If you are here to know how to activate USB ports on Dell monitor, you are at the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss this matter in detail.
Dell monitors have a specialty in that every new edition comes with highly functional connectors and USB ports. This feature paves the way for more portable, smaller, and lighter devices.
When such new standards are introduced, they increase adaptability, speed, and power and showcase advanced functionalities and features.
The available USB ports will be insufficient if you connect various peripherals to your computer for day-to-day activities. Certainly, you’ll be using one USB port for a wireless adapter, keyboard, mouse, or printer.
The new Dell monitors include USB ports giving you the freedom to connect other peripherals conveniently. But before using these ports, you must power or enable them. The problem is that the USB ports don’t work until you connect the monitor to the computer.
For this purpose, you have to link a Type-A male USB connection to the Type-B male USB upstream connection.
What the USB Ports are?
In the 1990s, office desktops were having numerous wires. Then came the Universal Serial Bus (USB), an inexpensive and compact interface.
It not only standardized computer connectivity but also surpassed Ethernet and became a popular wired interface for smartphones, laptops, and tablets. So, using various USB devices became an easy task for all people.
USB4 is the latest edition that improves video resolution, speed of data transmission, and power. It is not troublesome as various other connectors like parallel and serial connections are. You can connect up to 127 devices with your computer without any hassle.
How to Activate USB Ports on Dell Monitor
For activating USB ports on the Dell monitor, follow the given instructions:
- First of all, turn off your Dell monitor.
- Connect one side of the USB cable to the USB upstream port of your monitor.
- Take the cable’s other end and connect it to your Dell monitor’s USB port.
- When you’ll turn on the monitor, the USB ports will become active that are present at its bottom, and sides.
- If you find that the USB ports are not functioning, you should restart the computer.
Use Type-A and Type-B Ports to Activate USB Ports on Dell Monitor
- After switching off your Dell monitor, locate the Type-B USB port that is square-shaped. Often, the USB port is present near the DVI, VGA, and HDMI ports available.
- Put the USB cable’s Type-B end into the USB Type-B port of your Dell monitor. The Type-A end is also rectangular in shape; put it in the computer’s USB port. You can see USB ports on the back and front sides of the CPU.
- Turn on your computer and connect a USB device to your monitor. If the computer refuses to recognize the connected device, go to the company’s website and install the drivers of the monitor. You can also use the manufacturer’s disc for installing drivers.
What to Do If USB Port Doesn’t Work
There is no need to worry if your Dell computer is not recognizing the USB device you have plugged in. The following four steps are too helpful in resolving this issue. Any of them can solve your problem, so if one doesn’t work, try the other one to activate the USB ports on the Dell monitor.
1- Use Another USB Port
Often it happens that the computer doesn’t recognize a USB device because the USB port is damaged or dirty. In such a situation, plug the USB device into another USB port.
2- Check the Power Management Configuration
At times, when USB controllers are not in use, Windows turn them off for saving power and doesn’t turn them on again. To check that configuration, follow the below-given steps.
- Press R and Windows logo keys simultaneously, and the Run box will appear.
- Type devmgmt.msc command.
- The list will appear if you have more USB Root Hubs; double-click the first one to activate it.
- Then, click the Power Management tab.
- Just click OK when you see the check box is not selected. If the check box is selected, that means you are allowing the Windows to switch off controllers to conserve power.
- When you have more than one USB Root Hub, do the above-given steps for other hubs also.
3- Check the Power Cord
If there is any problem with the power supply of your Dell laptop, it may cause the USB ports to stop functioning. To check the power supply problems, do follow these steps:
- Remove the AC adapter or power supply of your laptop.
- Then restart the laptop.
- Connect the USB device to the USB port.
- Connect the AC adapter or power cord again.
Update the USB Driver
If the above-mentioned methods fail to fix this problem, it may be the USB driver causing the issue. By updating the USB driver, you can activate USB ports on the Dell monitor. There are two ways through which you can upgrade the USB driver.
1- One way to update your driver is to use the recent driver available on the website of the hardware vendor. It is really essential to confirm that the driver is compatible with the Windows version and the specific model number of your device.
2- If you cannot manually upgrade drivers, no issues, you can do it through Driver Easy without any problem. It is convenient to install and download.
Final Verdict
Hope so this guide is helpful for people who wanted to know how to activate USB ports on Dell monitors. The USB ports are the latest edition of the ports to attach multiple devices to your computer.
Sometimes you may face issues when connecting any USB device to your computer. In such a situation you can apply the solutions we have discussed above.
There are different solutions for activating USB ports on a Dell monitor, try the solutions one by one until your problem solves. Follow the steps carefully so that you can get the results instantly.
