Date: October 2023 (Updated Analysis)
Target Device: USB Mass Storage / Multi-Card Reader
Key Identifiers: Vendor ID 058F (Alcor Micro), Product ID 3613, Firmware Version FA00, Hardware Revision F/W 3613
If you have arrived at this article, you are likely staring at a device manager screen showing the cryptic string "Alcor Micro Unknown FA00 F/W 3613" (sometimes labelled as "Unknown Device" or with a yellow exclamation mark). You have been searching for the "updated" version of drivers or firmware, or perhaps you just bought a cheap USB 3.0 card reader that refuses to work.
This article covers everything you need to know about this specific chipset: what it is, why it fails, the "updated" firmware mystery, how to fix common errors, and where to find legitimate drivers in 2024-2025.
If you have an old Alcor driver (e.g., AU6472_Win7_x64.exe), you can manually edit the *.inf file.
Because the firmware is 3613, the controller is likely password-locked in production. alcor micro unknown fa00 f w 3613 updated
Before diving into software fixes, check these symptoms. The "Alcor Micro Unknown FA00" appears in several failure states:
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix Difficulty | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Device Manager shows "Unknown Device" only | Missing INF driver or corrupted USB descriptors. | Easy to Medium | | Shows "Alcor Micro..." but with a yellow exclamation | Driver loaded but failed to start (Code 10) — often firmware hang. | Medium | | Recognizes SD card but fails to format | Bad firmware handshake; the device times out. | Medium to Hard | | Device disconnects/reconnects constantly | Power management issue or failing capacitor on the reader board. | Hardware | | No response at all; "Device Descriptor Request Failed" | Dead chip or shorted pins in the card slot. | Hardware (Replace reader) |
If you have a soldered-in laptop card reader exhibiting the "unknown device," it is almost certainly a driver/firmware corruption, not a dead chip. Laptop OEMs (Dell, HP, Lenovo) often use these Alcor chips for SD card slots.
Even with the correct tools, you may hit snags. Here is the updated troubleshooting for 2025: Time: 30 seconds to 3 minutes
| Error Message | Meaning | Solution | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | "Read Flash ID Fail" | The NAND chip is dead or disconnected. | Physical repair required (reballing). Not DIY. | | "Bad Block over setting" | Too many bad sectors. | In Setup, increase the "Bad Block Limit" to 100. If it still fails, the drive is e-waste. | | "Firmware 3613 not support" | Your AlcorMP version is too old. | Find a package specifically labeled "Updated for AU699X/FA00". | | "Device removed during process" | USB power saving. | Disable "USB Selective Suspend" in Windows Power Options. |
Let's address the elephant in the room: "Should I update the firmware?"
Short answer: No, unless you have a USB programmer and a backup.
The "FA00 F/W 3613" is the firmware version. There is no publicly available "updated" firmware file for the 3613 revision circulating on legitimate sites. The firmware is stored on a small SPI flash inside the Alcor chip (or masked onto the die). Tools like AlcorMP (for USB flash drives) or AU637X MPTool (for card readers) exist, but they are: Date: October 2023 (Updated Analysis) Target Device: USB
Verdict: Do not search for an "updated firmware" file for FA00 3613. You will not find a safe one. Instead, search for an "updated driver" for the USB ID 058F:3613.
Let's break down the device identification string:
The 058F:3613 USB ID is infamous. Unlike standard webcams or keyboards, Alcor readers do not have a unified driver. Windows 10 and 11 often misidentify this chip or refuse to load a driver because the default USBSTOR.SYS (Microsoft’s generic storage driver) fails the validation check against the chip's response.