FIX: Your phone, tablet or other USB device does not charge correctly in Windows 8.1

In Windows 8.1, you may face an unexpected behavior due to a design change Microsoft made to save power: when some USB connected device, such as a mobile phone or tablet is connected to the computer, it does not charge correctly. To resolve this issue so USB devices re-charge correctly, follow the instructions below.

To resolve this issue, install an updated device driver. To check whether an updated driver is available, follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows Update item in Control Panel. See all ways to open Control Panel in Windows 8.1. Or in the search box, type Windows Update.
2. Tap or click Settings, and then tap or click Install optional updates.
3. Tap or click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.

If updates are found for the device with which you're having charging issues, tap or click Install updates.

In case your device does not have updated drivers, you can disable the Enhanced Power Management feature for the device that does not recharge.

How to disable the Enhanced Power Management feature for USB devices in Windows 8.1

Note: This setting helps reduce power consumption and extend the battery life for mobile computers. If the USB device is recognized as a Human Interface Device (HID) and no application tries to access to the device, then Windows suspends the device. That's why it does not recharge. If you disable the Enhanced Power Management setting for the device, you can expect that power consumption by the device will increase and that battery life will be shortened if the device is connected to a mobile computer.

To disable the Enhanced Power Management settings for the device, follow these steps.

1. Connect the USB device to the computer.
2. In Control Panel, open the Administrative\Device Manager item.
3. To display the list of connected HIDs, tap or click the arrow next to Human Interface Devices.
   Note: The device may be listed by name or generically as "USB Input Device."
4. In the device list, right-click or press and hold the entry for the device that is not charging, and then click Properties.
   Note: If this entry is labeled as "USB Input Device" instead of the device name, and if there are multiple "USB Input Device" entries, follow these steps to determine which entry is the correct one:
   1. Disconnect the problem device from the computer.
   2. Right-click each USB Input Device entry, and then click Properties to view the device description and details. Note this for each connected device.
   3. Reconnect the problem device.
   4. Examine each USB Input Device entry again to determine which one is new and, therefore, represents the problem device.
5. In the Properties dialog box for the problem device, tap or click the Details tab.
6. In the list under Property, select Device Instance Path, and then note the ID information. For example, note the following:

   USB\VID_1234&PID_5678\0A1B2C3D

   Note This line is a combination of the following ID numbers:

   • Vendor ID (VID)
   • Product ID (PID)
   • Instance ID
7. Start Registry Editor.
8. Go to the following key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB

   Tip: How to jump to the desired registry key with one click

9. Locate the folder whose name contains the VID and PID that you noted in step 6 (for example, locate VID_1234&PID_5678), and then expand that folder.
10. Expand the folder that matches the Instance ID from step 6.
11. Tap or click Device Parameters.
12. In the right pane of Registry Editor, right-click or press and hold EnhancedPowerManagementEnabled, and then click Modify.
13. Change the Value data to 0, and then tap or click OK.
14. Exit Registry Editor.

Now the device should re-charge properly but the Enhanced Power Management for it will be disabled so it may draw more power and reduce the battery life of your PC or laptop.

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