Same (magnetic) HD with same cable and same OS works on a Lenovo.
Does the USB A not deliver enough energy?
That would be a bummer.
If that’s the case, I need to buy a powering USB hub, I guess?
Thanks in advance!
I also have trouble with external drives not being detected and have to use the “half plug in method”. To do this you partially inset the USB (so only USB 2.0 pins get connected) to get the drive spinning then fully insert. Credit to @brianshmrian [IN TICKET] USB A sticks [and at times User Post USB drive] not mounting/showing up?
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USB 3.0 SS requires 900mA/4.5W.
On a side note I have a sabrent SATA to USB-A adapter ( Amazon.com: SABRENT USB 3.0 (USB-A) to 2.5" SATA Adapter Cable for SSD & Laptop HDD, UASP Support, 5Gbps, USB-Powered (No External Power), Compatible with SATA I/II/III Drives (EC-SSHD) : Electronics ) and it works without issues, so I doubt the problem is with power.
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Found a powered USB hub somewhere in the attic, but unfortunately, it does not help. External disk is not recognized.
Tried same thing again and again — and now it does work. Backup can start!
I would not trust that backup if it is so difficult to even get the disk to be recognized 
Grab a used Thunderbolt 3 dock for cheap (e.g. Lenovo’s 40AC). That should do the trick.
I have an old scanner that won’t connect to the FW 13’s USB A port. When I plug in an ancient USB A hub, and plug the scanner into it, it works! Unpowered. New hardware might be getting sloppy with the compatibility layers?