Thunderbolt SSD hot plug failure on Intel NUC11TNBi7 with Ubuntu 20.04

[Russell]

Hi,
We're having problems with hot plugging of Thunderbolt SSDs with the Intel NUC11TNBi7. Operating system is Ubuntu 20.04.3 (Kernel 5.13) with latest BIOS version (0062).
If the system is booted with the Thunderbolt SSD connected, it works as normal - the SSD mounts correctly and can be accessed.
However, if the Thunderbolt SSD is connected after the system has booted, the whole system freezes for ~5 seconds and the SSD fails to connect. The following dmesg output occurs:

[ 134.844400] usb usb2-port2: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
[ 138.932513] usb usb2-port2: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
[ 138.932537] usb usb2-port2: attempt power cycle
[ 143.336631] usb usb2-port2: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
[ 147.424722] usb usb2-port2: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
[ 147.424747] usb usb2-port2: unable to enumerate USB device
[ 147.424864] xhci_hcd 0000:00:0d.0: ERROR mismatched command completion event
[ 152.632931] xhci_hcd 0000:00:0d.0: xHCI host controller not responding, assume dead
[ 152.632943] xhci_hcd 0000:00:0d.0: HC died; cleaning up

Edit: sometimes the output includes the following aswell:

[   52.668997] nvme nvme0: pci function 0000:2e:00.0
[   52.669012] nvme 0000:2e:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[   52.669203] nvme nvme0: Removing after probe failure status: -19
[   56.551753] usb usb2-port2: Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?
[   56.551779] usb usb2-port2: unable to enumerate USB device
[   60.138303] thunderbolt 1-1: new device found, vendor=0x175 device=0x4000
[   60.138311] thunderbolt 1-1: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD Portable SSD X5

We have tried different thunderbolt cables and different Thunderbolt SSDs - exactly the same problem. Note: the issue is slightly intermittent, about 1 out of 10 times it does manage to connect.

The issue also occurs with earlier Ubuntu 20.04 versions (20.04/20.04.2 kernel 5.4 and 5.11). All Thunderbolt cables and SSDs function correctly including hot plugging on other Thunderbolt equipped PCs/Macs. SSDs tested include 'Samsung Portable SSD X5'

Thanks
Russell

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello @Russell

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

Please allow us to review this information and we will be posting back as soon as more details are available.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi @Russell,

I've never heard about this issue before. My first thought when looking at the issue description and error messages is that the Linux driver may not be properly initiating the device.

Please provide me with the following log files:

/var/log/dmesg 

/var/log/boot.log

/var/log/kern.log

On the other hand, it is possible that you test Windows* 10 or Windows* 11? I am just trying to isolate the issue to Ubuntu + TB + NUC11TNBi7.

Regards,

Ronny G

[Russell]

Hi Ronny,

Thanks for getting back to me. I have attached the 3 log files zipped. This was done after a failed attempt to hot plug the thunderbolt Samsung X5 SSD. (Ubuntu was booted without it connected)

Regarding installing Windows 10/11, that is a little tricky as we don’t have any Windows licenses for this project.

I have found what appears to be the same issue on the Intel forum but it was a different NUC model. Please see: 

https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/Thunderbolt-3-Power-failure/m-p/1360200/emcs_t/S2h8ZW1haWx...

Thanks

Russell

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi @Russell 

I checked the log files but couldn't really see anything beyond what you had mentioned before.

Can you please run the Intel SSU and send me back the log files? Find the URL for the tool below:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18895/26735/intel-system-support-utility-for-the-li...

Thanks,

Ronny G

[Russell]

Hi Ronny,

Please find attached the output from the ssu tool.

Thanks

Russell

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Russell

Thank you for your response and for the logs. Please allow us to review this further and we will be posting back in the thread as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi Russell,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, we are still investigating this issue.

I see that in your SSU logfile from 03-01-22 the BIOS that the system is running is version 0062 "TNTGL357.0062.2021.1203.1108,12/03/2021", and we have version 0064 available https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19698/bios-update-tntgl357.html, did you already try this version by any chance?

Regards,

Ronny G

[Russell]

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me. I have just updated to the latest BIOS version (0064). Unfortunately the issue is still present - no change in behaviour.

Thanks

Russell

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Russell

Thank you for confirming that you have tried the latest BIOS 0064. Please allow us to check this further and we will be getting back to you once more information is available.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi Russell,

We tried to replicate this issue also with a Samsung Portable SSD X5 running under Ubuntu* and Windows*, the hot plug functionality always works well and never got a "not detected issue", we tried the SSD at least 10 times on each operating system and the SSD was always detected and we were able to write data in it. The SSD file system is set to NTFS.

During verifying the hot-plug capability with Ubuntu, we didn't encounter the issue, but after reviewing the Syslog, we found the same error that you reported "refused to change power state from D3hot to D0", not sure why we get the same error but still can be detected and write data.

I would recommend that you disable ASPM and ACPI in Ubuntu and that the PCIe BUS is not enabling the power save. See the URLs below for further details:

https://askubuntu.com/questions/68372/how-do-i-add-pcie-aspm-force-to-my-boot-options

https://askubuntu.com/questions/160036/how-do-i-disable-acpi-when-booting

External link for your reference:

Only compatible with Macs and Windows PCs with Thunderbolt™ 3 ports, Mac OS X Sierra, High Sierra (10.12 or higher) Windows 10 64bitRS 2 or higher. Not compatible with PCs only with USB interface.

https://semiconductor.samsung.com/consumer-storage/portable-ssd/x5/

Other similar issues:

https://seekingtech.com/how-to-fix-samsung-x5-issues-with-not-being-detected-or-recognized/

https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Monitors-and-Memory/Samsung-SSD-X5-not-recognized/td-p/444564

Regards,

Ronny G

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Russell

We are checking this thread and we would like to know if you were able to review our previous post. Please do not hesitate to contact us back if you have additional inquiries.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello Russell

We have not heard back from you so we will proceed to close this thread now. As the final recommendation, we suggest reviewing this behavior further with UBUNTU* support/forums and SAMSUNG* support to confirm "OS compatibility" with Linux.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician