device-descriptor-request-failed-error | Windows Issue

Sometimes Windows 10 does not recognize your USB device and you get an Unknown USB Device (device descriptor request failed) error in Device Manager.

When you get this error, you will see a yellow exclamation mark near one of the devices in the Universal Bus controllers category.

In this post, we’ll discuss some solutions to fix this issue.

The error could be caused by some hardware problem, so do some basic troubleshooting (listed below) before attempting the solutions discussed in the post.

Connect USB device to a different USB port – This will allow you to determine if the problem lies with USB port.
Connect USB device to a different computer– This will allow you to determine if the problem lies with the USB

If there is no problem with the USB port on your computer or the USB device, try the solutions given below. You can start with the first solution and work your way downwards and try other solutions until the issue is fixed.

Solution One- Disconnect power supply

If the error is caused by power supply, the steps given below will effectively fix the unknown USB device error.

Here are the steps to follow.

Remove the power supply cord from the PC
Restart the computer and connect the USB device to the port
Now, plug-in power supply to the PC

Solution Two – Uninstall the USB driver in Device Manager

Go to desktop and type Device Manager in the search box
Click Device Manager from the list of results
In Device Manager window, go to Universal Serial Bus Controllers category and expand it
Look for Unknown USB Device(Device Descriptor Request Failed) entry in the list with a yellow exclamation mark and right-click on it

Select Uninstall
After the Unknown USB device is uninstalled, restart the computer
Now, connect the USB device to the same USB port, windows will install drivers required for the USB device which would resolve the Unknown USB device issue.
If the issue still persists, try the next solution.

Solution 3 – Update USB driver

Many problems with USB are related to drivers. If you are facing problems like device not recognized or device descriptor request failed error, update USB drivers. There are two ways to update USB drivers – manually through Device Manager and automatically using a driver update tool.

Manual Driver Update

Open Device manager
Go to Universal Serial Bus Controllers category and expand it
Right-click Unknown USB device( device descriptor request failed) and select update driver software
In the next window, select search automatically for updated driver software

Alternatively, you can go to device manufacturer website or motherboard manufacturer website and download latest USB driver for your device. In that case, you need to select Browse my computer for driver software
Navigate to the location where you have downloaded the USB driver file and select it
Follow on-screen instructions to install USB driver

(Note- the driver files are available in a variety of formats such as EXE, INF, or ZIP files. The above steps would work when the file format is ZIP or INF. If the driver file is in ZIP format, you need to unzip the contents and then follow the step above. If the driver file in Exe format, you can straightway double-click on the file and follow on-screen instructions to install USB driver)

Automatic Driver update

DriverDownloader is a simple to use driver update utility that can update drivers for unknown USB device automatically. Click Start Download to download and install DriverDownloader.
green button download link

Start Download

After you have installed DriverDownloader, it will scan your system for missing, corrupt and incompatible drivers and provide you with an option to update all drivers automatically including USB drivers.

Solution Four – Disable Fast Startup

The Fast startup comes across as a good option to save time spent in booting and shutting down your computer. But it may be one of the reasons behind unknown USB device (device description request failed) error.

The fast startup works like hibernation where the state of the computer is saved as an image on the hard drive and the same image is used to boot up fast. When the fast startup option is enabled, Windows does not reload kernel drivers and that could be the reason behind USB error.

The simple solution to this problem is disabling fast startup. Here are the steps you need to follow.

Press Windows key + R simultaneously on the keyboard to invoke Run command console
In Run command box, type control and click OK. This will open the control panel
Set the View by to Large icons and select Power options

In the power options window, select Choose what the power buttons do that appears in the left pane

Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.

In the System Settings window, go to Shutdown settings section and uncheck the box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended)

Click Save changes
Reboot the computer and see if the USB issue is resolved.

If the unknown USB device issue still persists, try next solution

Solution Five – Modify the USB Selective Suspend Settings

The USB Selective Suspend option is a power saving option that suspends power supply to selected USB port in an idle state without affecting other USB operations and USB ports. This feature could be a reason behind Unknown USB Device (device descriptor request failed) error.

The simple solution to this problem is to make changes to the USB Selective Suspend settings. Here are the steps to follow.