USB device unrecognized

Question

type c headphones are suddenly being not recognized the computer , even though recognized by other devices as my phone for instance.

any ideas on how to approach this issue?

by the way the headphones were functioning completely fine connected to my computer as until of recent.

Thanks in advance !

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your question. I know how annoying it is when your USB-C headphones suddenly stop working on your computer, mostly when they were working before and still work on other devices.

Usually, this happens because of old or messed-up drivers, disabled USB ports, or audio setting problems. To fix it, first, see if the headphones show up in Device Manager under Sound, video and game controllers or Universal Serial Bus controllers. If they do, right-click and choose Update driver. If not, try unplugging and plugging the headphones back in, then restart your PC. You could try running the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter by typing msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic in the Run box. Also, make sure your audio input/output settings in Settings → System → Sound are set to the right device. If it's still not working, reinstall the USB controller drivers or update Windows.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Best Regards,

Noel

Answer 2

Hi Jacob Tsofnas,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Forum.

On Windows 11, audio devices, especially USB‑C headphones, can occasionally stop being recognized due to changes in device settings, power management, or how the system selects audio outputs.

Here are some recommended checking steps that you can try now:

1 - If your computer has more than one USB‑C port, testing another port (or a USB‑A adapter, if available).

2 - Please confirm that your headphones are selected as the active output device in Settings > System > Sound.

3 - You can also open Device Manager and look under Sound, video and game controllers or Audio inputs and outputs to see if the headphones or a USB audio device appear. If they do, try removing the device then restart and let Windows re‑detect it.

I look forward to receiving your update. Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

---

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.