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Device Descriptor Request Failed: How to Fix this USB Error

Check that both your USB device and ports are working

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Have you ever plugged a USB device into your PC, but it was unresponsive? It could be anything from a mouse, headphones, keyboard, or flash drive. You might get adevice descriptor request failederror message to that effect.

Yourcomputer failing to recognize your USB deviceis not new and can easily be fixed. Since this error is in the same jurisdiction, let’s look at how we can address it.

What does device descriptor request failed mean?

The device descriptor request failed error usually occurs when connecting an external storage device to your computer. When you connect a new external storage device, Windows checks if any devices need to be initialized.

If there are none, it proceeds without any errors. However, if Windows finds any uninitialized devices, it will try to initialize them. This is how you end up with therequest for the USB device descriptor failederror.

This is a common problem with USB devices, especially if you are using a USB hub. Some of the common reasons this happens include:

How do I fix USB device descriptor failure in Windows?

A few workarounds that may be able to settle this issue include:

1. Turn off fast Startup

2. Reinstall the USB driver

3. Update USB drivers

Another straightforward way would be to install a driver updater utility that can do all this automatically.

Outbyte Driver Updateris the magic tool. It scans, detects, downloads, and installs outdated, damaged, and incompatible drivers, then replaces them with the correct ones.

4. Check for Windows updates

5. Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter

6. Disable USB selective suspend settings

And that’s how to quickly address thedevice descriptor request failederror. If your USB device is the culprit and appears incompatible, you don’t have to throw it away. What if we told you there are a handful ofthings you can do with your old USB device?

Hurry up and run to our insightful article to find out. We also have a list of thebest USB drivesthat offer excellent storage solutions if you prefer new ones.

That’s it for this article, but if you have any other interesting solution under your sleeves, share it with us in the comment section below.

Device Descriptor Request Failed: How to Fix this USB Error#

What does device descriptor request failed mean?#

How do I fix USB device descriptor failure in Windows?#

1. Turn off fast Startup#

2. Reinstall the USB driver#

3. Update USB drivers#

4. Check for Windows updates#

5. Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter#

6. Disable USB selective suspend settings#