I have Pixel 2 XL w/ Android 11; Windows 10 Thinkpad; trouble with moving files from phone to pc

[Android Central Question]

Phone recently updated to Android 11; tried to connect to Thinkpad Windows 10 and get error message. Want to move files from phone to pc. Understand that some photos are in cloud. Used USB - C cable. Would Google Pixel cable that calls itself "data" cable work? I have no notification on phone when plugged into pc telling me charging via usb cable. Don't see anywhere to activate such notification.
Sigh.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Where do you see the error message, and what does it say? Have you already tried different cables and different USB ports?

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[Rukbat]

Pull the shade down. If you don't see the notification in there that the Thinkpad is connected, fix that first. It could be the cable, it could be the USB-C port on the phone, it could be the USB port on the Thinkpad. (I've been moving files both ways from my Px 2 to and from my Windows 10 desktop without a problem since upgrading to Android 11 at the beginning of September. It's not an Android 11 problem.)

 

[djp123456]

So I got a new cable, and I've tried this process and each of my usb cables on each of my usb ports on my Thinkpad. The error message, when I get one, comes from the lower right hand corner as a slide-in and says "the last USB device you connected malfunctioned and Windows cannot recognize it". Sounds like my phone usb-c/charging port is the problem.

 

[djp123456]

Alternatively, I don't know how to fix the lack of "charging by USB" notification on the shade pull-down.

 

[B. Diddy]

Are you the OP of this thread? Just want to confirm you're still referring to a Pixel 2 XL running Android 11.

 

[djp123456]

Yes; my answers were delayed because I needed to test a new cable I got and test all the USB ports on my laptop. I also tried all cables on a different, older Dell laptop with the same result. No error message on the older laptop, just no drive recognized.

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, it sure sounds like a problem with the phone's USB port. Are you able to test the connection to a different PC?