Windows 10: USB ports intermittently working after last Windows update

My USB ports work intermittently since the last update in Dec 2020. I'm running Windows 10 on a PC.


When my computer comes out of sleep, restart or shut down, I have to move my mouse, keyboard and speakers around to find ports that work because the ones they're plugged into have suddenly stopped working.


Next time the computer comes out of sleep, the new ports I've plugged them into sometimes work and other times those ones have stopped and I have to move them back to their original ports which sometimes start working.


The ports are v2 and are located at the back and front of my computer.


All USB drivers are the most recent.


I've removed the USBs from Device Mgr and then allowed Windows to find them.


This fix worked for a day only.


I'm frustrated because I never know which USB port will work. It's like playing the whack-a-mole game. And I'm losing badly.

:)

 

USB ports not working in Windows 10

Hello ruthives,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

To address your concern, kindly help us with the below questions.

1. What is the make and model of the computer?
2. Do you read any error message when you connect the device to the USB port?
3. Are you facing this issue with any particular USB port or with all the USB ports?
4. Since when are you facing this issue?

Your device is kept up to date with the latest features by automatically installing the updates in Windows 10. To narrow down the issue, let's go ahead and follow the below methods and see if it helps.

Method 1: I would suggest you to follow the steps to diagnose and repair the USB ports from the article -

Automatically diagnose and fix Windows USB problems.


Method 2: Update USB controllers.

• Right click on the Start menu and select Device Manager from the list.
  
• Narrow down to Universal Serial Bus controllers and update all the USB drivers.
  
• To update the drivers, right click on the each driver and select Update driver.
  
• If that doesn't resolve the issue, I would suggest you to uninstall all the USB drivers from the device manager.
  
• Reboot the PC and it will automatically pick for the latest drivers for your PC.
  

If the issue persists, download and install the latest USB drivers available for your PC build from the
manufacturer's website and see if it works.

Hope it helps.

Mala S

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

USB ports not working in Windows 10

Hello,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



To address your concern, kindly help us with the following questions:

1. What is the make and model of your computer?
2. Do you see any error in the device manager when the USB is connected?
   

Before we troubleshoot on the issue, I would suggest you to check if the USB devices work on a different computer. If it does, kindly try the steps listed below and see if it works.



Method 1: I would suggest you to follow the steps to diagnose and repair the USB ports from the article -
Automatically diagnose and fix Windows USB problems.

Method 2: Update USB controllers.

• Right click on the Start menu and select
  Device Manager from the list.
• Narrow down to Universal Serial Bus controllers and update all the USB drivers.
  
• To update the drivers, right click on the each driver and select
  Update driver.
• If that doesn't resolve the issue, I would suggest you to uninstall all the USB drivers from the Device Manager.
  
• Restart the computer. After the computer starts, Windows will automatically scan for hardware changes and reinstall all the USB root hubs that you uninstalled.

Method 3: Disable Selective Suspend feature.

• Right click the Windows icon on the taskbar and choose ‘Power Options’. Click
  ‘Change Plan Setting’ on your current plan.
• Choose ‘Change Advanced Power Setting’ on the chosen plan.
• Disable ‘USB Selective Suspend Setting’ under
  ‘USB Settings’.

If the issue persists, identify if the USB drive is listed in Disk Management. To do that,

• Right-click on Windows icon and select Disk management and find if the USB drive shows up there.
  

Regards,

Mala S

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

USB Ports not working

Hi Marvin,

We appreciate your interest in Windows 10.

As you are facing issues with accessing the USB ports on your device, do not worry we will help you with this issue.

Do let us know the make and model of the device?

This issue might have occurred due to corrupted drivers on your device. Try the below troubleshooting steps and check if it helps.

Step 1: I suggest you to check if there are any drivers with exclamatory mark in Device Manager.

• Press Windows + X keys from the keyboard, click on
  Device Manager.
• Check for the drivers with exclamatory mark in yellow triangle.
• If so, right click on the driver, click on Properties
  and check the device status.
• Also, try to update the drivers by click on Update driver software
  under Drivers tab in Properties window.

Step 2: I suggest you to run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.

Hardware and Devices troubleshooter
checks for common problems and makes sure that any new device or hardware connected to your PC is installed correctly.

• Press Windows key from the keyboard, type
  Troubleshooting and select it.
• Click on view all option on the upper left corner of
  Troubleshooting window.
• Select the Hardware and Device
  options from the list.
• Click Next to run the
  Hardware and Device Troubleshooter.

Hope it helps. Reply to the post with an updated status of accessing the USB ports for further assistance.

Thank you.