USB 3 Ports Not Working

[Jaq1]

My laptop (model G6U18UA) has 2 usb 3.0 ports and one usb 2.0 port. About a month after my warranty expired, both usb 3.0 ports stopped working. Device manager kept telling me they were fine, but no usb devices would work on either port, even though they worked on other computers. I tried all the usual stuff: updating all the drivers, uninstalling the drivers and then letting the system reinstall them on next startup, updating the BIOS, etc. Nothing helped, so I gave up trying to fix the problem, bought a usb port extender, plugged it into the usb 2.0 port, and that gave me 4 working usb 2.0 ports. But that arrangement soon became a hassle: the extender eats up desk space and gets in the way of my mouse and other devices. So recently I revisited the problem and tried at least to diagnose it. I tested the ports using the HP UEFI Diagnostics utility and, as expected, the two usb 3.0 ports failed. But just for grins, I also tested the usb 2.0 port, and that failed with exactly the same failure ID: PU2BHG-7HE9LL-MFPWL1-8D3503. Yet the usb 2.0 port is still working fine for all usb devices. So now what?

[A4Apollo]

Hi! @Jaq1,

Thanks for sharing the failure ID, I have tried to decode the failure ID and it says USB Failure (unspecified)

So it certain the USB board on the PC has gone faulty.  Try updating the BIOS to the latest version and check if it helps.

Update the BIOS using this link. Click Here

If the issue still persists it is a hardware issue with the PC.

Please contact HP support for service options.

Contact HP support using this link. Click Here

Refer this article to know more information about USB connection issues with the PC. Click Here

Let me know if this works!

Take Care! 🙂

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[Jaq1]

Thanks.  I do have the latest version of the BIOS, but evidently that hasn't helped.  I went through the article about USB connection issues and didn't see anything I haven't already tried.   When you say it's a hardware issue with the PC, I wonder if I could just replace the USB 3.0 ports.  But that raises a bunch of questions: Why would both USB 3.0 ports go bad rather than just one?  Why does the diagnostic code indicate that the USB 2.0 port is also bad?  And why does the USB 2.0 port still work fine despite the failing diagnostic code?  But then, you also suggest that the USB board on the PC has gone faulty, which presumably means a faulty section of the motherboard.  I'm guessing the motherboard would cost more to replace than the laptop is worth.  One thing I haven't tried yet is to restore the laptop to its original state.  The USB 3.0 ports worked when I bought the laptop and (maybe just coincidentally) stopped working after a Windows update, so maybe I need to go back before that update.  Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any restore points for the dozens of Windows updates since I bought the laptop, so I guess I would have to restore the laptop to factory settings, then reinstall all the software.  That may  open up a whole new can of worms and, in any case, may be more effort than it's worth.  (For example, would I have to go back and do each Windows update one-by-one, setting a restore point each time, then "freeze" windows at the point where  the USB 3.0 ports stop working? And if I froze Windows at that point, would the laptop then become vulnerable to any security threats that have arisen since then?)  Maybe the only way I can solve this problem is to trash this laptop and buy a new one -- which amounts to throwing the baby out with the bathwater!

[A4Apollo]

Hi! @Jaq1,

Thanks for writing back to us.

It could be that the diagnostics utility has not been updated, so might be receiving the same failure ID.

So download and update the latest version of system diagnostics utility using this link. Click Here

If the test fails, please contact HP support for service options, as there is nothing much we can do in this situation.

Take Care!

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[Jaq1]

I already had the latest version of the diagnostics utility, so I guess it's on to the service options now.  Thanks.