How to Update an MTP Driver in Windows

MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) lets Windows browse photos, videos and recordings on phones, cameras, audio recorders and media players without mounting them as a regular drive. If the device shows up with a warning icon, appears as an unknown device or never appears in File Explorer, updating or reinstalling the MTP driver usually fixes it. The driver is part of Windows, so this guide uses Windows' own tools rather than third-party driver packages.

Before you start

• Sign in with an account that has administrator rights, because installing or changing drivers requires them.
• Use a USB cable that supports data, not only charging. Charge-only cables are a common reason a device is never detected.
• Unlock the phone or wake the camera, and set its USB mode to file transfer (often labelled File Transfer, MTP or similar). Many devices default to charging only.
• Know your Windows edition. N editions ship without media components that MTP depends on, so they need the Media Feature Pack first.
• Close any app that is currently reading from the device, such as a photo importer.

Everything here runs locally. The generic MTP USB Device driver is already stored in Windows, so reinstalling it does not need a download. Windows Update may offer device-specific drivers as optional updates; that step contacts Microsoft's update service, and what it offers depends on your device and Windows version.

Step-by-step instructions

Connect the device, then work through these steps in order and stop once it appears correctly.

• Right-click the Start button and open Device Manager.
• Look for the device under Portable Devices. If it is not there, check Other devices or Universal Serial Bus devices for an entry with a yellow warning icon or your device's name.
• Right-click the entry and choose Update driver.
• Select Browse my computer for drivers, then Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
• If a list of device types appears, choose Portable Devices. Then select MTP USB Device and click Next.
• Wait for the confirmation message, close the dialog, then disconnect and reconnect the device.

If MTP USB Device is not listed, the built-in driver package may not be registered. Open the Windows INF folder inside the Windows directory, find wpdmtp.inf, right-click it and choose Install (on Windows 11 you may need Show more options first). Then repeat the steps above.

To check for a manufacturer driver, open Windows Update in Settings. On Windows 11, go to Advanced options and then Optional updates; on Windows 10, use View optional updates. Install a driver only if it clearly matches your device.

On an N edition, add the Media Feature Pack from Optional features in Settings, restart, and then reconnect the device.

These changes can be undone. If the device worked before an update, open its Properties in Device Manager, go to the Driver tab and use Roll Back Driver if that button is available.

Check the output

• In Device Manager, the device appears under Portable Devices without a warning icon.
• In the device's Properties, the Device status on the General tab reports that the device is working properly, and the Driver tab shows the driver now in use.
• In File Explorer, the device appears under This PC and you can open its storage folders.
• Copy one test file to the computer and open it to confirm the transfer completed.

MTP behaves differently from a USB flash drive. The device does not get a drive letter, some apps cannot open files directly from it, and files are usually copied rather than edited in place. Copy photos, videos or audio to a local folder before editing them. Which folders are visible is controlled by the device, so a camera or phone may show only its media folders.

Common problems and next steps

The device is not detected at all: try another data-capable cable and a USB port directly on the computer instead of a hub. Unlock the phone and select file transfer again, since some devices reset this choice every time they are connected.

An error says a service installation section in the INF is invalid: this is often reported on N editions without the Media Feature Pack, or when the MTP driver package is not registered. Install the Media Feature Pack if you need it, then install wpdmtp.inf as described above.

The device still shows a warning icon: right-click it in Device Manager, choose Uninstall device, disconnect it, restart Windows and reconnect. Windows reinstalls the driver when it detects the device again. Do not tick the option to delete the driver software unless you have a replacement ready.

The device connects but shows no files: on phones, unlock the screen and accept any prompt to allow access. On cameras, check whether the USB setting offers a choice between MTP, PTP or mass storage, and select the one meant for computer transfer.

If none of these steps work, connect the device to another computer. If it fails there too, the cause is probably the device, its USB port or its settings rather than the Windows driver, and the manufacturer's support resources are the next place to look.