[RESPONDED] Quirky USB Port

[Matt_Hartley]

@brianshmrian

This is on a batch 3 Windows 10 Pro system.

This should be a ticket, if you haven’t done so already.

Support

[brianshmrian]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I guess I’ve mostly been posting event logs in the other 1 TB expansion card disconnect thread, though I’ve always had the suspicion that these two problems are related. These are the only sorts of Windows event log messages that seem relevant:

Log Name: System
Source: disk
Date: 3/12/2023 11:24:32 AM
Event ID: 157
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: WorkBrian
Description:
Disk 3 has been surprise removed.

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-USB-USBHUB3
Date: 3/13/2023 6:07:48 AM
Event ID: 196
Task Category: Surprise Removal
Level: Warning
Keywords: (1)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: WorkBrian
Description:
USB device draining system power when system is idle.

USB Device: VID: 0x13FE PID: 0x6500 REV: 0x110
Removal action failed: SkippedAsDisabledInSettingsPanel

Also when the a USB drive fails to appear in the list of drives after plugging it in, it will sometimes show up in the Device Manager as Unknown USB Device (Port Reset Failed) with the following device status:

Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)

A USB port reset request failed.

If anybody knows of any other messages or diagnostics that I should check for on Windows, let me know!

The disconnect problems happen with the 1 TB Framework expansion card as well as a Seagate 2 TB external drive and a Seagate 4 TB drive. I’ve only seen the quirky connect problems happen with the Seagate drives. I don’t know for sure that it’s a power thing. It’s just a theory trying to unify all of the mysterious behavior.

Oh yes, I also have a ticket going. I just thought I’d post here because I was excited to have found a sort-of grand unified theory behind the 1 TB expansion card disconnect and the Quirky USB port. Those following along know that I’ve been on a quest to unite these two problems into a single explanatory framework

[Matt_Hartley]

[quote=“brianshmrian, post:22, topic:9427”]
Oh yes, I also have a ticket going. I just thought I’d post here because I was excited to have found a sort-of grand unified theory behind the 1 TB expansion card disconnect and the Quirky USB port. [/quote]

Sounds good, appreciate that. Keep us posted how the ticket goes, it may be a bit as troubleshooting stuff like this is a bit of back and forth. Please do all things suggested (even if you don’t think it’s relevant), that way if is needs to be escalated, all the basic stuff is already done.

[Framework_user]

Ive had similar issues now that ive posted about twice, with malfunctioning USB ports. Even in the boot menu sometimes it wont find the USB devices. I noticed this very early on but just assumed this was an issue with the USB devices itself. Ill try what Brainshmrain did with resetting the mainboard state, but honestly ive been trying to resolve this for about half a year with no resolve.

Im using the 1135G7 on windows 10

[brianshmrian]

@Framework_user

Ill try what Brainshmrain did with resetting the mainboard state, but honestly ive been trying to resolve this for about half a year with no resolve.

I haven’t resolved the problem either. My best work around has been to use this powered USB-C hub. My devices connect and are stable when I plug them into the hub.

[Tom1]

Is your battery charge limit set below 100%? A couple of us have had random disconnects which go away by setting the battery charge limit to 100%: External display loses signal when charging via docking station

[brianshmrian]

@Tom1

Is your battery charge limit set below 100%?

Interesting. Yeah, it happens to me both at full 100% charge limit and 80% charge limit. I only recently turned on charge limiting.

[Libhero]

Hello @brianshmrian,

Thanks for pursuing this USB port problem to the logical conclusion. My USB A doesn’t recognize or display any brand of external memory sticks but I can feel it working when I plugged the memory stick in and felt the laptop.

Please see two attachments below. They are screenshots of error messages that came on my laptop screen immediately after I inserted the memory stick in the USB A. I hope these screenshots would help you figure out the real problem and way to fix it permanently.

I called framework support and asked if they had USB A port higher than what they currently offer. No, they said.

Screenshots of error message

Thank you

[brianshmrian]

@Libhero Yes this does seem like another sign that the Framework USB problems are power related (assuming your sticks work fine in another computer).

To review the evidence:

USB 2.x connections work fine. It’s the USB 3.x connections that have a problem. If I force a problematic device to connect via USB 2.x either by using a USB 2.x speed cable or by doing the halfway plugin trick, the problems go away.

(The halfway plugin trick doesn’t work for all USB-A devices, though, so the only way I know to guarantee a USB 2.x connection is to use a USB extender cable or dongle that’s only rated for USB 2.x speeds.)

If I use a powered USB-C hub, the problems go away. If I don’t power the powered USB-C hub, the problems come back.

Evidence of other people with the problem:

Connectivity problems with external drive when connecting over USB-C

Just did a quick experiment myself with a USB 2 type-c to type-c cable and everything actually behaved. Interesting. Shame USB 2.0 is so slow. This is kind of infuriating, because it feels like a fix is out there, and we got no idea where to look haha. I’m very sorry that your expansion card is disconnecting like that. Have you tried asking the FW support people?

Samsung External SSD not recognized

Thanks @brianshmrian. I did update the Bios from 3.02 to 3.17, however that did not fix the issue. That said someone made the comment about half-way plugging in the USB-A, tried that and it worked. How is that possible? Anyway glad it worked.

Unfortunately, this 1 TB drive disconnect megathread was closed before I figured out the USB 3 vs 2 angle so I wasn’t able to ask people to try it. I guess I could create a new thread that’s like “Hey everybody with framework storage expansion card disconnect problems, try forcing them to connect at USB 2 speeds.” And maybe even give a link to this cheap USB 2 speed dongle to test with. And a link to the powered hub for those who are willing to pay more for the test. The hub is useful, though, and even has a 1 Gbps ethernet port.

[Madison_Stratton]

I found this thread when looking for fixes for my buggy ports can I can report a similar issue. When I plugged any peripherals into my usb-A expansion slots they would work, turn off, then maybe the LEDs would turn back on but for example no input would be recognized from either the keyboard or the mouse. I tried rebooting but the devices wouldn’t even register on the device manager. I also tried all 4 of my ports and eventually none of them worked for USB-A peripherals. I should note, however, they always would work for a thumb drive.

I tried your idea of only plugging the usb in part of the way and that worked. Once they are recognized I can then get the mouse and keyboard to continue working for the rest of the session.

Let me know if you end up finding a better solution, but for now I did send a ticket to framework support before I found this thread.

[brianshmrian]

My current solution is to use a powered USB-C hub. Forcing USB 2 connections (via a USB 2 cable or the halfway plugin trick) continues to work, but I like having USB 3 speed for my external drives.

By the way, on Windows the best way to see whether your devices are connected as USB 2 or 3 is either to look in the “Bluetooth and other devices” system settings or for even more info run USBTreeView.