USB ports, just like any other ports, also comes with power rating. The default power output of a standard USB port is 0.5 amperes and if you notice, mobile phones charge slowly on USB ports which explains why. There are times when Windows may throw an error or warning that says, “Power surge on the USB port”. This kind of error occurs when a connected device tried to draw more power and the error comes as a part of that notification so when you select it, ti will say, “A USB device has malfunctioned and exceeded the power limits of its hub port. You should disconnect the device”.
To easily fix the problem, you can try to disconnect the device and click on Reset and if you click on Close, the port will not work until you unplug it and then restart your computer.
On the other hand, if disconnecting the device did not resolve the problem, you can try running the Hardware & USB troubleshooter or use a USB hub. You can also try to reinstall, uninstall or rollback the USB drivers or run the OEM diagnostics. For more information, refer to each one of the potential fixes provided below.
Option 1 – Try to run the Hardware & USB troubleshooter
- The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
- After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
- From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
- Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
- After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.
Note: You could also try to run the USB troubleshooter as it could also resolve the problem.
Option 2 – Try to use a USB hub
If you’ve encountered the error on a specific device, then it is possible that the device requires more voltage. To fix this error, you can try to use the same device on another computer and if you still got the same error, you might want to use a USB hub that comes with its power source. USB hubs come with high-speed charging ports that should be able to supply the power needed for the device.
Option 3 – Update, rollback or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller driver
If updating the drivers of the device did not fix the “The device is not ready” error, you can try to update, rollback or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller drivers instead using the Device Manager. Refer to the following steps:
- First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
- Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
- From there, look for the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” option and then right click on each one of the USB drivers and select the Update Driver from the menu.
Note: If it is a regular USB drive, then it will be listed as a USB Mass Storage Device but if you have a USB 3.0 device, then look for USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller.
- Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.
Note: If updating the USB Controller drivers didn’t work, you can try to reinstall them instead.
Option 4 – Try running OEM Diagnostics if you have any
If the laptop or desktop computer you are using is a branded one, OEMs usually include a software to diagnose issues in the computer like the USB port error. So if you have this software, try to run it for diagnosis and use any given suggestions to fix the error.
If the instructions given above didn’t resolve the “Power surge on the USB port”, there is also another option that might help. Often referred to as a
one-click solution, what makes this program better than other system utility tools or antivirus programs is that aside from helping you free up disk usage and memory in your computer, it helps you in fixing whatever issue your system is facing. This program is known as Advanced System Repair and is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance, including Blue Screen of Death errors. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, refer to the steps below.
Perform a full system scan using ASR. To do so, follow the instructions below.
- Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
- After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
- To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
- Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
- Press and hold both R key and Windows key.
- If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
- Type in the URL address in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
- After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
- Once the installation process is completed, run ASR to perform a full system scan.
- After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now” button.
