It’s a very frustrating problem: you want to transfer files to your
Android so you plug your Android device to your PC via USB, only to
discover that it it not being recognized as a hard drive. So you plug
and replug and check the wire and that both devices are attached
properly, to no avail. What to do? Read on!
This has happened with every Android device I have owned (which is to
say, both my Galaxy Note and my new Nexus 7), and discovered that it is
a potentially multi faceted problem, and solving it can involve a
number of different actions. This post aims to present a comprehensive
set of suggestions that can hopefully help you fix the issue.
Note that this article is about connecting your Android device to a Windows PC. Also, go these sequentially; the interventions that I believe are more likely to work are listed on top.
Intervention #1: Use a different USB cable
Sounds silly, but you should eliminate the possibility that this is
the problem first thing. It actually is not a silly issue at all: if you
happen to be using the cable that, say, originally served the function
of connecting your laptop to a cooling fan to power it, or came with an
old device of some sort that you no longer use, it may work for charging
but not for transferring data, because it may have been designed for
charging only or in any case not designed for transferring the kind of
data that a smartphone requires.
Therefore try connecting with the original cable that came with your
device or a high quality cable that you trust, and see if that solves
the issue.
Intervention #2: Uninstall and re-install Android drivers
This is actually what worked for me. Here’s how to do it (on Windows 7, but the process should be similar on other versions):
- Make sure your Android device is connected to the PC first (even if not recognized as a drive).
- Go the the ‘Device Manager’: either right click on ‘My Computer’ and select ‘properties’ then ‘Device Manager’ in the left sidebar, or go to ‘Control Panel’ then ‘system’ then ‘Device Manager’ from the left sidebar.
- Next, find the Android device driver then right click uninstall. The driver may be listed under ‘Portable Devices’ or ‘Other devices’ or it may be listed under it’s own name (see the screenshot below for examples). Uninstall all entries you find. If not found at all then this intervention is not for you. Check some of the other options mentioned in this article.
- Once the drivers are uninstalled, unplug your device from the PC. Make sure your computer is connected to the Internet and automatic updating is turned on, then replug your device and allow Windows to find and install the drivers all over again.
- Finally, go to ‘My Computer’ and check if your device appears as a drive. If so, then your problem is solved. If not, see if some of the other interventions mentioned here might work for you.
Intervention #3: Make sure that your Android is set to connect as a ‘Media Device’ (MTP)
Go to settings / storage. Next, go to more options (typically upper
left dotted area, depending on your device) and click ‘USB Computer
connection’. Next click on the ‘Media Device’ (MTP) checkbox. If already
checked, try unchecking it, exiting out of settings, then coming back
again and rechecking it.
If you do not find this option in ‘Settings/Storage’, move on to the next intervention.
Now check if your device appears as a drive in ‘My Computer’ . If not, keep reading below.
Intervention #4: try to connect as a ‘USB Mass Storage’ device
This is an option that Android supports whereby your device storage
and your external SD Card (if any) will be mounted as USB mass storage
volumes in Windows.
Go to settings / more settings. Next, click ‘USB utilities’, then
‘Connect Storage to PC’ and ‘Turn on USB storage’. It may prompt you to
turn off USB debugging if you have it enabled, and it may prompt you to
unplug and re-plug your device. It will also install any needed drivers.
When done, click into ‘My Computer’ and see if the new volume(s) are
there. It may not quite be the same as identifying your Android device
(since in fact it is doing something different, mounting your Android
storage as volumes in Windows), but you will be able to move files back
and forth just as you would any normal USB drive.
Intervention #5: Enable USB debugging
This may be the issue in cases where you may have installed certain
backup apps on your Android that require USB debugging or other cases
where you may have installed Android desktop clients that communicate
with and/or backup your device.
To enable USB debugging go to your Android’s settings, then find and
click ‘Developer Options’. Click ‘ok’ at the warning screen, then enable
‘Developer Options’ (top right) and check the box next to ‘USB
debugging’. Click ‘ok’ at the final warning screen.
Cannot find USB Debugging in setting? In the latest
versions of Android (4.2+) this option may be hidden. To unhide it, go
to ‘settings’ then ‘About phone’, then scroll down to ‘Build Number’ and
tap it seven times. (Note that it will take three taps for the your
device to acknowledge that you are trying to unhide ‘developer’s
options’. Persist and it will happen.
Once USB debugging is enabled, unplug and replug your device into your PC, and see if that solves the problem.
Intervention #6: check if your device has a faulty base
At this point, if nothing works, you might consider that you have a
problem with your hardware. If you have had trouble getting the device
to charge, or if you need to manipulate the position of the wire to get
it to charge, these are all clues that the problem may be your charging
base. (This can happen if you frequently lift your device using the
charging wire, that the connection is physically damaged).
One last thing you might try: backup your Android (by means of connecting to your PC wirelessly; there are many apps that can do it for you),
and once you are satisfied that everything is backed up, restore your
Android to factory settings, and see if that solves the problem. But I actually do not recommend you do this,
because it could be a bit of a hassle. Better show it to a
serviceperson who can tell you if the problem is in the hardware, and
take it from there.
Hope this helps. If you solve this problem by any means
different from the interventions above, please let me know about it in
the comments section below.
Help! My PC no longer recognizes my Android as a USB drive
![Help! My PC no longer recognizes my Android as a USB drive]()
Reviewed by Queency
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