I'm having problem using my flash drive on Surface RT. recently, 95% of the time, when I plug my Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive into Surface RT, I get no response from the system, the indicator on the flash drive does not illuminate, there is no sound (the sound that plays out of speaks when a USB device is connected), and no drive appears in "my computer". I have been using this USB 3.0 flash drive on my Surface RT for over a month, and it was OK before, and i don't really know when exactly it started to act up. this is the only USB 3.0 flash drive I have now, all my other flash drives which are USB 2.0 work perfectly on Surface RT, and all my external HDDs work fine as well. the problematic USB 3.0 flash drive works fine with my Lenovo T420 and T500 with no problem at all if I leave the Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive in the USB port while I restart Surface, 100% of the time the flash drive is detected and recognized and working fine after reboot, but when I reject the drive and plug it back in, no response again. I have tried to change drive letter, reformat the flash drive, even reinstalled Surface RT in case it was a registry problem. doesn't change anything. I have contacted Sandisk and the only response I got was "we didn't test it on ARM based system"... any help?

NEW: Sandisk Extreme will be read with USB-Cable: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00FPHY6I0/ref=ox_ya_os_product . After your advice I tested it with a normal USB 3 cable. And it just worked. Amazing. Maybe the cable resistance lowers the current a little bit. In fact this seems an electrical Problem of the surface RT or the sandisk flashdrive. Who knows! I will buy a short adapter cable or Adapter. Just another adapter I have to take with me. Not amused. Hardy .

I did that, but no success. Will Surface get an update for this driver issue? I need to use my USB, that's the main point I bought my surface instead of other tablet...

If it absolutely will not work, then that flash drive is USB 3.0 only. That particular model you have was engineered for USB 3.0 but most devices downgrade when needed. Looks like that one will not. There is nothing wrong with your USB port, it is the requirements of the flash drive that will make it not compatible. You can get regular USB pen drives to use instead and they are pretty cheap for the 32GB and 64GB models. Those two particular size models are the most reliable as well. Keep the Sandisk for future use and if you decide to go for the Surface 2, it does have USB 3.0 and that flash drive should work with it. You cannot upgrade a current USB 2.0 socket in a computer. USB 3.0 has a slight wiring difference.

If it absolutely will not work, then that flash drive is USB 3.0 only. That particular model you have was engineered for USB 3.0 but most devices downgrade when needed. Looks like that one will not. There is nothing wrong with your USB port, it is the requirements of the flash drive that will make it not compatible. You can get regular USB pen drives to use instead and they are pretty cheap for the 32GB and 64GB models. Those two particular size models are the most reliable as well. Keep the Sandisk for future use and if you decide to go for the Surface 2, it does have USB 3.0 and that flash drive should work with it. You cannot upgrade a current USB 2.0 socket in a computer. USB 3.0 has a slight wiring difference. The flash drive has no problem, I use it in several computers with win7 and WinXP, all of them with USB 2.0 ports, and no problems at all. It has to do with the surface but I can't understand what is it, in fact, it works in the surface if it is plugged in before I turn it on. Going for the surface 2 would solution it of course, but I don't want to change my hardware for this problem, and specially as it is not a USB 2 or 3.0 issue, nobody assures me it will work in the Surface 2. I love my USB flash drive because of its speed, it is one of the highest in the market and want to keep using it, I carry my research on it, and work on different machines. Its incredible how the simplest thing as an USB can't work in this thing (others do work I know). Anyway, I will give it some time, to see if something happens, if not I will move to a ultrabook which wont have any problem with the USB.

The biggest problem is that these tablets are "light weight" and barely operate with what they have. Chances are that something else in the tablet is having a problem and is causing interference with the USB port. There have also been USB ports that are loose and when you insert a USB plug, some people have noticed them as loose and don't make proper contact. That can cause a problem as well. In fact, try checking to see if what you plug into the USB port has "play" to it and can move. If it does, it could be the problem right there. Not making full connection. If there is any play in the port, contact Microsoft Technical Support. It cannot be fixed, the tablet has to be replaced. Give that a shot and see if it will work.

Surface RT and Sandisk Extreme USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Anonymous

I'm having problem using my flash drive on Surface RT.

recently, 95% of the time, when I plug my Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive into Surface RT, I get no response from the system, the indicator on the flash drive does not illuminate, there is no sound (the sound that plays out of speaks when a USB device is connected), and no drive appears in "my computer".

I have been using this USB 3.0 flash drive on my Surface RT for over a month, and it was OK before, and i don't really know when exactly it started to act up.
this is the only USB 3.0 flash drive I have now, all my other flash drives which are USB 2.0 work perfectly on Surface RT, and all my external HDDs work fine as well.
the problematic USB 3.0 flash drive works fine with my Lenovo T420 and T500 with no problem at all
if I leave the Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive in the USB port while I restart Surface, 100% of the time the flash drive is detected and recognized and working fine after reboot, but when I reject the drive and plug it back in, no response again.
I have tried to change drive letter, reformat the flash drive, even reinstalled Surface RT in case it was a registry problem. doesn't change anything.

I have contacted Sandisk and the only response I got was "we didn't test it on ARM based system"...

any help?

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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42 answers

Anonymous

2013-10-13T19:44:54+00:00

NEW: Sandisk Extreme will be read with USB-Cable: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00FPHY6I0/ref=ox_ya_os_product .

After your advice I tested it with a normal USB 3 cable. And it just worked. Amazing. Maybe the cable resistance lowers the current a little bit. In fact this seems an electrical Problem of the surface RT or the sandisk flashdrive. Who knows!

I will buy a short adapter cable or Adapter. Just another adapter I have to take with me. Not amused.

Hardy

.
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Anonymous

2013-10-31T00:33:23+00:00

I did that, but no success. Will Surface get an update for this driver issue? I need to use my USB, that's the main point I bought my surface instead of other tablet...
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Anonymous

2013-10-31T01:42:25+00:00

If it absolutely will not work, then that flash drive is USB 3.0 only. That particular model you have was engineered for USB 3.0 but most devices downgrade when needed. Looks like that one will not.

There is nothing wrong with your USB port, it is the requirements of the flash drive that will make it not compatible. You can get regular USB pen drives to use instead and they are pretty cheap for the 32GB and 64GB models. Those two particular size models are the most reliable as well.

Keep the Sandisk for future use and if you decide to go for the Surface 2, it does have USB 3.0 and that flash drive should work with it. You cannot upgrade a current USB 2.0 socket in a computer. USB 3.0 has a slight wiring difference.
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Anonymous

2013-10-31T03:01:21+00:00

If it absolutely will not work, then that flash drive is USB 3.0 only. That particular model you have was engineered for USB 3.0 but most devices downgrade when needed. Looks like that one will not.

There is nothing wrong with your USB port, it is the requirements of the flash drive that will make it not compatible. You can get regular USB pen drives to use instead and they are pretty cheap for the 32GB and 64GB models. Those two particular size models are the most reliable as well.

Keep the Sandisk for future use and if you decide to go for the Surface 2, it does have USB 3.0 and that flash drive should work with it. You cannot upgrade a current USB 2.0 socket in a computer. USB 3.0 has a slight wiring difference.

The flash drive has no problem, I use it in several computers with win7 and WinXP, all of them with USB 2.0 ports, and no problems at all. It has to do with the surface but I can't understand what is it, in fact, it works in the surface if it is plugged in before I turn it on. Going for the surface 2 would solution it of course, but I don't want to change my hardware for this problem, and specially as it is not a USB 2 or 3.0 issue, nobody assures me it will work in the Surface 2. I love my USB flash drive because of its speed, it is one of the highest in the market and want to keep using it, I carry my research on it, and work on different machines. Its incredible how the simplest thing as an USB can't work in this thing (others do work I know). Anyway, I will give it some time, to see if something happens, if not I will move to a ultrabook which wont have any problem with the USB.
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Anonymous

2013-10-31T06:48:27+00:00

The biggest problem is that these tablets are "light weight" and barely operate with what they have. Chances are that something else in the tablet is having a problem and is causing interference with the USB port. There have also been USB ports that are loose and when you insert a USB plug, some people have noticed them as loose and don't make proper contact. That can cause a problem as well.

In fact, try checking to see if what you plug into the USB port has "play" to it and can move. If it does, it could be the problem right there. Not making full connection.

If there is any play in the port, contact Microsoft Technical Support. It cannot be fixed, the tablet has to be replaced. Give that a shot and see if it will work.
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