MTP Device (Android Phone or MP3 Player) isn’t Recognized

Most Android phones or music players use the MTP protocol to sync over USB. If the device is plugged in, but doesn’t show up and/or can’t be browsed in MediaMonkey for Windows or in Windows File Explorer, there may be a problem with the the USB connection, or the MTP communications that occur over USB.

Try the following in such cases:

  1. Switch USB Ports – Often, using another USB port works, especially switching between the USB 3.0 port to USB 2.0. Try this even if the port was working a moment ago.
  2. Switch USB cables – Sometimes, using another USB cable can also fix the problem.
  3. Restart the PC – Often, a nice and sweet reboot is all it takes.
  4. Make sure that the Android phone is configured to use MTP:
    1. When it’s plugged in, pull down the notifications and tap the USB notification
    2. Change it from ‘Charge device’, ‘NDIS’, to ‘MTP’
  5. Make sure that the USB driver is installed correctly:
  6. is co

If none of the above worked for your Windows 10, you will need to perform some operations.

1. Install wpdmtp.inf

  • Press and hold the Windows Key and while holding it, press R. Type %systemroot%\INF in the box and hit Enter. (Alternatively, you could just use the file explorer and manually go to C:\Windows\INF)
  • Type wpdmtp.inf in the search bar provided to the right of the address bar in Windows 10.
  • wpmdmtp.inf is a file related to MTP and installing it manually can possibly resolve your issues, especially when you have previously seen the error message “A service installation section in this INF is invalid“.
  • Right-click on the wpmdmtp.inf file and select Install. Click Yes if asked, “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”
  • It should go rather quick and once it’s done try connecting your MTP device again.

2. Install the MTP USB Device Driver

  • Press and hold the Windows key and press R. In the run dialogue box that opens, type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter. This will open the device manager. (Alternatively, you can also press the Windows key and type Device manager to search for it.)
  • Expand Portable devices and find your device. If you can’t, try looking under Other devices as well because it is under that for some users. Also, make sure your MTP device is connected to your PC, otherwise it won’t show.
  • Right-click it, and choose Update Driver Software.
  • Select Browse my computer for driver software.
  • Click on Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
  • From the options presented, select MTP USB Device, and click next. Follow the installation wizard to install it.

3. Download and install the Media Feature Pack

This update is primarily meant for N and KN versions of Windows 10 which do not offer the Windows Media Player as well as some related technologies to the end user. In some cases, installing the Media Feature Pack might solve the issue as well. All you have to do is download the appropriate update from Microsoft’s Website, install it and reboot your PC. If your PC is 64-bit, download Microsoft-Windows-MediaFeaturePack-OOB-Package_x64.msu which is a 108.9MB package otherwise download the 72.4MB package named Microsoft-Windows-MediaFeaturePack-OOB-Package.msu.

You don’t necessarily have to follow all of the aforementioned methods and most probably any one of the above three methods will solve your problem. Pick anyone you are more comfortable with.

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