Can't boot off USB Type A port in Slot 4

Framework Laptop 13
1

So I received my laptop this afternoon and had it assembled in 25 minutes. I put the USB-A port in slot 4 because it was noted as one of the two slots that wouldn’t result in high power consumption on Ryzen. I built the USB key based on the instructions about using Rufus, plugged it into the USB-A port, powered on the laptop and it wasn’t detected…

I grabbed a USB-A to USB-C adapter I happened to have handy, plugged it into the USB-C port in Slot 1, rebooted and it was detected immediately.

Did I miss something? Why can’t you boot off a Type A port?

2

This can happen sometimes. I’ve never seen anyone find out the root cause, but I’ve personally had issues where boot drives wouldn’t show up connected to the USB-A Expansion card directly, but would show up if I plugged it into a USB-A hub that was connected to the expansion card. I’ve also had it work by plugging the usb drive into the card before plugging the card into the laptop, and connecting the two at the same time.

3

Thanks for the reply, I apologize for taking so long to respond.

I’ve had issues with USB 3, my last laptop was a Lenovo and things like USB-to-Serial adapters and Arduinos refused to work off the USB 3 port but worked immediately off the USB 2 port.

That doesn’t really explain why the USB Type C would work though.

I really haven’t played around with the issue further, I was just curious if anyone else had encountered issues and if that’s something for folks to be aware of.

4

I’ve found my Framework’s USB ports to be a bit flaky when connecting as USB 3. Forcing a USB 2 connection is one way that I’ve had more stable connections (i.e. devices are recognized, connect, and stay connected). From my experimentation, I’ve noticed that some cables and adapters only support USB 2 speed. Maybe that’s the case with your USB-A to USB-C adapter?

Another explanation (at least for me) is that each port sometimes works as USB 3 and sometimes doesn’t. The only 2 solutions I’ve found to fix the stability problems are to force USB-2 connections or to use a powered USB-C hub. The hub itself sometimes only connects at USB 2 speeds, but whether it’s connected as USB 2 or USB 3, I find that the connections through it are always stable.

Edit: I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but I’ll mention it here as well. One way I’ve found to force USB-A to connect as USB 2 instead of 3 on the Framework is to insert the USB-A cable only about halfway into the port. Then wait for the device to be recognized. Then put the cable in all of the way. I’d be curious if this worked for you in your problematic USB-A port.