How to Fix No Device Detected in Corsair Utility Engine?

Corsair’s Utility Engine (also known as CUE) is a software which is primarily meant to control Corsair peripheral devices which are connected to your computer. These peripheral devices range from keyboards to mice and whatnot. It is also considered one of the best peripheral control software out there in the market.

Despite getting frequent updates, numerous users come across a problem where they see the message ‘No Device Detected’ in the software. This is a very recurring issue and usually occurs in two scenarios:

1. Your device is not connected to your computer, hence Corsair Utility Engine cannot detect it.
2. Your device is connected to your computer, is working as well but it is not detected by the Engine. Here, the main functionalities will be working (for example, the keyboard will be writing and the mouse will be working) but RGB control and advanced macros will not be accessible.

If you fit the first case, make sure that you plug your device into the computer for it to work. If you fit the latter, continue with the article where we troubleshoot your problem.

What causes ‘No Device Detected’ Error in Corsair Utility Engine?

After receiving several user reports, we conducted research and concluded that the error occurred due to several different reasons. Some of them are but not limited to:

Before you start with the solution, make sure that you are logged in as an administrator on your computer. Furthermore, you should also have an active internet connection.

Solution 1: Restarting Corsair Utility Engine

The very first step which we will perform in our troubleshooting will be where we will be restarting your Corsair Utility Engine’s application. Peripheral software often gets not responsive or fail to communicate with the hardware because of their technical nature and operation.

Here, simply restarting the Utility Engine will close the existing window, clear all the temporary data and initialize every again when you launch it again.

1. Close the Corsair Utility Engine. Now, press Windows + R, type “taskmgr” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Once in the task manager, search for the process of CUE (Corsair Utility Engine), right-click on it and select End Task.

   

3. Also, check your taskbar tray and see if any instance of the application is running. If it is, right-click on it and select
4. Now, launch the Engine again and check if the issue is resolved. Consider re-plugging your peripheral as well.

Solution 2: Changing USB Port

The next thing which we can do is changing the USB port where your peripheral is connected. Normally, Corsair Utility Engine fully supports 2.0 ports but in some cases, we came across cases where only 3.0 ports were detected by the Utility.

Also, it might be possible that the USB port in which you have connected your peripheral is not working properly. It might be detecting your keyboard with basic functionalities but might not be implementing further features. Here, we recommend changing the port in which the peripheral is connected. Also, try using the ports at the back of your PC tower if you were plugging in the front ones. Try out all combinations and see if any work for you and the Utility Engine detects your peripheral.

Solution 3: Installing the Latest Version of Software

Engineers of Corsair constantly roll out updates for Corsair Utility Engine over time either to implement new features or fix existing bugs. Same is the case with Windows itself. If you outdated Engine or Windows, there are chances that your peripheral might be connected properly but the software is not able to detect it. Here, in this solution, we will make sure that you have the latest version of Corsair and Windows and see if updating them solves the problem.

1. Navigate to Corsair’s official download website and check the latest version of the software available. If it is newer, download it to an accessible location.

   

2. Now, press Windows + R, type “appwiz.cpl” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
3. Search for existing iCUE software, right-click on it and select Uninstall.

   

4. After uninstalling the software, restart your computer. Now, right-click on the executable which you just downloaded and click Run as administrator. Let the software get installed. When it does, restart your computer again.
5. Now try launching Corsair Utility Engine and see if your peripheral gets connected.

Note: Before installing the new software make sure that you delete the following registry entry by navigating to the registry editor by pressing Windows + R, typing “regedit” and pressing Enter.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Corsair\Corsair Utility Engine

This will help in eradicating all the currently stored configurations.

If your peripheral still doesn’t get connected and detected by the utility, you can move on where we update your Windows to the latest version.

1. Press Windows + S, type “update” in the dialogue box and open Windows Update settings.

   

2. Now, click on Check for Updates. If you already have some update pending, make sure it gets installed.
3. Restart your computer after the update has finished. Check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 4: Check Hardware Compatibility

If your peripheral itself doesn’t support iCUE software, you will not be able to connect it in any way. We came across numerous users who thought that their peripheral supported RGB colors but instead, they only supported static or pre-defined colors.

Hence, you should check the box of your peripheral or note down its model and check Corsair’s official website for compatible devices or Corsair Forums for support of other devices. Check if you can locate your device. If you can’t and your device isn’t listed, it probably means that your peripheral doesn’t support iCUE and you will not be able to connect them both no matter what. You can change your hardware in this case.

Solution 5: Changing BIOS Switch

Another thing to try is changing the BIOS switch of your peripheral. This solution is normally only valid for keyboards. Corsair Keyboards have several BIOS switches on their back to change the functionality of the keyboard according to user’s preference. If the correct BIOS switch is not active, you will not be able to connect your peripheral to the Utility Engine whatsoever.

1. Launch Corsair Utility Engine and go to the screen where you are prompted with the error. Also, make sure that you have your peripheral connected in the correct USB port and its normal function is working.
2. Now, locate the BIOS switch as shown in the figure below and change it. Try connecting it again and see if the Utility detects the keyboard.

   

3. If it doesn’t get detected, you can change to some other BIOS mode. Keep tinkering until stumble upon the correct one.

If you do not have these switches on your keyboard, we can try another workaround which puts your keyboard into BIOS mode.

1. Hold and press the Windows key (top-right of the keyboard) and F1 simultaneously for around 3 seconds. You will be entering the BIOS mode.
2. Now, hold the same buttons for the same amount of time to exit the BIOS mode and then check if you can detect the keyboard in the utility.

Note: Another thing which you can try is disconnecting your peripheral. Then, press and hold the ESC key when plugging your peripheral in and see if the keyboard is detected properly. This is a hard reset of the device.

Solution 6: Creating New CUE Profile

Another rare but simple case which we came across was where the CUE profile of the user was corrupted and hence, the Utility Engine was not able to function properly. This is a very common problem as each individual has different CUE profiles and these might conflict with the software anytime.

1. Launch Corsair Utility Engine and navigate to Home. Now, click the plus icon to create a new profile.

   

2. After naming the new profile, press Enter to create it.
3. Now, click on the Devices connected and set them as Default (no color).

   

4. Save changes and exit. Restart the Engine and place this (or active it) on the topmost for most precedence.
5. Now, create a new profile where you set RGB colors for the peripherals. Now try switching between the two and see if the RGB control works properly without any issue.

Solution 7: Reinstalling Device Drivers

Another thing to try before we move on to contacting Corsair Support is checking if we have correct device drivers installed against your peripheral. Drivers are the main components which connect your device (hardware) to your operating system and other software (such as Corsair Utility Engine). If the drivers are somehow corrupt or not working, you will experience numerous problems including the one under discussion.

In this article, we will navigate to the device manager and uninstall the device and re-plug it. This will install the default drivers. If the default drivers don’t work, we will update them.

1. Press Windows + R, type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Once in the device manager, search for your device. It is usually listed underneath the Human Interface Device. Right-click on it and select Uninstall device.

   

3. Unplug your peripheral, wait for a couple of seconds and plug it back in. Now, right-click on any space and click Scan for hardware changes. Your device will be detected automatically. Check if the Utility Engine detects it.
4. If not, right-click on the hardware and select Update Driver. You can either automatically update drivers from here or navigate to the manufacturer’s website and download the drivers from there.
5. Restart your computer after the drivers are installed and check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 8: Contacting Support

If none of the above methods work, you can always contact Corsair’s official support and see what their take on the issue is. Usually, if you have your product under warranty, you will most probably get your device changed if it is indeed faulty. If it not faulty, they will guide you on what steps to take to solve the problem.

Navigate to Corsair’s official help website and select the category of iCUE. Now, navigate to the bottom and click on Contact Us. Create a ticket entering all your details along with your email address and submit. An official will get back to you soon.