Comment 0 for bug 1319035

# Summary

On an Asus n55sf laptop running 64-bit Ubuntu, USB ports gradually fail more and more until none of them works.

# Expected

* USB devices work at all times.
* Plugging optical mouse shows light under the mouse, the mouse works.
* Plugging USB memory, hard drive, phone, work and lsusb reports them.

# Observed, summary

To summarize:
* total (all USB port totally unusable) but progressive failure (first one, them more ports, progress can take weeks),
* rebooting provides partial relief (but symptoms come quicker, e.g. within days then within hours),
* can go on till all USB ports fail,
* booting Windows for a minute solves (no problem for weeks).

# Observed, details

Observed with all sort of devices. Not device dependent or trigger by any specific device.

Partial fail:
* sometimes some port works but things behave like hard disk or USB key was unplugged/replugged -- can happen several times within minutes.

Total fail:
* if a device is plugged at failure time, Linux behaves as if it was unplugged (as shown in logs)
* plugging device into a failing port, device is not seen by Linux (nothing in dmesg or any log).
* port will continue to fail after un/plugging devices.
* port will continue to fail after suspend/resume to RAM (have not tried suspend to disk)
* port still provides power to e.g. recharge a mobile phone

Workarounds:
* rebooting the machine have ports work again (but symptoms come quicker, e.g. within days then within hours),
* boot Windows (see more below) then Linux, then everything works again in Linux for weeks.

Additional information:
* for months, the bug was thought to affect only USB3 ports, it actually affects USB3 ports first, then extend to USB2 ports. Machine has 2 USB3 ports on the left, 2 USB2 ports on the right.
* I have seen 2-3 times in months a temporary hang of the whole system (with audio still playing the last fraction of the audio in a loop), staying like this for about 20 seconds then everything becomes normal again even audio continues at the point it was. Not known if related.
* In one episode of erratic hardware behavior I have seen at least one device still appear in lsusb after being unplugged.

* The laptop is used daily with Ubuntu, put to suspend sometimes at night, seldom switched off.
* The laptop also has Windows 7 64-bit which is rarely used (say, 20 days in 2 years). All USB ports always work on Windows, no disconnect, no glitch, USB2 as well as USB3 ports fully work.
* Booting Windows fixes the USB problem! Just boot Windows then reboot to Ubuntu. All ports work again on Ubuntu, and work very well for weeks!
* laptop has internal components which Linux reports like they are connected via USB. No problem observed with them.

# Detail technical information

lsusb output with no device in any of the 4 ports:

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 1bcf:2883 Sunplus Innovation Technology Inc.
Bus 001 Device 009: ID 0cf3:3005 Atheros Communications, Inc. AR3011 Bluetooth
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Machine is Asus n55sf laptop, Ubuntu 13.10.

Current kernel 3.11.0-20-generic #35-Ubuntu SMP Fri May 2 21:32:49 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
but bug has been happening for 6 months, so it's not specific to this kernel.

# Possible duplicate

* This may be the same bug #1132129 but I'm not sure so reporting here after reading https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs about duplicates . There are differences : #1132129 mentions crashes, which happened for months but no longer. #1132129 affected only USB3 ports not USB2.

# Next step

* Check BIOS version. Reference http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/N55SF/HelpDesk_Download/
* Test with latest upstream kernel as per the sentence "Would it be possible for you to test the latest upstream kernel? Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ."
* Test with Ubuntu 14.04 ?

Thank you for your attention.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.10
Package: linux-image-3.11.0-20-generic 3.11.0-20.35
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.11.0-20.35-generic 3.11.10.6
Uname: Linux 3.11.0-20-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.12.5-0ubuntu2.2
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: stephane 1909 F.... pulseaudio
Date: Tue May 13 13:40:13 2014
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=d05e8def-662d-4d3a-b3b3-4d9d2997966d
MachineType: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. N55SF
MarkForUpload: True
ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.11.0-20-generic root=UUID=12f862a8-f6b9-4c9e-8bf7-030b86b75241 ro quiet splash
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.11.0-20-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.11.0-20-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.116.2
SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 08/29/2011
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: N55SF.207
dmi.board.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
dmi.board.name: N55SF
dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.board.version: 1.0
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.chassis.version: 1.0
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrN55SF.207:bd08/29/2011:svnASUSTeKComputerInc.:pnN55SF:pvr1.0:rvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:rnN55SF:rvr1.0:cvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:ct10:cvr1.0:
dmi.product.name: N55SF
dmi.product.version: 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.