Hi all,
I have a USB cooling pad (Targus AWE55US) that I put under my laptop to keep it cool. I’ve used this fan with my previous Dell laptops without issue for years. It connects to my laptop via USB-A.
I’ve noticed a strange problem with my Framework laptop where the USB fan will abruptly stop running. This usually happens after being connected to the computer for a few minutes. Further investigation reveals that the entire USB-A port is dead. The USB-A port is completely unresponsive if I try to plug a USB-A flash drive into it. The other USB-A port on the other side of my laptop continues to work fine. However, if I plug my USB fan into that other USB-A port, then it will exhibit the same behavior: the fan runs fine for a few minutes, then dies along with the entire USB-A port. The USB-A port works normally after I eject and re-insert it.
Other possibly relevant details:
- It doesn’t seem to matter if I’m connected to wall power or running off battery – the USB-A port dies in both circumstances.
- My laptop has two USB-C and two USB-A ports installed (one USB-A and one USB-C on each side).
- My USB-A ports otherwise work normally – no issues with flash drives – they only seem to die when connected to the USB fan for a few minutes.
- Keeping a USB flash drive plugged into a USB-A port for an extended amount of time does not cause the USB-A port to die (i.e., only the USB fan seems to cause it to die).
Has anyone else experienced this type of behavior? Any thoughts on what might be causing this issue?
Thanks!