I have seen this happen to many individuals who were trying to recover files from their Android phones. They plugged the phone to the computer and there was nothing. Windows was unable to recognize or detect the device. Sometimes, it can be a minor connection issue, other times, a problematic setting or software glitch.
This could be frustrating because you won’t be able to backup your files to any an external storage media or computer, and you cannot use any PC-based applications like data recovery tools because they require a proper MTP handshake.
But don’t worry, I’ll help you with practical ways to fix Windows not recognizing Android phone and help you establish a connection between your phone and Windows PC so you can transfer files, create backup, and run PC-based tools on your phone that requires ADB handshake. So let’s start with it.
Quick Checks Before You Apply Solutions
- Check for a Compatible USB Cable – For your information, some USB cables are only meant for charging and doesn’t support data transfer. Get a compatible speed USB cable that supports file transfer. Check again if this helps.
- Clean your phone’s USB port – If your phone’s USB ports are dirty and clogged with dust, it can also trigger connectivity issues. Get it cleaned with the help of a technician to avoid damage to ports.
- Try a Different USB Cable – Sometimes, the USB cable might be compatible but faulty. Replace with any other working cable.
- Switch USB Ports on your PC – A damaged or incompatible USB port (USB3.0, 2.0) can also trigger connectivity issues between your Android phone and Windows device.
- Disable Antivirus, if needed – An antivirus software can block external drives and devices from connecting to your computer. Disable it, and then try again.
- Unlock your phone screen – A locked Android phone can also hinder connections and prompt connectivity issues.
- Restart your Windows PC – Try restarting your PC to fix any minor OS glitches that might lead to Windows not recognizing Android phone. This might help fix the issue.
- Restart your Android phone – Same way restarting your Android phone will refresh the device and fix any minor OS issues avoiding connection to Windows computer.
Ways to Fix Windows Computer Not Recognizing Your Android Phone
If the above troubleshooting and checks do not fix the connection issues, try out the below solutions:
1. Install or Manually Update Drivers
Any Windows computer is able to detect your phone because of drivers – tiny software that act as translators between your Android device (or other external device) and the computer. These drivers allow the Windows computer to understand and sense what you have plugged in – a USB pen-drive, Android phone, or an iPhone, etc. Now when they are missing or outdated, the Android device will not show in the Windows computer file explorer tab.
So when a correct or updated driver is installed to the Windows system, it learns if it’s an Android phone or USB pen drive, or whatsoever you plugged in to the computer. When these drivers are missing, outdated, or corrupted, your phone does not show up in your PC’s file explorer. Hence, to fix this issue, you have to update your computer’s drivers.
To update or install new drivers, follow the below provided steps:
- Press Windows + X and go to Device Manager.
- Now check for the drivers – Portable Devices, USB Drivers/controllers, or anything that explains an external driver.
- Click on each of them and then hit Update from the top-side menu bar. Now, select from the below options and install the updates.
- If a driver is missing – select Browse my computer for drivers and select the already downloaded drivers.
Once the missing drivers are installed or updated, try connecting your Android device again, this shall fix the issue.
2. Check MTP Support
If the drivers were already intact or up-to-date and Windows still doesn’t recognize your Android phone, the problem could be with the MTP (PTP in some devices) setting on your Android phone.
MTP stands for Media Transfer Protocol, understand it as a bridge between your computer and your Android device so if it is not supported on your device, the computer will not detect it.
If MTP is supported on your phone, the computer recognizes your Android phone as a media device. All you need to do is enable it in the USB preferences tab when connecting your phone to a computer.
3. Set USB Mode to MTP/File Transfer
When you connect an Android device to a Windows computer, there are multiple USB connection modes. From those modes, enable MTP/File Transfer to allow the computer to read your phone’s storage. If the device is stuck in charging, Windows won’t detect anything.
In some devices, MTP or File Transfer will remain non-functional if the device is locked, check for the same and unlock your device when you enable MTP. If you don’t see the MTP mode in your device, look for the PTP mode and enable it on your device.
4. Enable USB Debugging
If Windows still refuses to recognize your Android phone or doesn’t support MTP(in some older devices), then there’s one more fix – enabling USB debugging. USB debugging does not directly control file transfer between an Android phone and Windows computer but enabling it refreshes the drivers and triggers Windows to install Additional Android interface drivers. In most cases, this can fix minor glitches and file transfer option might show up again in the USB preferences tab.
In order to enable USB debugging on your Android phone:
- Go to Settings > About Phone > Build Number
- Tap on Build Number 7 times to enable Developer Mode/ Options.
- Go to Developer Options by searching for it in the settings search menu.
- Now, look for USB Debugging and toggle it on to enable it. Click OK on the next screen.
Now, when you connect your Android phone to the Windows computer, it will install new drivers and the device might finally show up. If you still don’t see the device, disconnect your phone and reconnect again. This way it works.
After this, if your phone shows a prompt like – Allow Connecting to this computer, Always Allow from this computer, or Allow USB Connection to this computer, grant the same for a proper ADB handshake between devices.
Once USB debugging is enabled and your Android phone is recognized by the Windows, PC based Android data recovery software Stellar Data Recovery for Android can scan the Android device and recover data such as photos, videos, contacts, and documents. This is useful when taking your phone backup isn’t possible via normal file transfer, or you want to recover data that was accidentally deleted.
5. Enable ADB Drivers for Android
Similar to Windows, there are drivers in your Android phone that assist connections to your computers. This is handled by the ADB drivers or Android Debug Bridge interface drivers. These are tiny software components that allow your Windows or even Mac computer to recognize your Android device and establish communication via USB connection. ADB also enables command-line actions like USB tethering, MIDI, PTP, USB debugging, file transfer, apps installation, and accessing device’s internal file system.
Basically, they too act like a bridge between your PC and the Android OS for advanced functionalities. This has two key components ADB tool, the command-line tool (adb.exe) that sends commands and USB Drivers that commands Windows how to talk to your device when USB Debugging is on. These drivers may vary with your device manufacturer. It’s a complex workflow, but for now just be informed that if these ADB drivers are disabled or missing from your Android phone, it cannot establish a connection with the computer. One way to enable ADB drivers is turning on USB debugging and Wireless ADB debugging on your phone.
6. Update the Android Device
If the problem persists even after USB debugging, it could be because of an OS malfunction from your Android phone. And to rule out any missing system update, check for any available updates and install them on your Android device. Honestly, you can try out this fix earlier too and see if updating your phone resolves the connection issue right away.
Once your Android device is up-to-date, you can try connecting it again. But if, let’s suppose the Android phone still doesn’t get recognized by your Windows computer, the last solution is Factory Reset.
However, a Factory Reset is not always recommended as it erases everything on your phone, so when your Android phone remains undetected by the Windows system backup of the Android device files isn’t possible.
Suggested Read: How to Recover Data After Factory Reset on Android Mobiles?
Conclusion
Most “device not recognized” or “Windows not recognizing your Android phone” issues happen because of a faulty cable or USB port. However, not all of them are related to a faulty cable. Usually a breakdown in MTP handshake between your Android device and Windows is triggered because of missing drivers, wrong settings, or if the OS misbehaves.
Applying the above-mentioned fixes and troubleshooting can help resolve this issue and bring your Android device back from the – Charging Only state when you connect it to a computer. However, if you are stuck somewhere, do let me know in the comments, I am here to help you with every step of the process.
