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(Fixed): USB Transfer Speed Slow On Windows 10 | Speed Up USB Speed (2023)

Mansi Vijay
Published 2020-12-05

USB Drives have become ubiquitous as they’re the most convenient way to transfer bulk amounts of data quickly & easily. Almost every laptop, desktop, tablet & TV has got a USB port, which makes plugging and using the USB drives a hassle-free process. But in case your USB flash drive has a super-slow read and write speed, you might need to look for different ways to speed up the USB speed significantly.

So, Why Does USB Transfer Speed Fluctuate?

The overall transfer speed majorly depends on three factors:

The fluctuation in USB transfer speed can happen due to multiple reasons; the most common one includes: number of processes, apps, or services (running in the background) trying to access the hard disk simultaneously, data is transferring. Another reason could be if the hard disk buffer (cache) tries to manage the speed to match the motherboard’s other hardware.

What Is A Good USB Transfer Speed?

20 MB per second is an ideal USB transfer speed. If you face slow speed issues, then it’s high time you try the following workarounds on Windows 10.

How Can I Easily Fix “USB Transfer Speed Slow On Windows 10 Issue”?

Here are different methods that can help increase the speed of USB transfers:
Workarounds (2020) To Resolve Slow USB Transfer Speeds 
METHOD 1- Update USB Drivers  Follow the instructions below to update the faulty USB and chipset drivers on Windows 10.
METHOD 2- Enable USB 3.0 Port  Also known as SuperSpeed USB. If you want to enjoy high speed via USB transfer, enable the ports on your device.
METHOD 3- Alter The Data Transfer Policy To optimize the overall performance of a USB flash drive, you need to enable the Write caching. Learn how to do that?
METHOD 4- Convert FAT32 To NTFS Follow the step by step process to convert the file system without putting much effort easily.
METHOD 5- Format USB  If you have the USB Drive NTFS ready, execute the following steps to directly format the USB Flash Drive to gain faster transfer speeds.

METHOD 1- Update USB Drivers

If you are working with a laptop, the USB port you are using is usually connected to the Chipset. Therefore, you need to ensure both the USB Driver & Chipset Driver are up-to-date.

Since updating drivers manually can be a time-consuming process and, if done incorrectly, can create many system instability issues.

Follow the instructions below to update the faulty USB and chipset drivers on Windows 10 automatically.

(With the free utility, you can update 2 drivers each day.)

  • Click on Start Scan now button and let the software locate and list drivers that need immediate attention.
  • Once the list of faulty, old, corrupted, damaged & missing drivers appears, you can either look for USB device driver & chipset driver and hit the Update button next to them OR click the Update All button, to repair all the faulty drivers at once.

(With the Registered version, you can update an unlimited number of drivers in one-go.)

METHOD 2- Enable USB 3.0 Port

USB 3.0, aka SuperSpeed USB. Once you enable this port, you can enjoy the finest transfer speed possible. Since it is the latest and most enhanced port, you need to check whether the option is turned on or not.

If you want to enjoy high speed via USB transfer, enable the USB 3.0 port on your device.

  • Enter the BIOS settings.
  • Use the Arrow keys to navigate to the Advanced tab.
  • Once opened, you need to use the arrow keys again to choose the option USB configuration. Hit the Enter button.
  • Check if the option USB 3.0 is disabled or enabled.
  • If it is disabled by any chance, you need to enable it from the options window and click the Enter button.
  • Click the F10 button to save the changes and exit the BIOS Settings.

Must-Read: How To Disable & Enable USB Ports On Windows 10?

METHOD 3- Alter The Data Transfer Policy

By default, Windows uses the Quick Removal data transfer policy for USB Flash drives. The setting can certainly be responsible for disabling the write caching on your device. So, it is better to select the policy to Better Performance to enjoy increased USB transfer speeds.

To optimize the overall performance of a USB flash drive, you need to enable the Write caching. Learn how to do that?

  • Head toward the Device Manager. (Right-click on the Windows key & choose the Device Manager option)
  • Locate the Disk drives category and expand it to go to USB Drive.
  • Navigate to its Policies tab and choose the option Better Performance.

METHOD 4- Convert FAT32 To NTFS

File system may undoubtedly influence USB drive performance. By default, the USB Drive comes selected with the FAT32 file system. But you can follow the step by step process to easily convert the file system into NTFS without putting many efforts. This will make your work faster when it comes to USB File Transfers on Windows 10.

Note: The method would erase all the files on your device. Hence, it is essential to back up your files using a cloud storage service like Right Backup. 

  • Once you’ve successfully backed up all your data.
  • Launch Command Prompt and Run as administrator.
  • Type the command line: convert g: /fs: NTFS (Here g is your USB drive letter).
  • Hit the Enter button to complete the process of conversion.

METHOD 5- Format USB

If you have the USB Drive NTFS ready, execute the following steps to directly format the USB Flash Drive to gain faster transfer speeds.

Note: The method would erase all the files on your device. Hence, it is essential to back up your files using a cloud storage service like Right Backup. 

  • Simply connect your USB to your computer.
  • Navigate to ‘This PC’
  • Find the attached USB and right-click on it to choose the Format option.
  • You need to set the file system to NTFS and click on the Start option.
  • Hit the OK button once the USB formatting process gets completed.

 

BONUS TIP – Speed Up USB Transfer By Using Copy Utility Software

If none of the aforementioned tips & tricks helped you resolve the “USB transfer speed fluctuation issue.” You can consider using a third-party file copy utility software that can increase the USB transfer speed phenomenally. The market has lots of options to consider; however, the best ones are listed right here! You can check out multiple file copy utilities with their feature set and benefits.

Hopefully, this set of workarounds help you increase the speed of USB transfers on Windows 10. So, you can efficiently manage your workflow. If you know or have applied more such tricks to speed up the USB transfer speeds, let us know in the comments section below!

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