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Want to update your computer’s hardware drivers? Get your driver updates from Windows Update or your device manufacturer’s website. Here’s how.
RELATED:Never Download a Driver-Updating Utility; They’re Worse Than Useless
Installing drivers through Windows Update. Windows Update is the premier starting point to resolve most common driver issues you might experience immediately after installing Windows 10. Simply launch it from Start Settings Update and Recovery and click Check for Updates. Press Windows key + R. Type: ms-settings:windowsupdate. Cumulative and current firmware and drivers for the Surface Book. This firmware and driver package contains drivers for all of the components in the Surface Book, as well as updates to the system firmware that have been released via Windows Update. These drivers and firmware are compatible with Windows 10, including Enterprise versions. Install OEM USB drivers If you are developing on Windows and want to connect a device for testing, then you need to install the appropriate USB driver. This page provides links to the web sites for several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), where you can download the appropriate USB driver for your device. Connect your Android device to your computer’s USB port. Right-click on Computer from your desktop or Windows Explorer, and select Manage. Select Devices in the left pane. Locate and expand Other device in the right pane. Right-click the device name (such as Nexus S ) and select Update.
Hardware drivers are the bits of software Windows uses to communicate with your PC’s hardware. Device manufacturers create these drivers, and you can obtain drivers straight from the manufacturer of your devices. Manufacturers also submit drivers to Microsoft for testing and signing, and you can get many drivers from Microsoft through Windows Update. Often, you won’t need to bother with updating drivers, but you may sometimes need to get the latest version—especially if something isn’t working right. While they are tempting, we recommend that you don’t use driver-update utilities.
Should You Update Your Drivers?
RELATED:When Do You Need to Update Your Drivers?
In general, we don’t recommend updating hardware drivers unless you have a reason to. The driver for the SD card reader that came built into your computer is probably just fine. Even if the manufacturer does offer a slightly newer version, you probably won’t notice the difference. There’s no reason to obsess about having the latest hardware drivers for every component in your computer.
There are some good reasons to update drivers, though. In particular, gamers generally should keep their graphics drivers as up-to-date as possible to ensure the best graphics performance and the fewest bugs with modern games. In other cases, you might need to get the latest version of a hardware driver if the current one is causing problems with your computer.
If you do want to update your drivers, skip the driver-updating utilities. We can’t repeat that enough. Go right to the source for your hardware drivers. This means downloading drivers from the hardware manufacturer’s individual websites, or letting Microsoft’s Windows Update do the work for you.
Update Your Hardware Drivers With Windows Update
RELATED:What You Need to Know About Windows Update on Windows 10
Assuming you’re using Windows 10, Windows Update automatically downloads and install the latest drivers for you. Windows 7 and 8 provide driver updates via Windows Update, too, but Microsoft is being much more aggressive about this in Windows 10. It all happens automatically. Even if you install your own hardware drivers, Windows sometimes automatically overwrite them when a new version is available. Windows is pretty good about not overwriting things like graphics drivers, though—especially if you’ve got a utility from the manufacturer that keeps up with updates.
Using Windows Update in Windows 10 is the automatic, set-it-and-forget-it solution. You don’t need a driver-updating utility because Windows has one built-in.
On Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, hardware drivers appear in the Windows Update interface as an optional update. If you want the latest hardware drivers, be sure to go open Windows Update, check for updates, and install any available hardware driver updates.
Update Your Graphics Drivers
RELATED:How to Update Your Graphics Drivers for Maximum Gaming Performance
For graphics drivers, you can use the control panel included with your graphics drivers to check for updates them. NVIDIA, AMD, and even Intel provide control panels that automatically check for and download the latest graphics driver updates for you.
Just open the NVIDIA GeForce Experience application, AMD’s Radeon Software Crimson Edition, or Intel’s Graphics Control Panel—whichever is on your computer. These often appear in your system tray, and you can usually find them with a quick Start menu search.
Oem Website Drivers
You could also just go straight to the source here. Head to NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel’s website to download the latest graphics driver package for your hardware and install it.
Oem Drivers For Windows 10
Even if you’re using Windows 10, you’ll probably want to do this — at least, if you’re a gamer. Windows 10 won’t be automatically updating graphics drivers every time NVIDIA or AMD releases a new version. These updates are really only necessary for people playing PC games, after all.
Use the Manufacturer’s Website
For other drivers, go straight to your hardware manufacturer’s website. If you have a laptop or a prebuilt desktop PC, go to its manufacturer’s website and look up the driver-download page for your specific model of computer. You’ll usually find a single web page with a long list of drivers you can download. New versions of these drivers are posted to this web page when available, and you’ll often see the dates when they were uploaded so you know which are new.
RELATED:How to Check Your BIOS Version and Update it
This is also the place you’ll generally find BIOS and UEFI firmware updates, but we don’t recommend installing these unless you have a really good reason to do so.
If you built your own desktop PC, you’ll have to download drivers from the manufacturer of each individual component. For example, go to your motherboard manufacturer’s website and look up the specific model of motherboard to find your motherboard drivers. Repeat this process for each individual hardware component.
The good news is that you don’t have to do most of this. Windows—especially Windows 10—automatically keeps your drivers reasonably up-to-date for you.
If you’re a gamer, you will want the latest graphics drivers. But, after you download and install them once, you’ll be notified when new drivers are available so you can download and install them.
For other driver updates, you can simply check the manufacturer’s website for new versions. This isn’t usually necessary, and you don’t need to do it unless you have a specific reason to do so. Windows keep your hardware drivers up-to-date enough.
![Oem Oem](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124811826/294391190.jpg)
Image Credit: Quasic on Flickr
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If you are developing on Windows and want to connect a device for testing,then you need to install the appropriate USB driver. This pageprovides links to the web sites for several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),where you can download the appropriate USB driver for your device.
If you're developing on Mac OS X or Linux, then you shouldn't need a USB driver.Instead read Using Hardware Devices.
To connect and debug with any of the Google Nexus devices using Windows, youneed to install the Google USB driver.
Install a USB driver
First, find the appropriate driver for your device from the OEM driverstable below.
Once you've downloaded your USB driver, follow the instructions below to install or upgrade thedriver, based on your version of Windows and whether you're installing for the first timeor upgrading an existing driver. Then see Using Hardware Devices forother important information about using an Android device fordevelopment.
Caution:You may make changes to
android_winusb.inf
file found insideusb_driver
(for example, to add support for other devices),however, this will lead to security warnings when you install or upgrade thedriver. Making any other changes to the driver files may break the installationprocess.Windows 10
To install the Android USB driver on Windows 10 for the first time, do the following:
- Connect your Android device to your computer's USB port.
- From Windows Explorer, open Computer Management.
- In the Computer Management left pane, select Device Manager.
- In the Device Manager right pane, locate and expand Portable Devices or Other Devices, depending on which one you see.
- Right-click the name of the device you connected, and then select Update Driver Software.
- In the Hardware Update wizard, select Browse my computer for driver software and click Next.
- Click Browse and then locate the USB driver folder. For example, the Google USB Driver is located in
android_sdkextrasgoogleusb_driver
. - Click Next to install the driver.
Windows 8.1
To install the Android USB driver on Windows 8.1 for the first time, do the following:
- Connect your Android device to your computer's USB port.
- Access search, as follows: Touch screen: On your computer, swipe in from the right edge of the screen and tap Search.Using a mouse: Point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search.
- In the search box, type into and then click Device Manager.
- Double-click the device category, and then double-click the device you want.
- Click the Driver tab, click Update Driver, and follow the instructions.
Windows 7
To install the Android USB driver on Windows 7 for the first time, do the following:
- Connect your Android device to your computer's USB port.
- Right-click on Computer from your desktop or Windows Explorer, and select Manage.
- Select Devices in the left pane.
- Locate and expand Other device in the right pane.
- Right-click the device name (such as Nexus S) and select Update Driver Software. This will launch the Hardware Update Wizard.
- Select Browse my computer for driver software and click Next.
- Click Browse and locate the USB driver folder. (The Google USBDriver is located in
android_sdkextrasgoogleusb_driver
.) - Click Next to install the driver.
Or, to upgrade an existing Android USB driver on Windows 7 and higher with the newdriver:
- Connect your Android device to your computer's USB port.
- Right-click on Computer from your desktop or Windows Explorer, and select Manage.
- Select Device Manager in the left pane of the Computer Management window.
- Locate and expand Android Phone in the right pane.
- Right-click on Android Composite ADB Interface and select Update Driver. This will launch the Hardware Update Wizard.
- Select Install from a list or specific location and click Next.
- Select Search for the best driver in these locations; uncheckSearch removable media; and check Include this location in thesearch.
- Click Browse and locate the USB driver folder. (The Google USBDriver is located in
android_sdkextrasgoogleusb_driver
.) - Click Next to upgrade the driver.
Get OEM drivers
OEM | Driver URL |
---|---|
Acer | http://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/ |
alcatel one touch | http://www.alcatelonetouch.com/global-en/support/ |
Asus | http://support.asus.com/download/ |
Blackberry | https://swdownloads.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=4EE0932F46276313B51570F46266A608 |
Dell | http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml |
Fujitsu | http://www.fmworld.net/product/phone/sp/android/develop/ |
HTC | http://www.htc.com/support |
Huawei | http://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/index.htm |
Intel | http://www.intel.com/software/android |
Kyocera | http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/support/phone_drivers.htm |
Lenovo | http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/GlobalProductSelector |
LGE | http://www.lg.com/us/support/software-firmware |
Motorola | https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/88481/ |
MTK | http://online.mediatek.com/Public%20Documents/MTK_Android_USB_Driver.zip (ZIP download) |
Samsung | http://developer.samsung.com/galaxy/others/android-usb-driver-for-windows |
Sharp | http://k-tai.sharp.co.jp/support/ |
Sony Mobile Communications | http://developer.sonymobile.com/downloads/drivers/ |
Toshiba | http://support.toshiba.com/sscontent?docId=4001814 |
Xiaomi | http://www.xiaomi.com/c/driver/index.html |
ZTE | http://support.zte.com.cn/support/news/NewsDetail.aspx?newsId=1000442 |
If you don't see a link for the manufacturer of your device here, go to the support section of the manufacturer's website and search for USB driver downloads for your device.