How to Reset a USB Device from the Linux Terminal

This guide provides a step-by-step process for resetting a malfunctioning USB device via the Linux command line. Troubleshooting unresponsive or disconnected USB drives is simplified using these commands.

Step 1: Identifying Your USB Device

First, identify the USB device using the lsusb command. This lists all connected USB devices.

lsusb

The output will show a list; note the bus and device number (e.g., Bus 001 Device 004) of the target USB device.

Step 2: Unmounting the USB Drive

Before resetting, unmount the device if it's currently mounted. Use the df -h command to locate the mount point (usually something like /media/username/device_name).

df -h

Then, unmount using sudo umount, replacing /media/username/device_name with the actual mount point:

sudo umount /media/username/device_name

Step 3: Resetting the USB Device

Install the usbreset utility if it's not already present. The installation command varies by distribution:

# Debian, Ubuntu, Mint:
sudo apt install usbutils

# RHEL/CentOS/Fedora, Rocky/AlmaLinux:
sudo yum install usbutils

# Gentoo Linux:
sudo emerge -a sys-apps/usbutils

# Alpine Linux:
sudo apk add usbutils

# Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S usbutils

# OpenSUSE:
sudo zypper install usbutils

# FreeBSD:
sudo pkg install usbutils

After installation, reset the device using either the bus and device number or the device ID (from the lsusb output):

# Using bus and device number:
sudo usbreset /dev/bus/usb/001/004

# Using device ID:
sudo usbreset 090c:1000  

Step 4: Remounting the USB Device

After the reset, remount the device. If it doesn't remount automatically, use lsblk to find the device identifier (e.g., /dev/sdX1) and then remount:

lsblk
sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /media/username/device_name

Verify the reset by running lsusb again. The device should reappear in the list.

Conclusion: This CLI method offers a simple and efficient way to troubleshoot and restore functionality to your USB devices in Linux. Remember to replace placeholders with your specific device information.

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