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Device Manager / Portable Devices missing from Device Manager

Anonymous
2018-04-28T23:24:55+00:00

I opened the Device Manager in Windows 10, but Portable Devices is missing. How do I retrieve or re-install that category? Thank you. I need to back up my iPhone, which is normally seen as a portable device. Any suggested fix will be greatly appreciated.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-04-28T23:35:04+00:00

    I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 8 year Windows MVP, here to help you.

    On the View tab of Device Manager, choose Show Hidden Devices. If the phone isn't being recognized I'd uninstall the driver and restart PC to reinstall.

    If that doesn't help, from Action tab choose Scan for hardware changes.

    There are enough problems with phones and other devices being recognized via USB in Windows that for iPhone I'd use a superior backup method which is iCloud wirelessly in the background: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201391

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-04-28T23:36:59+00:00

    That seems to have worked. Thank you.

    6 people found this answer helpful.
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