Recommendation for a USB4/Thunderbolt 4 SSD enclosure for the latest AMD Framework 13

Framework Laptop 13
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I am having a really hard time finding a USB4/Thunderbolt 4 enclosure for a Gen 4 NVMe SSD so I can backup/image/clone Windows and Linux on my Framework 13 with the new AMD AI CPU to Clonezilla.

Yes. I used the rear ports with USB C expansion cards on both laptops.

I have 2 older Thunderbolt 3 enclosures that will not work with as well.

I just bought and returned an Acasis TBU 401 and an Acasis TBU405 Air. They were both paired with a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro NVMe. Neither worked reliably. I was able to see and format the drive once on the Framework 16. Neither one would show up when booted to a Clonezilla live iso.

Has anyone one had any success with any other brands? Or am I stuck with using a 20Gbps USB-C device for backups?

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There is a bug going on that PCI thunderbolt devices don’t enumerate properly. It’s waiting for a patch to land in Linus’ tree.

Run lspci and see if they show up.

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I have the following working
UGREEN M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure,… UGREEN 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure, TB4 NVMe Enclosure with Cooling Fan, Aluminum M.2 Enclosure Support USB4 , UASP & TRIM, SSD Enclosure Compatible MacBook M1 M2 M3 M4 Pro/Max, Up to 3700MB/s : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

There are some things to note:

  1. If the nvme needs more that 7.5W, make sure it is the only device plugged in that does. The FW laptop can only supply 15W to one port at a time.
  2. I had to replace the USB cable that came with it with a better cable otherwise I saw various connection problems like you are seeing.
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@James3 would you share the “better cable” that you found to work? I have been able to get that enclosure to work on the USB 3.1 ports of the Framework 13 (2025) model but not the USB 4 ports. This is using the cables that came with the enclosure, Inland 8TB NVME, and Fedora 42 (KDE).

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I got this 0.5m cable, but it is not on sale anymore.

ConnBull Thunderbolt 4 Cable 0.5m… ConnBull Thunderbolt 4 Cable 40Gbps 1m High Speed USB C Support 8K@60Hz/ 4K@120Hz Display/ 100W Charging Compatible with Apple MacBook, Docking Station, Hub, SSD : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

I choose it because it said usb 4 /thunderbolt 4 on it and 40Gbps.

Note that they have a 1m cable, but not a 0.5m cable.

Choose the shortest cable you can.

Also note, there is a bios setting that affects it also.

It’s called “measure usb4” that looks like a secure boot setting, but it disables usb4/thunderbolt booting.

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So your NVMe can be removed from its case to be put inside a Framework laptop, connected to a Raspberry Pi 5 or anything else etc. to boot from right?

I am getting low on storage, but I don’t want to buy yet another Samsung T7 SSD as those are not supposed to be opened and you will woid your warranty by doing so: I want a storage device that is flexible and can be used for my needs (archive storage space or main storage space from which OS boots from as well).

Do you have any suggestions (for a case+NVMe combo)? Here in the UK I’ve been paying about £100 per terabyte, so I’ll be looking for something around that price range.