MobileTips & Tricks

My Samsung Galaxy S6 won’t connect to PC. What should I do?

The ability to connect your Samsung Galaxy S6 to a PC is definitely very useful. After all, it’s one of the fastest ways of transferring files, no matter if we’re talking about videos, photos or anything else you can think of.

However, there are some special situations in which this doesn’t work at all, for unknown reasons. If your Samsung Galaxy S6 can’t connect to PC, there’s no need to panic, since, like always, we have solutions for issues like this.

We’ve put together a guide on how to fix this issue, so, without much further ado, let’s begin!

Why is my Samsung Galaxy S6 not connecting?

Technically speaking, this issue is caused by either your phone or PC, which can’t detect the connection between the two. This leaves you in the impossibility to transfer files, sync contacts or even take things one step further and root your Samsung.

There could be multiple reasons behind this – again – related to the phone itself or the PC, as well as to the cable you’re using. Therefore, if you are facing this issue, follow the instructions below and you should be able to connect the two devices in no time.

Check the cable

The first thing you should start with is the USB cable you’re using for the connection. Make sure it’s properly inserted in both devices.

Also, you should be aware of the fact that some cables can only charge your phone and won’t transfer any files. In this situation, it’s highly recommended to use only the phone’s original cable when doing such operations.

Enable USB debugging

Out of the box, Samsung handsets don’t have this feature enabled, so you need to do it manually, in order to be able to connect yours to a PC.

  • Go to Settings > About phone and look for the build number
  • Tap this seven times, until you see the ‘You are now a developer’ message
  • Go back to the Settings menu and look for Developer Options
  • Enter the Developer Options menu and enable USB Debugging

You should now be able to connect the phone to your PC with no problems at all.

Update your drivers

One of the reasons why your Samsung Galaxy S6 won’t connect to PC is because you have outdated drivers. In this case, you can get the latest from Samsung’s website and your phone will surely be recognized by your PC.

Change the USB mode

More users reported that this little trick actually solved their problem. Specifically, the phone was detected by the PC and vice-versa, but they couldn’t transfer files, so changing the USB mode solved everything.

In order to do this, you can follow these steps:

  • Pull down the notification bar and look for USB options
  • Touch the icon, which shows up as a notification. You will be taken to the USB PC connection menu
  • Here, select the Media device (MTP) option

After this, you should be able to transfer files.

On the other side, if you don’t see USB options in the notification bar, try following these steps:

  • Unplug the cable from your Samsung Galaxy S6
  • Power off the phone
  • Wait for around 30 seconds
  • Power back on the phone
  • Plug the USB cable back to the phone and see if the USB options icon appears

After this, your phone should instantly connect to the PC.

Unlock the phone’s screen

Another very simple way to fix this issue is to just unlock the screen before connecting the phone to the PC.

Apparently, in many cases, when you connect your phone to a PC and the lock screen is turned on, the phone won’t be detected. This is happening because the built-in security system curtails opening of the phone contents in your PC when detects that the phone is locked. By this, it saves the phone from unauthorized access.

Reset phone to factory settings

If your Samsung Galaxy S6 won’t connect to PC even after trying all the methods presented above, the only solution remains to reset your phone, in order to get rid of a potential firmware issue that affects its capability to connect to a PC.

Before doing this, just make sure that you backup all your files and data, since everything will be deleted. Also, disable the Factory Reset Protection, so you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset.

Now that you’re ready, please follow these steps:

  • Go to Settings > Accounts > Google
  • Tap the Google ID email address. If necessary, repeat this step for each email address you have on your phone
  • Tap More
  • Tap Remove account
  • Confirm the operation

After this, it’s time to go through the actual factory reset process, which will put your phone in the same state as it was when you bought it.

  • Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6
  • Press and hold the Home and Volume Up key, then press and hold the Power Button
  • Keep all of them pressed until you see the Samsung Galaxy S6 logo on the screen
  • Release the Power Button, but continue holding the Home and Volume Up key
  • When you see the Android logo, release both keys
  • Wait for about 30 to 60 seconds, until the phone finishes resetting
  • You will be taken to a menu with a few options. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through it and select wipe data / factory reset
  • Confirm your selection using the Power Button
  • Using the Volume Down key, select Yes – delete all user data
  • Confirm this using the Power Button
  • Wait for a few moments until the phone finishes resetting
  • Once this is done, select Reboot system now and confirm this with the Power Button
  • The reboot will take longer than usual, but be patient and wait until it’s done

Take it to a repair shop

Eventually, if none of these methods work and your Samsung Galaxy S6 won’t connect to PC, it’s highly recommended to take it to a repair shop and explain the whole problem. Make sure you mention everything else you tried.They should be able to help you.

Which one of these methods worked in your case? Also, do you know another fix for this issue? Let us know, by dropping a few lines in the comments section below!

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