If you are working with USBIPD-WSL (USB over IP for Windows Subsystem for Linux), you have likely encountered the frustrating yellow warning:
"The service is currently not running. A reboot should fix that."
This message typically appears when you attempt to list (usbipd list) or attach (usbipd attach) a USB device from a PowerShell terminal. While the error message suggests a simple reboot, simply restarting your computer every time you need to plug in a USB device is an inefficient workflow.
In this guide, we will break down exactly why this service fails to start, how to fix it without a reboot, and how to prevent it from happening in the future.
If you’ve tried all fixes and the warning still appears, work through this checklist:
As a last resort, you can run the service manually in debug mode to see the exact error: If you are working with USBIPD-WSL (USB over
usbipd --debug
This runs the service in the foreground and prints detailed logs. If it starts successfully here but not as a system service, the issue is likely permission or SID-related.
Yes. It consumes negligible resources and only activates when you use usbipd commands.
If you’ve been using USB/IP on Windows (for example, to share USB devices between WSL2 and the host using usbipd-win) and you see the warning:
"usbipd warning: the service is currently not running — a reboot should fix that"
this post explains what that message means, why it appears, and how to fix it reliably — without just rebooting and hoping for the best. "The service is currently not running
Instead of rebooting, you can manually start the service:
net start usbipd
Or via PowerShell as admin:
Start-Service usbipd
You can also check its status with:
Get-Service usbipd
Windows Fast Startup (a hybrid hibernation feature) can prevent services from starting correctly after a shutdown. When Fast Startup is enabled, a "shutdown" does not fully reload the kernel or services.
Disable Fast Startup:
After this, reboot once more and test usbipd wsl list.
Once you have the service working, follow these best practices to avoid the warning in the future:
| Practice | Why It Helps |
|----------|---------------|
| Set startup to Automatic (Delayed) | Gives other critical services time to start first, reducing conflicts. |
| Avoid frequent sleep/hibernate | USB stacks can become corrupted; prefer shutdown or full restart. |
| Run usbipd list only as Admin | Non-admin requests may fail but can trigger service instability. |
| Update regularly | winget upgrade usbipd ensures you have stability and security fixes. |
| Unbind unused devices | Leaving many devices bound consumes kernel resources. Run usbipd unbind --all before disconnecting. |
| Monitor with PowerShell | Create a startup script to check service status: if ((Get-Service usbipd).Status -ne 'Running') Start-Service usbipd |
Get-Service usbipd
Look for Status: If it says Stopped, use the command above. If it says Starting or Stopping, wait a few seconds and retry.