USB-C works with storage devices but not phones.

PerfectlySauteedMushrooms · August 18, 2017

Hello Linus Tech Tips Forums,

I have an odd problem with my USB-C port. When using storage devices such as flash drives or External HDD the port seems to work fine, but when I try to use a phone with this port things get weird. I could find no one with a similar issue as mine and that's why I'm posting this (unless I'm just an incompetent googler).

The first thing that happened was for the phone (Google Pixel) to rapidly start charging and then stop, I unplugged the phone and restarted my computer. Then, I tried plugging in my phone again and it was charging normally but would not connect to the computer for data transfer. So I then I tried a different phone (Moto X 2014) using a USB-C to USB-A adapter and it would not charge at all! The same happens with an Iphone 4, however, using a USB-A storage drive this way does work. I tested the port with a multi-meter and it seems to be providing a constant 5 V while the computer is on and 4.7 V off.

My computer is a Alienware R3 17 running windows 10 64 bit.

I have reinstalled windows and also updated my BIOS to the latest version.