Seeing “Unknown Device” Error in Device Manager of your PC isn’t a good sight. Sometimes, the devices for which the Windows has failed to install the driver are not essential at all, nevertheless, it doesn’t give satisfaction until all the drivers are installed. In this guide, we are going to tell you How to find and download drivers for Unknown Devices in Windows 10 and Windows 7.
Gone are the days when you had to install all the drivers manually. Now, Windows takes care of all the drivers for your PC or Laptop. However, at times, Windows fail to automatically recognize a device hence the Unknown Device error is shown in the device manager. Should this happen to you, you won’t be able to use that device until and unless you find and install the right driver for it.
Seems difficult? Fret not. We are going to cover several methods in this guide through which you can find and download drivers for unknown devices.
Table of Contents
Why do Windows fail To Install All Drivers Automatically?
Usually, when you upgrade your Windows or make a new installation all the drivers are installed automatically and you don’t have to install them manually. Well, in theory, it’s like as I have just mentioned. But in practice, Windows sometimes fail to recognize some devices so it leaves them as is without installing any driver for them.
The second reason could be driver version conflicts, or there could be a dozen other reasons which compel the OS to leave a particular device as the Unknown Device. You don’t have to worry about it anymore because once you are done with this post you will be able to download drivers for unknown devices. This guide is for Windows 10 and Windows 7, specifically.
How to download drivers for unknown devices
Let’s check out different methods through which you can download and install drivers for unknown devices.
Auto Update via Device Manager
This is fairly a simple method that’s why we are going to try it first.
- Right-click on (My Computer or My PC) icon and select Properties from the dropdown menu. Now click on Device Manager from the list of options showing on the left side of the screen.
- You will see the complete list of attached devices in Device Manager.
- Scroll down the list and find the heading: Other Devices
- Collapse Other Devices’ heading to see the list of unknown devices.
- Now right click on the device and click Update Driver from the drop-down menu.
- You will be redirected to the next screen.
- Click on Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software.
- The system will search for the latest version of the driver for that particular device. Once it’s found, Windows will install it for you.
Download Drivers for Unknown Devices Manually and Install Them
This is where things get a little bit technical. Here you will have to search for the driver manually and then install it by yourself.
Now you must be thinking — How can I know the device name when it’s being shown as the Unknown device? Following we will tell you how to obtain the hardware identification of the particular hardware. Then using that you can identify the device name and eventually be able to find its corresponding driver.
- Go to Device Manager.
- Right-click on the unknown device and then click on Properties.
- Now click on the Details Tab.
- Open the list under Property heading and click on Hardware ids from the list.
- Now, in the value section, you should see some list of two values.
- Copy the first value you see on the list. It is the device hardware ID.
- Go to Google and search for that Hardware ID.
- It will let you know which device it is in a heartbeat.
- Now go to the manufacturer’s website and search for the latest available driver.
- Make sure to download the correct version of the driver, according to the version of Windows you are using on your PC.
If none of the above works for you then you can go for other third-party applications which helps you find the correct drivers for the unknown devices. However, it could be risky so should decide to resort to a third-party application make sure that that application is well-reputed on the internet.
You can also take your PC to the official service center. There a technician will download and install all the correct drivers for you. However, this may incur some charges depending on your service contract.
