How to fix an Android phone whose mass storage / SD card won’t connect to PC using USB cord



How to fix an Android phone’s mass storage / SD card that won’t connect to PC using USB cord

If you connect your Android device to your PC via USB cord (mass storage) a lot then you’re – at some point- bound to encounter a situation whereby the Android device only charges but the PC doesn’t detect the SD / memory card. Quite a number of things could cause this error (ranging from hardware to software related issues) but its mostly something minor and easily resolved.

What could cause an Android phone’s SD card / mass storage not to be detected when connected to a PC via a USB cord?

The most common causes of this issue are:

  • Faulty USB cord: The USB cord might not be making proper contact with the phone or PC due to a dent at any of its tips.
  • Faulty PC’s / Android phone’s USB port: The Android phone’s / PC’s USB port might be too loose or faulty
  • Minor OS error: The Operating System (OS) of the PC or Android phone might have encountered a minor error
  • Faulty SD / Memory card: The SD / Memory card might be corrupted or have encountered a Read/Write error
  • Incorrect mount settings on the Android: The Android device might have been set to not mount Mass Storage unless manually set
  • Driver problems: The Android phone’s drivers might have encountered an error during installation

How can I fix an Android phone’s mass storage / SD card that won’t connect to PC using USB cord?

When faced with such an issue, you’re bound to find the following fixes very helpful:

  • Try a different USB cord: Try using another USB cord to connect the Android phone to the PC
  • Restart the Phone and PC: Restart both the Android phone and PC to clear any OS errors that might have been encountered
  • Try a different port on the PC: Connect the Android phone to the other USB ports on the PC to be sure the fault isn’t from the PC’s USB port(s)
  • Check the SD / memory card for errors: The SD card might require a minor check or even formatting in extreme cases. (See https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-fix-repair-corrupt-memory-card-sd-card-or-usb-drive/ )
  • Enable Mass Storage on the Android phone: When the phone is connected to the PC, you should see a USB icon at the top > slide down from the top of the screen to reveal the menu > Click on Connected as USB Storage > Under USB Computer Connection, Select USB Storage > Press the back button to exit
  • Enable USB debugging and Mount Storage: If the USB icon doesn’t appear when the Android phone is connected to the PC then enable Developer Options . While under Developer options, connect the phone to PC via USB cable then scroll down to Networking and tap Select USB Configuration.
  • Reinstall drivers: Launch Device Manager then connect the device via USB cable. Take note of what the device gets detected as then right-click and uninstall it. Disconnect and reconnect the device; this should trigger a driver re-install

Why does my Android phone overheat when connected to PC via USB cord?

This could be due to your phone’s high rate of power consumption or a faulty hardware like battery, PSU, motherboard etc. (See https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-make-an-android-phones-battery-last-longer/ )

Why does my PC takes very long to detect my Android’s SD card / mass storage?

The SD card could have some unresolved errors. Also, the Android phone or PC could be slow, hanging or crashing ( See https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-easily-make-an-android-phone-run-faster-or-stop-lagging/ and https://www.hovatek.com/blog/how-to-fix-a-slow-hanging-or-crashing-pc/ )
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