Running Fedora 39 (Kernel 6.8.8-200, last updated 3MAY2024) connected to a Sonnet Breakaway Box 750ex that hosts a XFX Speedster AMD RX 6550 XT. The Sonnet is not detected in the Thunderbolt menu, in journalctl/dmesg or anywhere else except lsusb.
The Sonnet happily charges my laptop and I can feel the PSU fan blowing. However, the GPU does not light up and none of my peripherals work. I know the hardware isn’t at fault as it works fine on my Windows 11 Lenovo I have for work. I know its not Thunderbolt on my machine, as a Dell Universal Thunderbolt dock works on my machine.
I have no idea where to start with this as there is no error to start with. Any help is greatly appreciated
Troubleshooting the connection issues between your Fedora 39 system and the Sonnet Breakaway Box 750ex can be a bit complex, especially since the device is recognized by lsusb but not in the Thunderbolt settings or through journalctl/dmesg. Here are some steps you can take to diagnose and potentially resolve the issue:
Update Your System: Ensure that your system is fully updated. Since you’re running Fedora 39, use the following commands to update your system:
sudo dnf update
sudo dnf upgrade
Check Thunderbolt Services: Verify that the bolt service is running, which manages Thunderbolt devices on Linux. You can check its status with:
systemctl status boltd
Secure Boot: If Secure Boot is enabled, it might be preventing the Thunderbolt device from being recognized. Try disabling Secure Boot in your BIOS settings.
Kernel Modules: Ensure that the necessary kernel modules for Thunderbolt are loaded. You can check this with:
lsmod | grep thunderbolt
Manual Device Approval: Sometimes, you may need to manually authorize the Thunderbolt device. Use boltctl to list devices and authorize them:
boltctl list
boltctl authorize
I hope my suggestion is helpful for you. If you want more details please tell me.
You can ensure your GPU is compatible with Fedora. Sometimes newer kernels may have issues with specific hardware. And try to connecting the Sonnet after booting into Fedora. Some users reported success with this method.