How to fix your Nokia 8 that is not recognized by a Windows PC (easy steps)

Computers play a vital role when managing data on your phone. You can move or back up important data from your phone to your computer and manage your phone system on your computer. You can also add some files to your phone from a computer. All these are done by connecting your phone to your computer. Having said that, it would be an issue if you cannot connect your phone to computer like when the PC cannot detect or recognize your phone.

Many people have encountered this problem when trying to connect their Android phones to a Windows PC. The problem could be attributed to software errors on the phone system, if not on the computer. In worst case scenarios, a faulty component like damaged USB port or cable is to blame. Highlighted in this context are some helpful workarounds to deal with a pertinent issue on the Nokia 8 that is not recognized by a Windows PC. You may refer to this walkthrough whenever needed.

Before we proceed, if you’re looking for a solution to a problem with your phone, try to browse through our troubleshooting pages to see if we support your device. If your phone is in the list of our supported devices, then go to the troubleshooting page and look for similar problems. Feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. Don’t worry it’s free. But if you still need our help, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot your Nokia 8 that’s not recognized by your computer

Before you start, make sure your phone is not locked with a password. If you do, then it will not appear on your Windows computer until you enter the password.

First workaround: Reboot or soft reset.

If this is the first attempt and then your computer failed to recognize your Nokia 8, then your phone might just need a restart. Should it be a software glitch that’s hindering your phone from establishing connection with the computer system, a reboot (soft reset) on your Nokia 8 will likely fix it. Here’s what you should do then:

Simultaneously press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons until the phone turns off.
After 30 seconds, press the Power button until the device powers on.

Be sure to disconnect your phone from the computer before you perform a soft reset. After the restart, you can try plugging it into your computer again then see if it’s already detected.

Second solution: Enable safe mode.

Some third-party apps, especially errant apps may also cause this conflict. To rule them out, disconnect it from the computer and then try booting your Nokia 8 into safe mode. All third-party apps and services are bypassed or temporarily disabled in this mode so none of them can affect the connection between your phone and the computer in any way. If you wish to try it, then here’s how:

Press the Power button until the menu options appear on the screen.
Tap and hold on the Power off option for a few seconds.
If prompted, tap to confirm option to boot into safe mode.
Wait until your phone restarts.

After the restart, you should see the Safe Mode badge at the bottom left corner of the Home screen. That means safe mode is activated. With safe mode enabled, connect your phone to your computer again and see if it is already working.

Third solution: Restart your phone in recovery mode/wipe cache partition.

Wiping cache partition on your Nokia 8 smartphone clears out corrupted cache and data from within the phone’s system folders that might have caused connection errors on your device. It also clears the phone’s internal memory and for smoother performance.

Power off your phone by pressing and holding the Power button until it powers down.
Then, press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
Release the Power button when the Android logo appears but keep pressing on the Volume Down button.
Release the Volume Down button when the Boot Mode menu appear.
Press the Volume Up/Down button to scroll to and highlight wipe dalvik cache and wipe cache partition options.
Then press the Power button to confirm.
Wait until your phone is finished wiping cache partition. You will know when it’s done if you see the Reboot system now option highlighted.
By then you can press the Power button to reboot your phone.

Try and see if that fixes the problem. If not, then try the next solution.

Fourth solution: Enable Developer options on your Nokia 8.

Some of the hidden features embedded into Android devices like your Nokia 8 are found in the Developer Options menu. These options are vital for developers building apps for Android devices. One of these features is USB Debugging. Enabling this feature allows your device to communicate with a PC (computer) running the Android SDK to use advanced operations. That said, you may have to enable USB debugging on your phone first for it to be recognized by your PC. If you wish to try it, then follow these steps to enable USB debugging on your Nokia 8:

Go to the Home screen then tap Settings.
Tap System.
Tap About phone.
Scroll to and tap on Build Number several times quickly until you see the You are now a developer prompt.
Go back to System settings.
Tap Developer options.
Tap to enable Allow OEM unlocking option.
Tap to enable Allow USB debugging option.

Restart your phone then try to connect it to your computer again with the USB debugging option activated.

How to troubleshoot your computer that can’t recognize your Nokia 8

First solution: Reboot your computer.

Just like your phone, software glitches also occur randomly on your computer. And this can be the main reason why your computer could not detect your Nokia 8 as an external device. To rule this out, try to reboot your computer or turn it off for a few seconds and then turn on again. This will help clear up system errors and glitches from within the internal memory that might have caused conflict.

Second solution: Disable firewall and security software.

If you’re using a firewall, antivirus or other security software on your computer, then it’s possible that it’s blocking your phone from having access to your computer system. It might have perceived some security threats and therefore denies access. In this case, you can disable any security software on your computer temporarily and then retry connecting your phone.

Third solution: Install necessary drivers.

There might be certain drivers that needed to be installed on your computer to make your Nokia 8 readable and accessible. Try checking the Device Manager section on your computer and see if there are any missing or faulty drivers. For further assistance in configuring drivers on your Windows computer, contact Microsoft Support or your computer’s manufacturer.

Other options

Use another computer. There might be some software on your computer that’s causing conflict like firewall or antivirus. When enabled, these computer programs may tend to block access to the computer system for security reasons. So it’s either you will disable the conflicting program or use another computer without any security suites or conflicting program activated.
Switch between USB ports. To rule damaged ports out from the root cause, try to use a different USB port to plug your phone into your computer. Also disconnect any other external devices attached to your computer via USB connector including memory cards. Doing so will prevent any of them from causing conflict.
Use other compatible data cable. Sometimes, a faulty USB cable or data cable is to blame. To ensure that this isn’t what’s causing you this trouble, try to use other compatible data cable available, to connect your phone to your computer.
Seek further assistance. Contact Microsoft Support or your computer manufacturer’s technical support for further assistance and recommendations. There might be some drivers that needed to be installed on your computer or advanced settings to configure for your computer to recognize your Nokia 8 smartphone. They will be able to provide you with the walkthroughs or if possible, remotely access and configure your computer settings using a dedicated remote system.

Connect with us

We are always open to your problems, questions and suggestions, so feel free to contact us by filling up this form. This is a free service we offer and we won’t charge you a penny for it. But please note that we receive hundreds of emails every day and it’s impossible for us to respond to every single one of them. But rest assured we read every message we receive. For those whom we’ve helped, please spread the word by sharing our posts to your friends or by simply liking our Facebook and Google+ page or follow us on Twitter.

You may also like to check these posts: