How do I get my phone to show up as a device on my computer once again?

[bluecheeese]

No new updates on either my laptop or my phone, but all of sudden yesterday I was unable to connect my phone to my laptop. I can plug it into my laptop and it pulls a charge from it, but it does not show up under devices; even after a further search for it. How do I fix this problem? Is there something wrong with my phone?

Edit: Have tried various cords and various ports. Have yet to try another computer, but I will later.

 

[N4Newbie]

I'm going to assume that your phone has Android 6 / Marshmallow on it.

If so, connect your phone to the PC, power on the phone if it is off and enter your PIN or whatever to unlock. Next, drag down the notification bar from the top of the screen where you will find a banner that says "USB Charging" - tap on that and then select "File Transfer" from the list of choices which pops up.

You will have to repeat this procedure each time you connect to your PC; it is not sticky.

 

[SpookDroid]

Try plugging it into a different port in your computer. Also try uninstalling the phone's driver from your computer, reboot, and letting it install it again when plugged in.

 

[bluecheeese]

How do I locate my phones driver on my computer?

 

[N4Newbie]

Really, it would help if you told us what phone brand/model and what Android OS it is running (Settings -> About -> Android version.

As to the other question, for a Windows computer go to Control Panel -> Device Manager -> Portable Devices. If you find anything there, right click on it and select Uninstall.