Galaxy S9 and S9+ are the latest flagships of the Samsung S series. It comes with a fantastic camera, elegant looks, and top-notch specs. However, it looks the same as the Galaxy S8 because Samsung completely revamped the S8. Samsung will stick to the same design for a year or so. In this guide, we will deal with a prevalent error that arises when you try to move your data from your Galaxy S9 to your PC or connect your S9 to your PC and the Galaxy S9 is not recognized by your PC. It gives an error: “USB Device not recognized: USB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it,’ and you cannot open your device or access your data.
This error leads to the inaccessibility of your Galaxy S9 on your computer. This problem has several potential reasons; we will discuss them in detail in this guide.
How to fix Galaxy S9 not Recognized by PC:
The most common issue that causes this problem is the unavailability of Samsung device drivers for Windows PCs. You must download the official drivers for Samsung smartphones and other devices from the Samsung website and install them on your PC.
- Download the drivers from here and install them on your Windows PC. (Just under the heading, you will find the link to the downloadable drivers.
This will probably solve the issue of the Galaxy S9 not being recognized by PC. However, if the problem persists, move on to the other below solutions.
The second method will let you access your phone via Smart Switch.
- First, go to the Samsung website and download Smart Switch on your Windows PC or Mac.
- Now open Smart Switch.
- Click on More.
- Select Reinstall Device Drivers.
- Now, connect your Galaxy S9 with your PC using a data cable.
Another thing that you should keep in mind is that there can be an issue with the USB port in your Laptop or PC. Or the data cable that you are using is not working. So, try using another wire or plugging the data cable into a different port.
Now that we have covered the potential reason why Galaxy S9 is not recognized by PC from the PC end. In the method below, we will cover the possible issues from the phone side.
Potential reasons for Galaxy S9 not recognized by PC and their solutions:
If you intend to transfer files to or from your S9. Make sure the correct setting is selected. That should be MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
You can confirm the correct mode by following the steps below:
- First of all, head on to the Settings
- Locate the Build Number and tap on it seven times. It will enable the developers’ option.
- Head back to the main Settings menu.
- Open Developer Options.
- There, you will see USB Configurations. If charging or any other option is selected, change it to MTP.
Even if this does not fix the error, the USB device is not recognized. Then, we are left with only two options. First, try to clear your phone’s cache from the recovery menu. The last option is to perform a factory reset.
Following are the steps on how to clear the cache partition of Galaxy S9 from the recovery menu to fix the Galaxy S9 not recognized on PC error:
Know that clearing the cache partition of your phone won’t delete any data present on your S9. It will delete the temporary files, causing your phone to behave defiantly. So, proceed with the steps below without further ado:
- First of all, turn off your Galaxy S9 or S9+.
- Now open the recovery menu by pressing and holding the “Volume Up,” “Bixby,” and “Power” buttons. Once you see the Android figure in the background, leave the controls and let it load the recovery menu.
- In the recovery menu, you will see several options. Use the Volume button to navigate to your phone’s “Wipe Cache Partition” option.
- Use the power button to select.
- Once the process is complete, use the reboot system option.
Beware: Do not reset or turn off your phone while clearing the cache partition is running. It can damage your phone’s operating system.
These are all the methods that do not result in data loss. If your phone is still acting up and you cannot access it on your PC. Also, you are sure the problem is on the phone side. You have checked it by connecting your phone to some other PC, and you have also tried some different data cables.
Then, the last resort is the factory reset. You can do it from the recovery menu or in your phone’s settings menu. Whatever suits you better.
If the factory reset option also doesn’t work, you still get Galaxy S9 not recognized by PC. Then, use this guide to install stock firmware on your Galaxy S9. Once you have installed new firmware, your phone will be unique as you took it out of the box.
That is all I have on how to fix Galaxy S9 not recognized by PC. Suppose you have any issues or comments. Any type of feedback is welcome in the words. You can also ask me if you are confused about the abovementioned methods. Viel Erfolg.
