[SOLVED] USB4/TB device almost immediately disconnects itself

Framework Laptop 16 Linux
1

Which Linux distro are you using?

Arch

Which release version?

Last full update 2026-09-11

Which kernel are you using?

7.2.4-arch1-2

Which BIOS version are you using?

4.5

Which Framework Laptop 16 model are you using? (AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series)

7840HS + 7700S

I was having an issue where an external, USB4/TB NVMe enclosure initially conencts via Thunderbolt, then disconnects, and reconnects via USB 3.1 (10 Gbps). If you, like me, don’t use a DE with a built-in authentication mechanism for USB4/TB devices, then you may run into this problem as well, which you’ll see in journalctl. To resolve this, you can try the following:

echo 1 | tee /sys/bus/thunderbolt/devices/<BUSID>/authorized

the <BUSID> will depend on which port you used, but should be 1-2 if you use port 1. As long as you do this quickly, the device should appear as a USB4/TB device instead of using the uas driver with USB 3.1.

One thing I am still not sure of, though, is if the TB security settings are adjustable in the BIOS. I would prefer to use secure mode so I can set up a challenge/response key so the device is automatically authorized

EDIT: The bolt package provides a mechanism to automatically authenticate specified devices. Now the next challenge is how to shut down the drive to unplug it…

2

Bad connections for usb4/thunderbolt devices is, in my experience, caused by low quality cables.
I think i went through 4 bad cables from various amazon suppliers before one worked.

3

The connection isn’t bad, though. This is entirely due to TB authorization (or, initially, lack thereof). Now, with bootd/bootctl, the device is immediately detected as a TB/USB4 device, and behaves as such. The enclosure actually came with a (short) USB4 cable, which may not be the highest quality, but I trust it would behave properly since failures would result in returns of the enclosure