root42Mar 8

I have an issue with mounting a cheap smart watch in #linux: Device is seen by the kernel, but never registered as a storage device /dev/sd*:

usb 1-2: new full-speed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd
usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=0e8d, idProduct=0002, bcdDevice= 1.00
...
usb-storage 1-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
scsi host0: usb-storage 1-2:1.0

Show threadroot42Mar 8
Ok, the plot thickens. When booting from the Linux Mint USB stick, the USB ports work. But when booting the installed version, USB ports are broken. Why??
Show threadroot42Mar 9
So my current working hypothesis is: Live Linux Mint uses kernel 6.14, my installation uses kernel 6.17. This is probably what causes the regression?
So I might want to downgrade the kernel...
#linux #linuxmint
Show threadroot42Mar 9
Nope, that was not it. I downgraded to Linux 6.14.0-37, but USB still doesn't work. So it must be something with my installation! But what?
Show threadroot42Mar 9
I am onto something: Attaching an OLD Apple keyboard with a USB-C to A adapter WORKS. But all my USB3.x devices do NOT work!
So how do I tell the USB controller to also work with USB3 devices...? Which works on the live thumbdrive!
Show threadroot42Mar 9
Yes, so it seems the controller is stuck in EHCI mode, instead of switching to xHCI for USB3 devices. Bummer... how to switch it back...?
Show threadroot42Mar 9
Next hypothesis: These are Thunderbolt ports. And if a device connects in Thunderbolt mode (USB3/4), it will not work. Only the old USB1 devices work.
boltctl doesn't show anything, except for the controller. So my guess is that something in the bolt configuration is wonky. There IS a bit of a hint in the dmesg about this:
thunderbolt 0000:06:00.0: device links to tunneled native ports are missing!
Show threadroot42Mar 10
So I think I have a workaround. If I do "sudo lsusb -v", the devices start working! Without sudo and without -v nothing happens. It seems sudo lsusb -v does some magic that kickstarts the device detection. What is it and how can I make it happen automatically...?
Show threadAri [APz] Sovijärvi
@root42 Reading all this reminds me of a really weird Thinkpad I had years back. It had Thunderbolt ports and those had really weird compatibility issues with random devices in Linux. But only with the TB ports, the standard USB-C ports were fine. I assume the device you have is an Apple laptop, which most likely has even more undocumented and standard breaking behind the scenes firmware magic built into it as per their style.
Mar 10 at 1:49pmWeb
Show threadroot42Mar 10
@apzpins the Thinkpads used to have messed up controllers. Intel screwed them up and after a certain number of uses they would get bricked. Was the T480s if I remember correctly.