Arch Linux

vivu01

Member

Registered: 2016-07-16

Posts: 4

USB 3 Port Problems

Hi,
For some time now, I have this problem with my USB 3 (type A) port that it is unable to connect to USB 3 devices. I am able to connect USB 2 devices like a mouse or USB2.0 Flash drive, but my USB3.0 WD external HDD does not work. The LED on the drive is on and I can feel it vibrate i.e. power is delivered but lsblk does not show the drive. I had the drive working with the port previously (maybe before kernel 4.18, currently I am in 4.18.16 latest). dmesg does not show anything when I connect or disconnect the HDD. I have one USB3 Type A port and two USB Type-C ports. When I connect to the USB TypeC port using a dongle everything works as it should.

I do not have tlp or powertop installed.

Thank you.

vivu01

Member

Registered: 2016-07-16

Posts: 4

Re: USB 3 Port Problems

uname -a:

Linux vivek-x360 4.18.16-arch1-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Sat Oct 20 22:06:45 UTC 2018 x86_64 GNU/Linux

lsusb:

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 8087:0a2b Intel Corp.
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05c8:0815 Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co., Ltd (Foxlink)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Lone_Wolf

Administrator

From: Netherlands, Europe

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 15,111

Re: USB 3 Port Problems

Does it work with linux-lts (can coexist with normal kernel) ?

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vivu01

Member

Registered: 2016-07-16

Posts: 4

Re: USB 3 Port Problems

Thanks for your reply.

I remember it working correctly at least in the 4.17 series of kernels (maybe even in the first few of 4.18). I am reluctant to try the older versions as I have sound issues (my laptop being an HP Spectre x360 2018 model).

nicoulaj

Member

From: France

Registered: 2011-10-10

Posts: 34

Re: USB 3 Port Problems

As Lone_Wolf said, you can have both linux-lts and linux kernels installed. This will only add an entry in your bootloader.

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fphillips

Member

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2009-01-24

Posts: 202

Re: USB 3 Port Problems

It doesn't sound like a bent pin in the port (I would expect the drive to still connect as usb2, since usb2 devices work). The cable seems to be fine.

It sounds like lack of power - you can get spinup/led but a varying degree of detection. Why an older kernel worked I don't know.
It doesn't look like lsusb is detecting it? Does lsusb only show it on the type C port? I would expect to see Asmedia or Via or something...
Is the external wall-powered or bus-powered?

Let's see the output of lsusb -v | grep 'Bus\|MaxPower'. You can cut down the output with -s bus#:device#.

I had a problem last night with a 2TB external SSD - it would enumerate sdb, but called it "VirtualDisk" and couldn't read the capacity, or find the partition. A 250GB SSD in the same enclosure/port was fine. It turned out to be lack of power. A higher power port or powered hub helped.

Last edited by fphillips (2018-11-04 13:49:16)

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,648

Re: USB 3 Port Problems

USB 3 has five extra pins on the back of the connector in addition to the four that are art of the USB 3 standard, but you are correct -- one would expect it to fall back to USB 2.
When you use the USB-C dongle, are you using the same USB 3 cable with your drive?

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