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What to do if your Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro is not recognized by your computer (easy steps)

Samsung is not only known for releasing high-end devices but also for producing numbers of good quality, mid-range smartphones and tablets. One of its newest entrants that’s rolled out last January of this year is a 5-inch smartphone branded as the Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro, also known as Samsung Galaxy J2 (2018) or Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Pro. While it may not be as sophisticated as that of the highest-tiered Samsung flagship smartphones, the J2 Pro is packed with several great features and descent specs. It’s powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset and running on Android Nougat 7.1 platform.

Overall, it’s one of the best budget smartphones to-date. Nonetheless, it also has its own share of flaws. In this context, I will tackle one of the first problems encountered by some owners of the Galaxy J2 Pro and this is about syncing error between a computer and the Galaxy J2 Pro. Read on to find out what to do if you will encounter the same issue in which the Galaxy J2 Pro is not recognized or detected by a computer.

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.

Troubleshoot software problems on your Galaxy J2 Pro

If it’s not a faulty hardware, then the problem must be associated with the software. It could be due to a software malfunction on the phone, if not on the computer in use. Let’s start by ruling software issues on the Galaxy J2 Pro out from the possible triggers with these subsequent workarounds.

First workaround: Soft reset or reboot your phone.

A device restart or soft reset can fix minor glitches and system errors that cause random issues including data corruption. Most importantly, it doesn’t affect any of your saved data on the internal memory of your device. And here’s how it’s done:

  1. Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds.
  2. From the menu options, select Power off and then tap OK.
  3. After about 30 seconds, press the Power button again until your device power cycles.

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Second workaround: Clear or quit all background apps.

Background apps may also cause conflict especially when they get rogue or corrupted. To make sure this is not what’s inflicting error, you can force them to close with these steps:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Select Running tab to view active or running apps.
  4. Select individual apps then tap the Force Stop or Stop button.
  5. Use the same method to end all running apps.
  6. Reboot your phone when you’re done closing all background apps to refresh your device system.

Alternatively, you can press the back button on the navigation bar 4 times to force close any unresponsive apps that might have prevented your phone from establishing proper connection with the computer system. Then try plugging it back into your computer’s USB port using the supplied data cable or USB connector. If your computer still does not recognize your phone, move on and try the next method.

Third workaround: Install updates, if available.

New updates contain system enhancements as well as bug fixes. If certain bug is halting your device from syncing with the computer, installing the new update will likely be able to fix it. To get started, check and see if an update is available to download and install on your Galaxy J2 Pro with these steps:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap About.
  3. Select Software Update or Update.

If an OTA update is available, you will be prompted with a notification. Read the information and follow the rest of the onscreen instructions to download and install new software update. Your phone must be connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient power to complete the update installation via over-the-air (OTA).

Fourth workaround: Enable USB debugging mode on your Galaxy J2 Pro.

USB debugging feature is primarily used for development purposes, like copying data between your phone and computer, install apps on your phone without notification, and data logo reading. There are times when an Android device won’t be read or detected by a computer unless USB debugging mode is enabled. If you wish to give it a try, then here’s how:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select About phone.
  3. Locate the build number and press 7 times on it.
  4. You will then see a prompt saying that Developer mode has been turned on.
  5. Go back to the previous screen. You will then see Developers Options.
  6. Tap to enable USB debugging switch.
  7. If prompted, read the information then tap OK to allow USB debugging.

Restart your phone one more time and then reconnect your Galaxy J2 Pro to your computer’s USB port.

Troubleshoot software errors on your computer

If you are certain that nothing is wrong with your phone, then you may attempt to troubleshoot software issues on your computer that might have prevented it from recognizing your phone. Here are your options.

First workaround: Reboot your computer.

A simple reboot might be needed to clear any random system errors from your computer and give it a clean fresh start. The reboot process varies depending on what type of your computer and OS version it’s running on. Just shut it down as you usually do. After about 30 seconds or 1 minute, turn it on again and then try to reconnect your phone via USB.

Second workaround: Remove any USB paraphernalia and SD card then reboot.

External devices that are attached to your computer via USB like USB keyboard, mouse, speakers, and also SD card may also cause conflict especially when any of them gets corrupted. To rule this out, try removing any USB paraphernalia, reboot your computer, then plug your Galaxy J2 Pro again.

Third workaround: Disable security software temporarily.

Security software like firewall and antivirus programs installed and running on your computer may also prevent your phone from having access to the computer system. That said, you can disable any firewall or antivirus programs on your computer then retry connecting your phone. You can also try to configure your security software in use to grant phone Galaxy J2 Pro a full access to the computer system. You may ask further assistance from the developer of the security software to ensure you are configuring it accordingly.

Fourth workaround: Download and install necessary drivers.

Just like other external (USB) devices, drivers might be necessary for your phone to be recognized by the computer.

If you are using a Windows computer, you can update, uninstall and reinstall drivers through Device Manager. You can also scan for hardware changes or disable and re-enable USB controllers using Device Manager. For a more detailed walkthrough on how to get these things done, you may contact Microsoft Support. Steps may vary depending on the OS version of the computer.

Other options

If you have another computer available, then you can also try connecting your Galaxy J2 Pro on your other computer to see if it works. Doing so will help you determine whether the problem is isolated to the computer you are currently using. Just be sure to use a functional and original USB cable or data cable. For further assistance in performing more advanced troubleshooting procedures on your computer system, contact Microsoft or Apple Technical Support.

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