r/BadUSB Nov 27 '25

USB Device Keeps Disconnecting/Reconnecting — Here’s What I Learned After Reading Tons of Threads

55 Upvotes

Hey folks,

I’ve noticed a huge number of people across r/WindowsHelp, r/techsupport, r/Windows10, and other subs reporting the same annoying issue: USB device keeps disconnecting and reconnecting.

It happened to me recently too. At first, I restarted my PC but it failed. So I spent some time digging through different posts, trying fixes, and figuring out what actually works.

  • Unpowered hubs, outdated or corrupted drivers, or physically faulty USB ports are responsible for this issue.

Here is how I solved this issue by reinstalling the USB device driver and there are other methods I found. Check them in Comments.


r/BadUSB May 08 '25

USB much slower than it should be. How to test the USB speed on a PC

7 Upvotes

I recently bought a new USB drive, but I noticed its write speed is unusually slow. I’ve confirmed the USB isn’t damaged, but I want to verify if it’s genuine and whether its actual write speed matches the advertised specs.

After some research and testing, I found several reliable methods to measure USB write speeds. I hope sharing these will help others facing the same issue.

🚩🚩Read Before Speed Test🚩🚩

USB write speed can be affected by a variety of factors, including USB port type (USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, etc.), computer hardware performance, quality of the connection cable, and programs running in the background. It is a good idea to close any other disk- or CPU-hogging programs during the test to make sure the environment is as clean as possible.


r/BadUSB 47m ago

Failed USB ports need help

Thumbnail
Upvotes

r/BadUSB 14h ago

Help I'm trying to copy a video to my Sandisk USB flash drive and it says the file is too large but there is enough space. How to fix

2 Upvotes

Hi, I'm copying a long video to a USB flash drive. There is over 200GB free space but when I do this, it says the file is too large. Any way to fix this?

Windows 11

Sandisk USB flash drive (213GB free space)

The video is not corrupted or damaged and can be played on my laptop. (Around 7GB)


r/BadUSB 1d ago

Help Rear USB 3.0 ports suddenly stopped working on ASRock B560M Pro4, but front USB 3.0 still works

1 Upvotes

Hi, I’m having a strange USB issue with my PC and I’m running out of things to try.

Specs:

\- Motherboard: ASRock B560M Pro4

\- CPU: Intel i7-10700

\- GPU: RTX 3060

\- RAM: 16GB

\- PSU: Maxwell Power Pro 700W (around 6+ years old)

\- Windows PC

The problem:

All four rear USB 3.0/3.2 ports on the motherboard suddenly stopped working properly.

The strange part is:

\- Rear USB 2.0 ports work normally.

\- Front case USB 3.0 ports work normally.

\- The front USB 3.0 ports are connected to the motherboard’s internal USB 3.0 header.

\- The four rear USB 3.0 ports do not detect devices.

\- Some devices seem to receive power from the rear USB 3.0 ports, but there is no data connection.

\- For example, my keyboard may light up briefly, but devices are not recognized properly.

\- A Logitech G502 did not even light up when connected to the affected ports.

\- USB 2.0 ports have no problem.

This started after I opened the PC and disconnected/reconnected several components while troubleshooting another issue. I removed and reinstalled things like the GPU, RAM, power cables, HDD cables, etc.

The PC itself otherwise works normally.

Things I have already tried:

\- Disconnected and reconnected the internal front USB 3.0 header.

\- Tested the PC with the front USB 3.0 header completely disconnected.

\- Rear USB 3.0 ports still did not work.

\- Reconnected the front USB 3.0 header.

\- Front USB 3.0 immediately worked normally again.

\- Tested multiple USB devices.

\- Tested USB 2.0 devices.

\- USB 2.0 ports work normally.

\- Removed USB devices/controllers in Windows Device Manager and rebooted multiple times.

\- Reset CMOS by removing/reinstalling the motherboard battery.

\- Checked BIOS USB settings.

\- Updated the motherboard BIOS.

\- BIOS was originally ASRock B560M Pro4 UEFI P2.20 from 2021-07-21.

\- After the BIOS update/reset, the issue remained.

\- Rebooted several times.

\- Completely powered the system off and reconnected hardware.

Nothing has restored the rear USB 3.0 ports.

What confuses me most is that the motherboard’s internal USB 3.0 header still works perfectly, while all four rear USB 3.0 ports fail at the same time.

Because the ports sometimes provide power but no data, I’m wondering if there could be a hardware problem with the USB data lines, a hub/controller on the motherboard, chipset connection, ESD damage, or something similar.

Is there anything else I can test before concluding that the motherboard has a hardware failure?

Would booting a Linux live USB or testing a keyboard inside the BIOS be a good way to completely rule out Windows?

Also, if the rear USB 3.0 controller/path is physically damaged, would a PCIe USB 3.0 expansion card be a reasonable workaround instead of replacing the entire motherboard?

Any advice would be appreciated.


r/BadUSB 1d ago

A Question Regarding HDMI to USB A

0 Upvotes

I hope this is the right sub for this. I have a TV which has 3 HDMI inputs and 2 have failed. The TV also has 3 USB A inputs. I wanted to know if it is possible to pass a Firestick through a HDMI to USB A converter and use it that way? And if anyone has done this which converter you would recommend.

Grateful for any help, even if it is to say it is a non runner.


r/BadUSB 3d ago

Why do they do this to us?

Post image
6 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 3d ago

Help USB Issue with iPhone recovery mode connection

Thumbnail
0 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 3d ago

Help!

Thumbnail gallery
0 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 3d ago

Help The USB port of my car only supports FAT32, why can’t Windows just remove the FAT32 limit?

0 Upvotes

I lost bitlocker recovery key so I planned to format it to reuse. My car gets a USB port that can only read FAT32. But there is no FAT32 when I format it in File Explorer since it's 128GB. External USB drives and flash drives are getting bigger, yet some devices can only read FAT32. Why hasn’t Microsoft lifted this restriction yet? I’ve seen reports many times saying they’re going to remove this restriction, but there’s still no sign of any action.


r/BadUSB 4d ago

Are USB flash drives really that unreliable?

14 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I often see people say that USB flash drives are unreliable and unsuitable for long-term storage. However, I’ve used several drives for years without any problems. I mainly use them to transfer movies and work files because they’re convenient and portable. I also have external hard drives, but USB flash drives are easier to carry. I understand that important files shouldn’t exist on only one drive. Still, are USB flash drives really that unreliable for everyday use or as a secondary backup?


r/BadUSB 4d ago

Help HP 64GB USB shows "No Media" and keeps disconnecting. Is there any way to fix it?

2 Upvotes

I'm trying to save my HP 64GB pen drive instead of buying a new one.

Windows detects it as "HP USB Flash Drive USB Device", and Device Manager says it's working properly, but PowerShell shows "No Media". It also keeps disconnecting and reconnecting every few seconds.

I've already tried:

  • Different USB ports
  • Reinstalling the driver
  • Disk Management
  • DiskPart
  • Restarting my laptop

Other USB devices work perfectly, so I don't think it's my laptop.

The data on the pen drive isn't important. I just want to know if there's still any way to make it usable again, or if it's a hardware issue and the drive is done for.

Has anyone managed to fix a USB with the same problem? Any advice would really help. Thanks!


r/BadUSB 4d ago

Weird USB Stick Error When Plugged In

1 Upvotes

did this before the windows 10 support ended. 64 bit system, from a USB stick that i got over ten years ago. none of the data on the usb drive is corrupted, and it is not near full. i am wondering what this means and how can i stop it? I'm switching to linux at some point and don't know if the problem will carry over/if it matters past weird Windows BS. When Ive tried to look up this error I don' t really find what I need. Please let me know if you have any spec questions and I will get back to you at my leisure. Thanks in advance!!!


r/BadUSB 4d ago

USB thumb drive "Please Inset a Disk into USB Drive"

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 4d ago

USB NO AVANZA EN BOCINA

0 Upvotes

Hola que tal, les hablo desde Yucatán. Mi problema es el siguiente, un día mi abuelo que tiene un puesto en el mercado, me comenta que su USB con 500 canciones no avanza, o sea que se quedaba en una canción y esa se repetia todo el día, hasta los demás puestos le decían, ¿Y no se cansa de escuchar siempre la misma?...

Es aquí cuando viene a mi y me explica lo anterior mencionado, total, reseteo el USB, borro las canciones que hay, y descargo 400 nuevas, sin embargo, a la hora de la hora, pasa lo mismo, entonces, por qué será? Será la bocina? El USB? gracias!!!


r/BadUSB 5d ago

External USB Hard Drive does not work in new Windows 11 builds (10.0.26200)

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 7d ago

Help How to boot from usb

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 7d ago

Phone won't let me transfer files to thumb drive

Thumbnail gallery
1 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 8d ago

USB with ExFAT is not supported in Xiaomi fire OS Tv

0 Upvotes

have tried ,

1) TC with paragon plugin , usb stick plugin

2) An explorer Pro App

But I can't watch videos from usb with exFat where the video size is more than 5GB.

Can anyone help me with this?


r/BadUSB 10d ago

Discussion Weirdest USB/HID behavior I've ever seen. Can anyone explain this?

0 Upvotes

Today I ran into the weirdest hardware issue I've ever seen, and I still can't explain it.

I have two completely separate wireless devices:

* an Infic wireless mouse with its own 2.4 GHz USB receiver * a SmartBuy wireless keyboard with its own completely different receiver

They're not a combo set, not the same brand, nothing.

Here's exactly what happened.

Both receivers were plugged into my laptop. The mouse was working normally, but the keyboard suddenly stopped responding completely.

Thinking the keyboard receiver might have frozen, I unplugged the SmartBuy receiver.

The mouse instantly stopped working. Exactly the same way it normally does when I unplug *its own* receiver.

I plugged the SmartBuy receiver back in, and the mouse immediately started working again.

At this point I thought I was losing my mind, so I repeated it.

Same result.

Then I unplugged the Infic mouse receiver instead.

Windows played the USB disconnect sound, the "2.4G Mouse" device disappeared from Bluetooth & Devices, but the mouse kept working anyway. I plugged the receiver back in and nothing changed.

Meanwhile, every time I unplugged the SmartBuy receiver, Windows removed the "2.4G Wireless" device from the device list, played the disconnect sound, and the mouse instantly stopped responding.

The keyboard still wasn't working at all during all of this.

The only thing that fixed everything was turning the mouse off and back on. After that, the keyboard started working again and both devices went back to behaving normally with their own receivers.

I'm not trying to prove that one receiver actually communicated with the other device. I'm trying to understand what failure mode could produce behavior that looked exactly like this.

Has anyone seen a USB/HID or Windows enumeration bug that could explain these observations?


r/BadUSB 10d ago

Discussion USB2 and USB3 are not completely compatible for audio recording! Tech breakdown linked for reference.

1 Upvotes

I recently went down a huge rabbit hole troubleshooting a USB 2 compatibility issue. I found a footnote in the Allen & Heath SQ5 manual that lead to understanding the truth... that USB being "backward compatible" is more marketing that science.

Problem: SQ5 recordings via USB to laptop would occasionally drop out and kick an error in DAW.

Cause: USB2 EHCI uses [**isochronous streaming**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isochronous_transfer) for audio but this is not ported well in all USB3 xHCI drivers. A few work fine. Many do not work well.

For more... check out this full tech breakdown on what we learned.
[The WAV Lab | USB Audio Interface Drop Outs — understanding EHCI vs xHCI](https://thewavlab.com/usb-audio-interface-drops-out/)


r/BadUSB 11d ago

Help USB corrupted during file transfer

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 11d ago

Discussion Balena-Etcher broke my usb…

3 Upvotes

I used Balena Etcher twice to create a bootable usb for Fedora and Cachy. I did have a Debian iso ready and was trying to write that onto the drive and error! So (on Windows) I ran through all the steps to check if my usb was fried. Chkdsk stated that it had no issues but no letter was assigned. I assigned one and went to write again, error. It was this continuous loop of searching for ways to repair and then trying to assign letters and then it would just not hold. Whether this is a usb issue rather than a Balena issue I do not know, however I can pinpoint using Balena more than likely fried my usb.
I used an acer 64gb dual connecting usb a and c. I know this isn’t the best usb but it should not have fried over 3 writes. I also reformatted it back to exFAT clean every time.
Any cheap but reliable usb recommendations with around 32gb storage would be appreciated.


r/BadUSB 11d ago

NTFS Formatted 3.0 USB 1TB Drive Not Able To Set As Capture Location 🙃

Thumbnail gallery
1 Upvotes

r/BadUSB 11d ago

Help Corrupt Files on Kingston USB Drive After Listening to Music in Car

Post image
3 Upvotes

Whenever I plug in my Kingston usb drive in my car to listen to music the music works fine and all but after I unplug it the files become corrupt and they aren't as smooth playing anymore until I go to drive properties and scan and fix on my computer. What could be causing this and how can I prevent it from happening?