Chromebook Not Recognizing USB Devices: See How to Fix It

Is your Chromebook not recognizing USB devices connected to it, and you are looking for possible ways to get it fixed? Maybe you have tried several fixes and the problem persists, then this article is just for you. On this page, you find possible fixes that will get your Chromebook running once again.

Sometimes, Chromebook normally fails to recognize external USB devices connected to it. For example, when you connect a USB flash drive to your laptop, you may get a strange error prompt that says “ChromeOS could not recognize the device”. If you switch to the next port and the error persists, just check the information below on how to get it fixed.

How to Fix Chromebook Not Recognizing USB Devices

Check the Format

You should have in mind that ChromeOS only works with FAT32, exFAT, or EXT file systems. This simply means that your USB device will not mount if it is formatted using NFTS. If this is the situation you are in now, you can simply format the USB device again using a ChromeOS compatible format.

Also read:  Chromebook Password Could Not Be Verified Issues – How to Solve It

Check If You Have a Faulty USB Drive

The situation could be that you are having a faulty USB drive. You can connect to a different computer and check if it is detected and fully functional. If the same USB drive works on other computers, this may indicate that your Chromebook ports are faulty. On the other hand, if the USB drive does not work on different computers when tested, it means you may need to buy a new one.

Check for Updates

You should also, make sure that your Chromebook is running on the latest ChromeOS version. It may be a situation where the ChromeOS itself is affected by some strange bugs that break the USB functionality. If this is the case, there are chances that Google may have already rolled out a fix. So, a simple OS update will solve the issue.

Simply connect your Chromebook to Wi-Fi and go to “Settings”. Then click on “About Chrome OS”, and hit the “Check for updates” button. Also, do not forget to restart your laptop after installing the latest ChromeOS version. This is equally important.

Also read: How to Fix an Unexpected Error Has Occurred in Chromebook

Reset Chromebook Hardware

You can also try to reset your Chromebook hardware and see if it will serve as a solution to the problem. To achieve this, just follow the steps outlined below.

• Turn off your device and wait for 30 seconds.
• Then press and hold the “Refresh” and “Power” keys simultaneously.
• Release the Refresh key when your laptop starts up.
• Boot up your machine and check if it recognizes your USB device.

Conclusion

if your Chromebook is not recognizing your USB devices, all the possible fixes explained on this page will be of immense help. Simply try them out, then come back to the comment section of this page and tell us if it works for you.