How to find the hardware ID of a device in Windows

DeviceInBox editorial team · Last updated September 17, 2026

When Windows can't find a driver, Device Manager lists the device under a generic name such as "Unknown device", "PCI Device" or "Base System Device". That name tells you nothing about what to download. The hardware ID does: it is a short code that every device reports to Windows, and it identifies both the chip maker and the exact chip. We use it to organize the whole DeviceInBox catalog, so once you have the ID, finding the driver usually takes a few seconds.

Device Manager with the context menu of an unknown device open on Properties — Everything starts with Properties on the device that has the yellow mark.

Finding the ID in Device Manager

This works the same way in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Press Win+X and choose Device Manager. You can also run devmgmt.msc.
Find the device. Devices without a driver usually sit under "Other devices" and have a yellow exclamation mark.
Right-click it, choose Properties and open the Details tab.
In the Property list, select "Hardware Ids".
Right-click the first line and choose Copy. The first line is the most specific one; the lines below it are shorter versions of the same ID.

For a Realtek network card the list looks like this:

PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&SUBSYS_86771043&REV_15
PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&SUBSYS_86771043
PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&CC_020000
PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&CC_0200

Details tab of a device showing Hardware Ids with the first line selected — Hardware Ids is the property to copy, not Compatible Ids.

Listing every device with a problem

After a clean Windows install there are often several unknown devices at once. Instead of opening them one by one, you can list them in PowerShell:

Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly | Where-Object Status -ne 'OK' | Format-Table Status, Class, FriendlyName, InstanceId -AutoSize

The InstanceId column contains the hardware ID before the last backslash, for example PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A123&SUBSYS_.... To see all IDs of a single device, paste its InstanceId into this command:

(Get-PnpDeviceProperty -InstanceId 'PASTE_INSTANCE_ID' -KeyName DEVPKEY_Device_HardwareIds).Data

Recent builds of Windows 10 and Windows 11 can do the same from a regular Command Prompt:

pnputil /enum-devices /problem

PowerShell listing every device with an error and its instance ID — One command lists every problem device with its ID.

What the parts of the ID mean

An ID starts with the bus the device is connected to, followed by codes joined with an ampersand.

Part	What it means	Example
`PCI\`	A device on the PCI or PCI Express bus: network and Wi-Fi cards, chipset functions, card readers, graphics	PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A123
`VEN_xxxx`	Vendor ID of the chip maker (four hex digits)	8086 is Intel
`DEV_xxxx`	Device ID, the chip model	A123 is an Intel SMBus controller
`SUBSYS_xxxxxxxx`	Subsystem ID. The last four digits identify the laptop or motherboard maker	86771043, where 1043 is ASUS
`REV_xx`	Chip revision	REV_15
`USB\VID_xxxx&PID_xxxx`	A USB device: vendor ID and product ID	USB\VID_1A86&PID_7523
`HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_...`	An audio codec on the High Definition Audio bus	HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0269
`ACPI\...`	A device described by the motherboard firmware, such as buttons, sensors or power management	ACPI\INT33D2

For finding a driver, the part that matters is VEN plus DEV (or VID plus PID). A driver written for a chip normally works whatever the SUBSYS value is, although laptop makers sometimes publish their own adjusted versions.

USB hardware ID split into vendor ID, product ID and revision — USB devices use VID and PID where PCI uses VEN and DEV.

Vendor codes you will see most often

PCI VEN	Maker	USB VID	Maker
8086	Intel	8087	Intel (Bluetooth, USB hubs)
1022	AMD (chipset)	0BDA	Realtek
1002	AMD/ATI (graphics)	1A86	WCH (CH340, CH341)
10DE	NVIDIA	10C4	Silicon Labs (CP210x)
10EC	Realtek	067B	Prolific (PL2303)
14E4	Broadcom	0403	FTDI
168C	Qualcomm Atheros	046D	Logitech
14C3	MediaTek	0E8D	MediaTek
1217	O2 Micro / BayHub	05E3	Genesys Logic
1B21	ASMedia	04E8	Samsung

Searching our catalog by ID

Paste the ID into the search box below. You don't need to trim it: the search picks out the VEN/DEV or VID/PID part and opens the page for that device, with every driver we have for it and the newest one at the top.

If we don't have the device yet, check Windows Update first: Settings, Windows Update, Advanced options, Optional updates, Driver updates. For laptops, the support page for your exact model on the manufacturer's site is the next place to look.