First off, if there is a better place or forum to ask this, I will take suggestions. I haven’t gone to any Linux forums because most of the ones I looked at did not want to support anything specifically Windows related, and this is primarily an issue in Windows.
I am using a GPD Win Max 2, a handheld laptop, with a docking station + external graphics card setup. The GPD has 2 USB C ports, one 3.2 and one 4.0. The 4.0 is used by the external graphics card, while the 3.2 is used by the dock. The dock has a 1Gb ethernet port on it, but it does not work in Windows 10 under normal use. All the other ports on the dock are recognized, but the ethernet port never shows up in device manager. But if I boot into Linux and then restart back into Windows, the ethernet port will work then. I don’t even have to have the USB dock connected while running Linux. After a hard power cycle and plugging the dock within 5-10 minutes of starting, the ethernet port will be working in Windows.
Other observations and information: -I have a 100Mb USB A ethernet adapter that works in Windows when connected to the dock. I have also tested a 1Gb USB A adapter, and that did not work. It seems 1Gb or higher does not get recognized without going through Linux first. -The ethernet port does work if I use the dock on the 4.0 port instead, but this isn’t viable in my use case. I would have assumed it was a limitation of USB C 3.2 until… -I was distro hopping when I discovered this; I had originally written off the ethernet port until I started trying out Linux. This behavior has happened in Pop OS, Garuda, and Fedora. I have not tested to see if this issue exists in Windows 11, nor do I care to. -I already tried contacting GPD’s support email about it. They were less than helpful. Left it at “compatibility issue” and would not explain further. I highly recommend not buying any GPD products. This is not the first time I have had hardware issues that went unresolved with them.
Frankly, I would love just to hear an explanation for why this workaround works. I think I would have been a lot less frustrated if it really was just a “compatibility issue” and there was nothing to do besides buy new hardware. The fact that it runs without issue in Linux gives me hope that its something that can be resolved in Windows.
So I have the gpd win mini and it’s working with a USB 3.2 multifunction hub with ethernet now on Windows.
Next time you’re on Linux can you run boltctl? Just want to confirm you’re not hitting a thunderbolt security issue somehow, otherwise things get more unpleasant.
I have the older 6800 model of the WM2. I haven’t heard from anyone else with that model in the community GPD discord with this issue, but frankly I don’t get much of a response in there in general. Really wish the community didn’t insist on using an IM chat for troubleshooting AND general discussion…
Ill be a bit busy today, so I won’t be able to get into Linux till tomorrow. What exactly did you want me to do with boltctrl? And are you sure its relevant to the Falwedi dock? I’m not using the USB4 port for the dock usually because I have to leave that open for my eGPU, and the Falwedi hub isn’t a USB4/Thunderbolt device anyway.
Nvm, that’s a proper usb3.2 nic, I’ve had issues in the past where things didn’t show up because thunderbolt restrictions were on and I didn’t know how techy you were.
Does any of it show up on lsusb? lsusb -t to see if the hub or other devices show.
Another comment told me to run lsusb -v and the ethernet ports showed up there. Would lsusb -t provide something more relevant? Also, to be clear, the docks work fine in Linux. I am concerned about the ethernet not showing up in Windows without booting Linux first.
The question was how it showed up, now it looks like it’s a windows power issue, windows might not be handling power sequencing right and bringing the nic out of standby at the right time. Either that or there’s a bug that linux is silently quirking, maybe dmesg | grep usb to see.