USB Port Issue - Power Surge on Hub Port

I have a dell xps 15 9550. I plug a 4 port usb hub into the usb port as i use wireless mouse, and use keyboard and thus need a lot of usb hubs. I never had an issue at all. Just recently i had to charge a poweradd... this is a piece that charges your iphone. Thus in order to charge the poweradd, you need to connect it to an outlet. I had thought you could charge it to a usb port on your laptop.. .first off can you do this or not? Well the thing was i wasn't even sure which cable to plug into it as when i used a cable to plug into it and then tried to plug into outlet, it didn't work. It felt like that was not the cable to connect to the poweradd as it didn't fit. But i tried anyway. I then decided to plug it into one of those port hubs , i only had one available. Well not only did it not work, i got a message power surge on hub port message and my 4 port hub immediately stopped working.


I unplugged the 4 port hub and then plugged it back in and it didn't work. After a while, i got message that the usb port didn't work and to click okay. Says device is not working properly. But after a while it does work. My issue now is everytime i turn on my laptop, i cannot use my wireless mouse or anything else connected to the 4 port hub because it doesn't work at first. However after you wait for a few minutes, it would have that same message of the device is not working properly. You wait a bit, then it doesn't work. Then finally it shows the same or similar message and now it works.


The thing is did i damage my usb port on my dell xps 15 9550 laptop? Or did i only damage the 4 port hub? Because if its the 4 port hub, i would just buy a new one. However, i think its the actual port? Does anyone know how to fix this issue? Did i damage my computer? How do i fix this issue?

 

Same thing happened to my girlfriend's Studio 1735. My guess she overloaded the USB port. I did replace the USB port but no luck so it must be on the motherboard. The 4 port hub was still working but I took it and threw it in the trash. They are really not meant to handle a lot of power, keyboard and mouse is ok but anything else .....no but that's just me. Just don't want to ruin another $1500.00 laptop

Also watch out for them one that fit in your PC Card slot or Express card slot. I find they work great for mouse and keyboard but anything else they can get very hot and do so serious damage.

 

Also there are 2 usb ports on the laptop. I never used the one on the left side of it though. So if the right one got damaged, does that mean i could only use the one on the left? The left one is not convenient since its right next to the charger plug in. Also if my 4 port hub is damaged etc, do i risk damaging the other port on the left?

Also what happens if both usb ports no longer work on the laptop? Then how would you be able to use a laptop? Could a repair shop fix a usb port?

So right now could i buy a new port then? The thing is if i restart my laptop, then no issue with it. Again the thing is i plugged that poweradd into the port and the thing was that wasn't even the correct cable to connect to it.

 

I have the same thing for my phone but I never charge it on my laptop. I only charge it on the wall charger. This is what they are meant for. They draw a lot of power. I myself would not take the chance to use that hub again. All you need is to screw another usb port up. You should be able to have a repair shop fix this. The thing is I am not sure if your usb port is on the motherboard or it's just a card that has a cable that runs to the motherboard. This would be cheaper to fix where as the other way will be costly. Also we don't know if you did anything to your motherboard. First thing to do is have someone check it out. Maybe you just might luck out and may not be that bad.

 

Something you should look into is a Dell universal USB dock. Some of these are not cheap but I was looking on eBay and seen them used for around $40.00+. These have 3-4 USB ports. Was just looking up your motherboard and the USB ports are on the motherboard which is not good.

 

Hi there. Well right now there doesn't seem to be issues with it. I shut down computer and then turned it backc on. My wireless mouse which is connected to the port hub does work. A flash drive connected to the port still works. I then decided to take out the usb drive from one port and plug it into that port where i previously tried to connect that poweradd to it and it seems fine. So that should be okay then?


Yea i did not think about it but yes those things do draw up a lot of power. Thing was i had no idea why i couldnt connect the cable to it and it didn't fit into the wall, then i tried to plug it into the port of that 4 port hub which was not good idea.


But basically as long as i don't do that again i should be fine right? Last thing i want to do is damage my computer.

 

I believe USB ports often have small fuses on them, which can recover over time, so it's likely the damage was temporary.

We had this happen a few months ago with one of our towers in the Electronics Department about 6 months ago, and it was fine after a day or so.

 

As Alexhawker said - I've done this on previous systems and after a day or so, the USB port worked again. On the other hand, I have also burned out a USB port doing the same thing and made magic smoke as a result, so the damage seems to vary.

 

Hey all. So whenever my laptop turns on, i would sometimes get the message device is not working properly on a certain usb port. Many times i would get that message either early on when i start laptop or later on just suddenly later on anytime Its the 3rd hub on the 4 port usb hub and it was the one that i tried to plug in the iphone recharger in etc which you not suppose to because it takes a lot of power. The other ports seem to work fine. But when i press the button to turn the 3rd usb port off and then power it back on, usually it works. I know this because i always have a usb flash drive stuck to the 3rd port etc.


I want to know, is there any chance the 3rd usb port could cause any damage to my laptop? For example i noticed that my dell xps 15 9550 laptop seems to sometimes not load when i start it up where i have to power it on again. Or it does load up but it takes a very long time to load. Back then it didn't have this issue. But when i plugged the iphone charger into it, i already seem to have that problem already.


But is there a chance that this 4 port usb where the 3rd port is somewhat not functioning correctly, is there any chance it could damage the laptop or not? The thing is im thinking only stick a the usb stick into that 3rd port and do not put anything else in that port? The files in that usb flash drive is there whenever i check it. But im wondering if i should buy a new 4 port usb because of this? Or is this not necessary at all? Again, my main concern is could this usb hub potentionally damage my laptop since its always connected to it since i need the ports for my mouse, keyboard, usb flash drive etc.

 

Hi there like to update this and want advice/feedback. I bought a brand new 4 port usb hub. I connected it to the usb port where my previous 4 port usb hub is. I only had connected my usb flash drive into the 3rd slot. When i plugged this 4 port usb hub in, it did recognize it. However, after just a bit, i hear that message where its the same one where it would mean my usb flash drive is not recognize when i click on my computer and it should show the f drive. So then i thought... okay it might be my laptop usb port that is the issue. Then i connected a keyboard to one of the 4 ports. It immediately recognized it. Thus at the moment, i did not unplug the 4 port usb hub from the usb hub on my laptop. The wired keyboard connected to it works, but did usb flash drive does not recognize. However if i were to power off that specific 3rd usb hub and power it on again or if i just unplug the entire 4 port usb hub from the usb hub on my laptop and plug it back in, it would either work or you might have to do it a few times before it recognizes the usb flash drive.


So based on this, does this mean this is 100% the usb flash drive and not my laptop usb? So what would you suggest i do now? Make sure i have everything from that flash drive and format it? The thing is it does read the usb flash drive if i were to power off and power that button. These are individual buttons that light up for each usb port.