Kindle not Showing up on PC? Fix it right now!

Last Saturday, when I finished removing DRM from EPUB files, I wanted to transfer those files to my Kindle via Calibre, so I connected the Kindle to my PC. However, the Kindle was not showing up on the PC.

“What is going on?” It was the first time for me to meet this problem, my PC had never not detected the kindle paperwhite. After a while, I searched online, and I connected them again.

Next, I will show you the method to fix this issue. Because the issue may come from the USB cable, Kindle devices and PC, we need to target the source of the computer doesn’t recognize Kindle.

The first thing we should do is check the USB cable. If you can find the cable that you received with Kindle, use it first since Kindle requires a special USB cable to transfer the files. So some users reported that their cable is able to charge but not able to connect to the PC.

Or you can try to plug in with another device, when you find another device is also not detecting the PC, then we can assume this cable may break. Change another one to connect the device.

While the cable is working on another device and the cable is still not connected, then the problem may result from a PC or Kindle device.

Thus, you can connect the Kindle to another computer, if it works, then we can conclude the problem is from the PC. Whereas, it will be the Kindle’s issue.

Now, we have mainly known which problem comes from which device. Let’s go through the specific part to solve the problem!

To fix the computer issue, we will introduce the effective solutions that users report to you. And we will talk about the Windows system first, if you are a Mac user, click this to go to the Mac section.

Windows Users:

1) Restart the Desktop

Restarting the device often solves many problems, so you have not tried it yet. You should do it first.

Move your mouse to the bottom left, click the Start > Power > Restart.

2) Install Kindle as an MTP Device

Press “Windows+S” on your keyboard, type “devices manager” in the box and click Devices Manager.

Double click Portable device > Next. Right click the Kindle Fire and press Update driver > Browse my computer for driver software > Let me pick from a list of available drivers for my computer.

Choose Portable Devices and scroll to select the MTP driver, if you can’t find it, you can uncheck the checkbox on the left of Show compatible hardware. Then, press the Next button. Restart your PC and see if it works.

3) Disabling USB Selective Suspend

Some users said after they disable the USB Selective Suspend feature, their Kindle can be detected by the computer.

The USB selective suspend is a feature that allows the system for saving power by putting some USB ports into a suspended mode, quite similar to laptop’s sleep mode, but not affecting other USB ports.

Follow the steps below, then you can disable USB selective suspend feature:

1. Press “Windows + S” on the keyboard , type “Control panel” in the box and click it when you see it.

2. Choose Hardware and Sound > Power Options, click Change plan setting on the right of the plan you are using.

3. Select Change advanced power settings > USB selective suspend setting > Setting, choose the dropdown arrow to press Disabled. Then, click the OK button.

4) Reinstalling USB Controllers Drivers

Connect another smart device to your computer, if the computer is able to recognize other devices, then you can skip this method. But if it is still not detecting, then the problem may come from USB controller drivers, let’s fix it by these steps:

Step 1: Click the magnifier icon, type “device manager”, select Device Manager when it shows in the result.

Step 2: Double-click the Universal Serial Bus controller, and you will see a list of controllers. You need to right-click them and select Uninstall Device one by one.

Step 3: When you finish uninstalling all the controllers, just restart the computer and they will be reinstalled automatically.

Connect your Kindle to your PC right away to check if the problem is solved.

5) Assign Drive Letter

The computer may have detected your Kindle and recognized it as a storage device but not a media device, so it was not showing up on PC. Thus, to solve this issue, we can assign a drive letter from disk management.

Press “Windows + S”, type “disk management”, click Create and format hard disk partitions. Then, right-click the Kindle device and select the Change Drive Letter and Paths > Add, enter a letter and press the OK button.

Mac Users:

1) Restart your Desktop

Select the Apple icon on the top left of the screen, press Restart on the menu. The computer will shut down and reboot later.

2) Install Android File Transfer

If you haven’t installed Android File Transfer on your Mac, you will not be able to view the content on the Android device. Download and install the Android File Transfer.

3) Change an USB Hub

If your desktop doesn’t recognize all the mobile devices, then the problem may come from the USB hub or USB port, you had better change an USB hub or take it to the Apple Store.

1) Clean the Charging Port

If you haven’t put an anti-dust plug in the charging port, the dirt will increase in it day by day, which will interrupt the connection. So, just use some toothpick in it to move that dirt out.

2) Unlock the Device

The PC won’t detect your Kindle, if it is still locked. You should make sure the device is unlocked, while connecting the Kindle to the PC.

3) Update to the Latest Firmware Version

Each firmware version will fix the bug of the last version, so keeping it to be the lastest is a wise way to avoid the error.

If you have not opened the Kindle for a long time, you would be asked to take some time to update to the latest firmware version. Wait for a few minutes, the Kindle’s firmware will be up to date.

4) Restart the Kindle

Hold the power button for 40 seconds, tap RESTART.

5) Charging for More than 30 Minutes.

If the Kindle has already run out the battery, you need to charge it for more than 30 min.

6) Enable Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on Kindle Fire

Android Debug Bridge is a versatile command-line tool that allows you to communicate with a device. You can enable it by tapping Settings > Device > Turn on ADB.

If all the methods are not working, you should contact Amazon for help, since the issue may be related to the hardware of Kindle. Also, you can read the Kindle book on another reader before waiting for the reply.

If I am asked to list the most awful error of the Kindle, I would choose the Kindle not charging to be the top1, the next one should be the PC doesn’t recognize the Kindle, since fixing it takes me much more time than other issues.

That is also the reason I am glad to share these experiences with you.

Remember to find out the resource of the issue first, whether it is from cable, PC or Kindle. Then, just follow the steps to shooting the specific problem.

I hope you will no longer be confused about what to do, when you are trying to fix this issue. Sure, finger cross to miss all the problems!