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Fix Unknown USB Device Descriptor Request Failed Error on Windows

In this article, we will explain the possible solutions to fix the problem. Unknown USB device (descriptor request failed) Mistake. The USB device descriptor contains information regarding USB devices. This information helps Windows identify connected USB devices. When the USB device descriptor malfunctions or is corrupted, Windows cannot identify connected USB devices. In this case, the following error message is displayed on the screen:

Unknown USB device (device descriptor request failed)

When you encounter this error on your system, here are some quick fixes you should do:

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Disconnect your USB device from the USB port and reconnect it once more.
Plug your USB device into another USB port on your computer.
Restart your computer.
If you have another computer, plug your USB device into its USB port. This will let you know if your USB device is working properly or not.

Some users have also complained that their USB device works fine when they plug it into one of the USB 2.0 ports, but when they plug it into the USB 3.0 port, the error is thrown. This is not a major issue as some USB devices fail on USB 3.0 ports due to signaling and timing issues. In this case, we suggest that you continue to use the USB device by connecting it to the USB 2.0 port.

We have already seen how to repair Unknown USB device, set address failed error message, now let’s see how to solve this one.

The solutions listed here can help you fix this error, but before we proceed, let’s see what causes this error.

Why is my USB device descriptor request failing?

You may encounter this error on your system for one or more of the following reasons:

USB drivers are corrupt or outdated.
The USB device you connected to the computer has malfunctioned.
Windows is unable to find the USB device description.
Your system’s USB port is broken or may have bad sectors.

Unknown USB device descriptor request failed

To fix the USBDEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE error in Device Manager on Windows 11/10 you need to do one of these working fixes:

Connect the USB device directly to your computer.
Check if the error occurs due to the interference issue.
Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter.
Disable other USB device drivers one by one.
Reseat the universal serial bus controllers.
Update the USB root hub.
Install the latest chipset drivers from your motherboard manufacturer’s website.
Disable the Selective Suspend feature.
Uninstall Windows Update.

1]Directly connect the USB device to your computer

If you are using an external USB hub to connect USB devices and one of the USB devices connected to the hub shows this error, we suggest that you unplug that device from the USB hub and plug it directly into your computer’s USB port.

2]Check if the error occurs due to the interference problem

A possible cause of this error is the interference issue between USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. This mainly happens when both wireless and wired USB devices are connected to the USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports on the same side. If this is your case, we suggest that you disconnect the wireless device and then connect the wired USB device to both USB ports one by one.

If this fixes the error, we recommend connecting the wireless device and other USB devices to the USB ports on the opposite side of your laptop. Desktop users can use the front and rear USB ports for the same.

3]Run the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter

The Windows 10 Hardware and Device Troubleshooter helps resolve hardware-related issues. Therefore, running this tool can get rid of the “Failed to request unknown USB device handle” error. The Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter may be missing the Windows Settings app. Therefore, to launch it, you need to type the following command in the command prompt and press Enter.

msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic

4]Disable other USB device drivers one by one

First, connect your USB device to another computer. If the device works fine on this computer, another USB driver may have malfunctioned and is causing problems. If this is your case, you can disable all USB device drivers under Universal Serial Bus Controller one by one and check if it fixes the problem or not.

The steps to do this are simple. Please follow the instructions below:

Right-click on the start menu and select Device Manager.
Scroll down the list and double-click the Universal serial bus controllers node to expand it.
Now right click on USB device drivers and select Disable device.
After disabling each USB device driver, check if the issue is resolved or not.

5]Reinstall Universal Serial Bus Controllers

The Universal Serial Bus Controller allows a computer to communicate with attached USB devices. You can try uninstalling and reinstalling the controllers.

The instructions below will guide you on how to do this:

Launch it Device Manager.
Expand the Universal serial bus controllers node. You will see a list of USB controllers under this item.
Right click on each USB controller and select the Uninstall device option.
After uninstalling all controllers, restart your computer.
When Windows restarts, it will automatically scan for hardware changes and reinstall any USB controllers you uninstalled.

Now check if the issue is resolved or not.

6]Update USB Root Hub

If reinstalling the USB controllers didn’t work, you can try updating the USB root hub. Follow the instructions below:

Launch it Device Manager.
Develop Universal serial bus controllers node.
Right click on the Hub usb racine and select Update Driver.
Select the Automatically search for drivers option. After that, Windows will search for the latest version and install it on your system.

Check if this solves your problem or not.

If that doesn’t work, right-click the USB hub once more and select Update Driver. Now this time you need to select the Browse My Computers from Drivers option. After that select the Let me choose from the list of available drivers the option then choose the option Generic USB Hub (if available) from the displayed list. Now click Next and follow the on-screen instructions. Once the installation is complete, restart your system.

Hopefully this should fix the error.

7]Install the latest chipset drivers from your motherboard manufacturer’s website

If the above solutions didn’t solve your problem, try installing the latest chipset drivers from your motherboard manufacturer’s website. The steps for the same are as follows:

Launch it Device Manager.
Select your device driver which is creating problems. You can identify it with a yellow exclamation icon.
Once you find it, right click on it and select Uninstall device.
Now visit your motherboard manufacturer’s website and download the latest chipset driver. If the file is downloaded in zip format, extract it and open the extracted folder.
After that, double-click the installer file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver.

8]Disable Selective Suspend feature

When Windows finds a particular USB device idle for a specific amount of time, it suspends the USB port to which that device is connected. This property of Windows 10 is called Selective Suspend. By doing so, Windows saves battery power consumption of the laptop.

Sometimes users encounter errors due to this feature. Therefore, disabling the Selective Suspend feature may resolve the issue. We have listed the steps for the same below:

Launch it Control Panel.
Be sure that Category is selected in the Seen by fashion. Click on the Hardware and sound option.
Now click Power options.
Click on the Choose when to turn off the display. You will find this option in the left pane.
Click on Change advanced power settings.
A new window will open. Scroll down and expand the USB Settings node.
Now expand the USB selective suspend setting node.
Set both options to Disabled.
Click Apply, then OK to save changes.
Restart your computer.

Lis: Fixed over voltage on USB port error.

9]Uninstall Windows Update

If the “Failed to request unknown USB device descriptor” error was caused following the recent Windows update, we suggest you uninstall the Windows update from Settings.

I hope this helps you.

A driver problem occurs on a Windows computer when the device driver malfunctions or is corrupted. When a device driver malfunctions, the device cannot communicate with the operating system. In most cases, the driver issue can be resolved by updating the device driver or reinstalling it.

Should I disable the USB Selective Suspend setting?

As described earlier in this article, the Selective Suspend setting allows Windows to suspend the idle USB device for a specific amount of time by reducing the power to the USB port to which that device is connected. It does not affect other USB ports.

Generally, this is not recommended because following disabling this setting, all USB ports start consuming an equal amount of power, leading to rapid battery drain. But sometimes the Selective Suspend setting causes errors. In such a case, you can disable it.

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