PS5: Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected | Fixed

One of the common problems PS5 users encounter when using their external hard drive with their game console is an error with a message saying: “Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected. To use it as USB extended storage, you need to repair it.” Then it says: “Press the PS button to use the controller”. Once you press that button, you just exit that error message and the problem remains unresolved.

Day after day, more and more users get this error once they connect their external hard drive to their PS5. No matter how many times they try to disconnect and reconnect the external HDD, the same error occurs.

So, what causes that error, and how to fix it entirely? Here in this guide, you’ll learn everything you need in order to get rid of that annoying error message and get your PS5 external HDD working again flawlessly.

Causes of “Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected” Error

When you get this error message, it usually indicates that there is a hardware failure that prevents the external HDD from functioning properly on the PS5 system.

This hardware failure can either be in your PS5 itself or the external hard drive. You can’t really know until you run several tests before finding out the real cause of that error.

Can it be data corruption on the external HDD?
The answer is simply not. The error message: “Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected” doesn’t show up when some files on the external HDD are corrupted/damaged. It means the external hard drive itself has failed to function.

Main Reasons for that error

As stated earlier, the end reason for that error is a hardware failure, either in the external HDD or the PS5 console. But what has caused this failure to happen in the first place?

Well, there are various reasons for that, most commonly are:

• Power Surge—If the PS5 undergoes an intense power surge when you were playing on it, and the external HDD was connected to it, a hardware failure will occur. It will be either the USB port to which the external HDD is connected or the external HDD itself.
• Power shortage and electrical short—Just the same concept as the above, when the external hdd is connected to the PS5 and a sudden power shortage occurs or electrical short (especially when you wake up from rest mode), a hardware failure will take place.
• The external HDD cable is damaged and needs replacement. Be noted that a malfunctioning external HDD cable might not only cause the external HDD to fail or get damaged, but it can also damage the USB port to which it is connected, so be careful.

These are the most common reasons for the potential hardware failure that you might be having. Other reasons that may cause the “Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected” error message to appear are:

• The External HDD is defective and no longer usable
• PS5 system software is corrupted and must be reinstalled from scratch (i.e. clean and fresh install).
• The USB port to which the external HDD is connected is not functional, either because of dust and dirt inside it, or it’s just defective and no longer working.

So, these are the most common causes for that error. Let’s learn quickly how to fix it.

Fixing “Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected” Error

So, that is the most important part of this guide, which illustrates how to fix the “Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected” error.

Here are several instructions that lead you to successfully fix that error. Please follow them carefully.

Method #1

1. Turn off the PS5 and unplug it from the power source. Also, unplug any device connected to the PS5 through USB ports, and wait around 5 minutes.
2. Now, plug the PS5 back into the power source, and connect the external hard drive to a DIFFERENT USB port.
3. Turn on the PS5 and check whether this problem has been resolved or not.

Method #2

1. Connect the PS5 external HDD to a PC and verify it’s working or not. If it is NOT recognized on your PC, it means it’s defective and must be repaired. Otherwise, if it’s recognized without an issue, the problem might be in your PS5 console.
2. Connect a different USB storage device to your PS5 and check whether it recognizes it or not. If not, this proves that your PS5 system is corrupted and must be reinstalled from scratch.

Conclusion

Once you get an error message on your PS5 screen saying: “Something is wrong with the USB drive you connected” you should try to fix it as soon as possible, as it might indicate a serious hardware failure in your PS5 or the external HDD. If you delay in repairing it, you may end up with a serious failure in other hardware components in your PS5. So, don’t underestimate this error and get the help of an expert.

You are always welcome to comment below and ask us whatever you want regarding this issue and our team is more than happy to answer you.