USB stick is not recognized: What you can do

If your USB stick is not recognized on your PC or laptop, this does not automatically have to be due to a defective stick. Other possibilities are a defective USB port or a display error on your screen. You can check this in several ways.

USB stick is recognized but not displayed

If you want to exchange data between a USB stick and your computer and it is not recognized by your system, then this can have different reasons. To find the cause, you need to proceed step by step.

1. First, test another USB port to rule out a defect in the port. Alternatively, test whether the USB stick works on another device.
2. Install the latest driver software for the "USB controller" via the "Device Manager" on Windows.
3. If you have a Mac, check whether the option "External hard drives" is activated under "File" > "General" and in the tab "Sidebar".
4. Under MacOS, you can also start the "Disk Utility" to check the USB stick for errors.
5. In addition, errors may occur if the drive letter of the USB stick is simultaneously used by other hardware.
6. To check this, right-click on "Computer" and then on the menu item "Manage".
7. In the "Computer Management" you can then call "Disk Management".
8. If your USB stick is listed there, it is recognized, but not listed in the desktop area. Then you need to change the drive letter. To do this, right-click on the drive letter and select "Change drive letters and paths".