Whenever I connect my mouse to my Windows 11 computer, I get the error "Unknown USB device (device descriptor request failed)." I've already tried several troubleshooting steps without success. Should I replace the mouse, or could the problem be with the USB port or computer? I'm concerned that a new mouse might show the same error.
3 Answers
If the mouse only fails on this PC, open Device Manager and expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. For each USB Root Hub, open Properties > Power Management and uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.” You can also disable USB selective suspend in the advanced power-plan settings. These steps may help if power management is interfering with USB detection.
Try a few different USB ports first, especially a rear motherboard port instead of a front-panel port. Also inspect the mouse cable and connector for damage. Testing the mouse on another computer is the quickest way to narrow it down: if it fails everywhere, the mouse likely has a failing USB controller; if it works elsewhere, the issue is probably with your computer or a particular port.
That specific descriptor error usually points to a hardware or connection problem rather than a normal mouse driver issue. If the mouse worked previously and now fails on every port and another computer, replacing it is reasonable. If only one port causes the error, the port may have bent contacts, a loose connection, or another physical problem that software changes won’t fix.
I’ll test it on another computer and try the rear ports first so I can tell whether the mouse or the PC is at fault.