Chiming in here – I have the same or a very similar issue. This has been ongoing for a while and I’ve just been dealing with using different ports. I finally got around to trying to pinpoint the issue. It seems to be with USB3 devices – below are my findings.
System specs:
- Batch 1
- i7-1165G7.
- BIOS version 3.07
- Both Windows 10 and Fedora 35/36 Beta
There’s something funky going on with my left top/bottom ports, with the left top port affected the most. The right top/bottom ports seem to work perfectly.
USB3 Devices
With a Sandisk Extreme 64GB USB 3.0 drive → Framework USB-A expansion card:
- Does not work in either of the left slots (top/bottom), unless doing the insert halfway trick.
- Works in either of the right slots (top/bottom).
With a Plugable USB 3.1 Gen 2 NVME SSD enclosure [1] → USB-C to USB-A cable (USB 3.0) → Framework USB-A expansion card:
- Does not work in the the left top slot, unless doing the insert halfway trick.
- Works in all other slots.
With a Plugable USB 3.1 Gen 2 NVME SSD enclosure [1] → USB-C to USB-C cable (USB 3.0) → Framework USB-C expansion card or direct to laptop without card:
- Does not work in top left slot, even with all other slots empty. And strangely, when music is playing, I can hear slight static/noise/interference when it’s plugged in. Right when I unplug it, the interference goes away. Can’t really do halfway insert trick with USB-C.
- Works in all other slots without any static/noise/interference.
[1]
USB2 Devices
With a more-than-a-decade-old Sandisk Cruzer Blade 4GB USB 2.0 → Framework USB-A expansion card:
- Works in all slots.
With a Plugable USB 3.1 Gen 2 NVME SSD enclosure [1] → USB-C to USB-C cable (USB 2.0) → Framework USB-C expansion card or direct to laptop without card:
- Works in all slots without any static/noise/interference.
Connecting any of the above USB devices → USB-C to USB-A (2.0) dongle [2]:
- Works in all slots.
[2]
Dongle image/details
I have two separate ones that came with different generation Pixel phones, they look like this:
So it seems like:
- USB 3.0+ devices don’t work/have issues in my left top/bottom ports
- USB 2.0 devices seem to work in all ports
According to this post: USB Controllers - #4 by Kieran_Levin
USB3 signals all ports → USB controller 1
USB2 signals all ports → USB controller 2
Maybe there’s something up with that USB controller 1? since there are issues with USB3 but not USB2.
Monitor issues
My initial issue with more cluing details and led me to try to debug this:
I connect my Framework laptop to a Dell U3421WE via a single USB-C to USB-C cable. This provides video over DisplayPort Alt, audio, ethernet, 90W power delivery, and some devices connected to the monitor’s built-in USB hub.
When I connect with a USB3 USB-C to USB-C cable to the left top port (with a USB-C expansion card or direct, doesn’t matter), with nothing connected to the left bottom slot, it works.
However, if the left bottom port is occupied with anything (USB3 or USB2) other than just a Framework USB-C expansion card, such as:
- Framework USB-A expansion card
- Framework HDMI expansion card
- Directly connecting a USB-C storage device
- USB 2.0 USB-C to USB-A dongle [2]
Upon plugging the top left port into my monitor via USB-C to USB-C, the monitor will repeatedly connect/disconnect until it either connects with no video (audio works) or an incorrect-lower-than-native resolution. Rarely, it works correctly and usually after a ton of disconnect/reconnects.
All the other ports (left bottom, right top, right bottom) work correctly, no matter what’s connected to the other ports.
Error messages
In Linux, sometimes I get these error messages:
Linux errors
kernel: usb usb2-port4: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
kernel: usb usb2-port4: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
kernel: usb usb2-port4: attempt power cycle
kernel: usb usb2-port4: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
In Windows, this error message:
It seems like with the above errors, the USB device/port repeatedly connects/disconnects.
The issues happens with the same results in both Linux and Windows, which leads me to believe that this is either a hardware or firmware issue.
I’ve re-adjusted the EMI stickers as well without any improvements/success.
BIOS is on the latest (3.07), so the unfortunately USB fixes from 3.06 didn’t seem to apply here. (I can’t seem to find that post, it’s somewhere in this forum).
Related:
Seems like @Matt_Clark got a replacement motherboard and hasn’t had any issues since.
I’m going to contact support and will update here. Ping me if I forget!