USB controller.

Stage 1: Scan for Hardware Change
Stage 2: Re-enable the USB Controller
Fix 8: Update Driver Software
Updating drive software can also be used to fix USB port not working Windows 10/8/7 64 bits/32 bits issue.

Step 1: To do this job, you still need to stay in the Device Manager. Then, you can right-click on the USB controller and press the Update Driver Software option from the pop-out list.

Step 2: Then, you will enter the following interface where you need to click on the Search automatically for updated driver software option.

Step 3: Please wait until the process finishes and then click on the Close button. Then, repeat these steps to update all USB controllers’ driver software.

Recover Data from Inaccessible USB Drive after USB Port Not Working Repair
In general, the above 8 fixes can help you get rid of USB port not working issue. However, if you still can’t access the drive to use the data on it, you will need to recover data on it.

Here, you can use this free data recovery software - MiniTool Power Data Recovery to do that job since this software can recover both existing and deleted files from different digital data storage devices like hard drives, memory cards, USB drives, and more.

The Removable Disk Drive feature of this software can be used to recover files from the USB drives. Besides, with the Trial Edition, you can go to check whether it can find the files you want to recover and then decide to get a full one or not.

Step 1: Connect the USB drive to the computer and open the software. You will enter This PC interface directly. Then, you need to choose Removable Disk Drive module from the left list.

After that, the connected USB drive will be shown on the software interface. Just choose that USB drive and click on the Scan button to continue.

Step 2: The software will begin to scan the USB drive. When the scanning process ends, you will see the scan result interface.

The scanned files are listed by path by default. You can open each path to find the files you want to recover.

If there are so many scanned files and it is difficult to find the needed items, you can use the Type, Find, and Filter features to locate the files you need to restore quickly.

Step 3: After choosing the needed files, it’s time for you to save them. However, you are not allowed to save files with the Trial Edition, thus, you need to update it to an advanced edition to keep your files successfully.

How to Fix USB Port Not Working Mac Issue
Indeed, USB port not working issue may also happen on Mac OS. To solve USB port not working Mac problem, you can still use above mentioned solutions (fix 1 to fix 6). Moreover, if you need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) or update system to solve this issue, please follow these steps:

Reset the System Management Controller
Reset the SMC for Mac

Actually, the ways to reset SMC on Mac notebooks, Mac desktop computers and Mac that has the Apple T2 Security Chip are different. You can refer to this Apple official post to do that job: How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac.

After resetting SMC, you can go to check whether USB port not working Mac issue disappears.

Update System
It is quite easy to update the system on Mac. Please go to App Store > Updates > Update All to do the work. Next, restart your computer to see whether the USB port can work normally.

In conclusion
The tips should help you in situations where your computer's USB port not working. If you know of any other reasons why USB ports are not working on your laptop and how to fix it, write in the comments below.

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