FS#66585 - [linux] Asus AH001 universal dock rejected after LTS is the 5.x series

Attached to Project: Arch Linux
Opened by Hervé (herve) - Friday, 08 May 2020, 11:17 GMT
Last edited by Toolybird (Toolybird) - Sunday, 28 May 2023, 06:50 GMT
Task Type Bug Report
Category Packages: Core
Status Closed
Assigned To Tobias Powalowski (tpowa)
Jan Alexander Steffens (heftig)
Levente Polyak (anthraxx)
Architecture x86_64
Severity Low
Priority Normal
Reported Version
Due in Version Undecided
Due Date Undecided
Percent Complete 100%
Votes 0
Private No

Details

Description:

Hi,
I've been bugged by this issue for months, but now I finally have time to report it.

This is most likely an upstream bug, but I found https://bugzilla.kernel.org/ to report it, and they say "for posting bugs against the upstream Linux kernels (not distribution kernels)", and as I use the Arch package... That may explain why there are already many bugs open here. Sorry to add one more.

I've got a Asus AH001 USB-C universal dock, and when I plug it in, it works as expected, providing me the extra Ethernet port, HDMI output etc.

But one day the linux-lts package switched to the 5.x series, and the dock wasn't working anymore.

What I can see from my user point of view is the Ethernet icon popping up in the Gnome top bar for a couple of seconds and then disappearing. The monitor never reacts to some wake up event.
I'll attach the dmesg output anyway.

I downgraded the linux-lts package to 4.19.101-2, rebooted, and the dock works once again as expected. So I kept this package for months and ignored the updates to keep my workstation operational.

Now I take the time, I installed the latest regular linux 5.6.11.arch1-1 package to test once again, and generate the dmesg output attached below.
This is the only machine with a USB-C port I have to test that dock.

I did some research and found people I thought had the same issues:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1870140
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1785972
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=206365

But it's supposed to be fixed in 5.6.8-arch1-1. And I tested a fresh Fedora 32 live USB that's supposed to embed a kernel with that fix, and it made no difference (I just quickly checked the dmesg output and saw some "Null pointer reference" in red (recalling that one from memory).

I'm confident enough to use Arch Linux but I'm not that much an advanced user, let alone compiling my own kernel, so please bear with me.

Additional info:
* package version(s): 5.6.11.arch1-1
* config and/or log files etc. I attached 4 files but that's the same session:
- Fresh boot before plugging in the dock;
- just after I plugged in the dock;
- after waiting for a minute;
- after unplugging it.
* link to upstream bug report, if any: it seemed inappropriate to their rules

On a side note, the laptop itself is a Asus ZenBook, if that's important somehow.

Steps to reproduce: hard without the hardware I guess...
This task depends upon

Closed by  Toolybird (Toolybird)
Sunday, 28 May 2023, 06:50 GMT
Reason for closing:  Upstream
Additional comments about closing:  See comments
Comment by Hervé (herve) - Saturday, 05 September 2020, 10:09 GMT
Still happening with kernel 5.8.6.arch1-1.

I attach the dmseg of that test session. The dock is plugged in at line 966, and everything seems detected fine. But starting from line 1050, every device on that dock disconnects one after the other.

Again, booting back on the kernel 4.19.101-2-lts restores the dock full functionality, I also attach the dmesg to compare.

Maybe I should report it upstream, but I'm afraid they'll send me back here.

More precisely, the laptop is an Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370UA
Comment by mattia (nTia89) - Monday, 28 February 2022, 16:35 GMT
I cannot reproduce the issue. Is it still valid for you?
Comment by Hervé (herve) - Tuesday, 22 March 2022, 14:29 GMT
Sorry, I haven't received a notification for your reply. I'm not surprised you can't reproduce it, it requires a specific hardware.

Maybe I should report it directly to the kernel bug tracker, but last time I checked, end users weren't expected to do so.

But to answer your question, even the latest 5.16.15 kernel won't accept this USB hub, it gets disconnected after a second.
Comment by mattia (nTia89) - Tuesday, 22 March 2022, 17:05 GMT
I think you should open a bug report upstream; rather if you encountered this issue elsewhere too (using Fedora you wrote about...), this is definitively not an Arch-related/Arch-specific issue, and we can do nothing

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