Hardware ID missing on Galaxy S3 after Windows update A few days ago I accepted Windows Update's Samsung drivers for Galaxy S3 running rooted Jelly Bean. It worked fine as USB MTP device until then.

Now, every time I connect the USB cable I get the error "Hardware ID missing. Contact manufacturer..." and I can't see my device's file system.

Switching to PTP or enabling Debug doesn't work.

How to fix it?
Make sure your device is connected. Open Device Manager. In USB Devices, find a SAMSUNG composite device (can't capture a screenshot because it goes away).

Right click, choose Uninstall and make sure to check "get rid of that sheet of driver software"... Well... I mean "delete driver software too".

Disconnect and reconnect USB, or clik Detect Devices button



Windows detects the phone and installs the plain old MTP driver.

Optional step: report to Samsung

Optional step 2: upvote :)