Why Is My Logitech Unifying Receiver Not Working On Windows 10 or 11

By Abhishek Silwal Updated June 5, 2022

Wireless receivers are a great convenience for connecting peripherals to your PC. Logitech Unifying Receivers are especially useful as they allow connection with six devices and a range of 10 meters.

But sometimes, these devices stop working. It might be frustrating, but you don’t need to panic.

It’s likely a problem with your drivers or the Logitech software. So troubleshooting such issues should solve this issue.

Why Is My Logitech Unifying Receiver Not Working

Here are some potential reasons for your Logitech Unifying Receiver not working on Windows:

Connection issues.
Outdated or missing drivers.
Conflict with old or other drivers.
Absence of Logitech Software to pair the device.

How to Fix Logitech Unifying Receiver Not Working

There are a few possible solutions for this issue. Go through the methods we have provided below and check if it works after applying each.

Check Your Devices

First, try reinserting the receiver using different ports. But make sure not to use any USB hubs and disconnect other peripherals as well. If it doesn’t work, try connecting the receiver to a few other computers.

If the device works for another PC, the issue is with your system. So, move on to the subsequent solutions. Otherwise, either the receiver, or the input device is faulty.

We recommend taking them to a hardware expert to check and repair them. However, if you are familiar with opening and fixing electronic tools, you can try checking their interior connections:

For the Receiver,

Remove the receiver cap. You need to use some tools as it’s glued in.
Take out the sensor module and insert it together with a piece of paper to tighten the connection. Make sure not to cover any circuit lines with the paper.
Close the cap again and check if it works. If it does, glue or tape stick the cap with the receiver.

How to fix faulty USB Receiver (Logitech Unifying)

For the Input Device,

Open the device.
Disconnect the sensor and reconnect it again.
Check for cable connections and then disconnect and reinsert them if possible.
Check if the device works and put everything back together.

If that doesn’t help, seek help from a technician or contact Logitech support.

Power Cycle Devices

Sometimes, the Logitech Unifying Receiver won’t work due to minor issues with your PC. The quickest way to resolve them is to perform a power cycle. Here’s how you can do so:

Disconnect all peripherals and shut down your PC.
Remove the power from the Logitech device as well. If they use batteries, take them off as well.
Unplug your PC’s power cord and, for a laptop, its battery.
Press and hold the power button for 20 seconds to drain the capacitor charge.
Reinsert the battery and the power cord and power up your PC.

Connect the Logitech Unifying Receiver and check if you can use your device.

Install Logitech Software

Many Logitech receivers need particular software to pair with a compatible device. The software also helps install correct drivers and customize the device settings. For most devices, it is the Logitech Unifying Software.

But some devices need the Logitech SetPoint Software or the Logitech Options Software.

Install the software while keeping the following points in mind:

You need to install them as admins. Right-click on the installer and select Run as administrator.
You should only use one of these programs. If one doesn’t work, uninstall it before installing another.

If you could use the receiver previously, you should try unpairing and re-pairing the device using such software.

Update and Reinstall Drivers

One of the common reasons for the receiver not working is defective driver software. To fix this issue, you need to update the relevant drivers to the latest version. You mainly need USB drivers and the device’s driver. But we recommend updating all your outdated drivers.

Here are the necessary steps to update the drivers involved:

Open the Run command (Win + R) and enter devmgmt.msc. It will direct you to the Device Manager.
Expand to and right-click on your device.
Select Update driver.
Pick Search automatically for driver.
Update your USB, Keyboard, and HID drivers using these steps.

If you have the latest driver versions, try reinstalling them.

Some old drivers may also conflict with the Logitech devices. So, you need to remove them. To do so,

On the Device Manager, click on View > Show hidden devices.
Expand to the grayed-out Receiver, Keyboard, HID, and USB devices.
Right-click on them and select Uninstall device.
Click Uninstall.

Restart your PC and check if you can use the Logitech Unifying Receiver.

Replace USB INF Files

Corrupt or missing USB driver files block any USB device from working. You also can’t reinstall the USB drivers in such cases. So, replace the files using the steps below:

Open the file explorer on a perfectly functioning computer.
Go to %WinDir%\INF.
Search for usb.inf and usb.pnf files.
Copy them and paste them to the same location on your PC.
Replace if necessary.

Manage USB Power Settings

Your system can block your USB devices when on Power saving mode if its setting allows this option. You can disable the option or set your Wireless Adapter to always perform at max performance to resolve this issue.

To disable the option,

Open Run and enter devmgmt.msc to load the Device Manager.
Expand all Universal Serial Bus controllers.
Right-click on a USB Hub device and choose Properties.
Go to the Power Management tab and uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
Click Ok.
Do the process for all USB hubs.

You can also set Maximum performance for your Wireless Adapter Settings to disable power saving. Follow the instructions below to do so:

Enter powercfg.cpl on Run.
Click on Change plan settings and then Change advanced power settings.
Expand Wireless Adapter Settings and Power Saving Mode.
Set both options to Maximum Performance.
Click Apply and Ok.

Uninstall MotionInJoy Gamepad Tool

Many users have discovered that the MotionInJoy Gamepad Tool conflicts with the Logitech Unifying Receiver. However, it is possible for there to be more incompatible software. We recommend troubleshooting in clean boot mode to discover such apps.

Then you need to disable or uninstall them. For the MotionInJoy Gamepad, uninstalling the program may not be enough. You need to uninstall its driver as well. We also recommend opening your Registry and deleting all entries with DS3 in their names or values.

Press Ctrl + F while on the Registry Editor and search for DS3. You can press F3 to find the next instance.

Update or Rollback Windows

If you encounter this issue after updating your OS, you can try rolling back to the previous version. You can also go back to Windows 10 within ten days of upgrading to Windows 11 as long as you haven’t deleted the Windows.old folder.

But installing further updates is the best solution for this issue if they are available. Microsoft fixes all the unresolved bugs in the later builds. So, we always recommend updating your OS as soon as possible. You can always roll back if there are any errors in the build.