Can't get Mobian on PinePhone to recognise USB-C docking bar

[duncan_bayne]

Hi Folks

I recently purchased a USB-C docking bar and a new convergence-capable PinePhone motherboard, and fitted the new motherboard last weekend.  The Braveheart owner's discount was much appreciated too  

I'm running the Mobian nightly build from 2021-05-02.

When I plug in the USB-C docking bar, it just charges the phone; no peripherals are detected (I have a keyboard, monitor, and trackball connected to the bar).  Instead I get the following in dmesg:

Code:

[  494.616801] anx7688 1-0028: DATA role change requested to UFP

I've tried upgrading to the linux-image-5.11-sunxi64 kernel, and flashing the ANX7688 firmware as per these instructions, but to no avail.

Anyone have any suggestions?  I suspect I'm missing something blindingly obvious.

Yours,
Duncan

[C0ffeeFreak]

Not all docking bars work with the Pinephone. The one from Pine64 and the Anchor 5 in 1 (reportedly) are two. Others I have tried just don't work. Something makes them not compatible. It would be nice if we could compile a list of ones confirmed to work. I am using the 64W power supply from Pine64 so it shouldn't be a power issue. I was looking for one with a SD card reader built in. I kinda gave up after I bought a flash drive with USB C and USB 3.0 on it that does what I was trying to accomplish. Make it easier transferring music and audio books between devices.

[Avatars]

There is a usbc mod on youtube that 'unlocks' the port. It's called "usb-c fix on the pinephone". All you do is heat 2 small pieces while tweezing them off. The hard part is taking it apart and putting it back together. I haven't even tested mine yet. The youtube video references ubports but supposedly there is no software fix at all so if mine balks I'll probably do it if it can't be replaced with one that works. The video is less than 6m and it's very detailed so looks rather easy. I already own a soldering iron like the one pinephone makes and they are cheap.

[rlynn]

Hi Folks

I recently purchased a USB-C docking bar and a new convergence-capable PinePhone motherboard, and fitted the new motherboard last weekend.  The Braveheart owner's discount was much appreciated too  

I'm running the Mobian nightly build from 2021-05-02.

When I plug in the USB-C docking bar, it just charges the phone; no peripherals are detected (I have a keyboard, monitor, and trackball connected to the bar).  Instead I get the following in dmesg:

Code:

[  494.616801] anx7688 1-0028: DATA role change requested to UFP

I've tried upgrading to the linux-image-5.11-sunxi64 kernel, and flashing the ANX7688 firmware as per these instructions, but to no avail.

Anyone have any suggestions?  I suspect I'm missing something blindingly obvious.

Yours,
Duncan

-------------------------------------------------------------

I had the same/similar problem, and I identified it as a bad USB-C port.  I got a little further than you did.  The phone would accept the mouse and keyboard, sometimes the charger, but never the monitor.  Lucky for me, I had two Convergence Package PinePhones and two Pine docking bars.  I finally realized that one of them would dock instantly with a fully loaded Pine docking bar (mouse, keyboard, ethernet, charger, and monitor) and the other didn't... when using the same distro on a transported SD!  I reported the problem to Pine Support.  They offered to send me a new USB-C side board to install myself... if I was confident with installing it.  Since I am not confident, I sent it to them for diagnostics and replacement. They have possession of it now.

At first I thought the problem was the order in which I attached the accessories. Then I though it was the docking bar. Then I thought it was the distro. i.e. Mobian instead of Manjaro or PMOS Phosh. Once I ruled all them out, I realized it was the defective USB-C port in the one phone.

[duncan_bayne]

I've since replaced the docking bar with a brand new USB-C bar from the Pine64 store, and the problem persists.  In the output from dmesg:

Code:

[ 1182.983372] anx7688 0-0028: plug irq (cd=1)
[ 1182.983690] anx7688 0-0028: plug irq (cd=0)
[ 1182.983965] anx7688 0-0028: plug irq (cd=1)
[ 1182.997363] anx7688 0-0028: cable inserted
[ 1183.041279] anx7688 0-0028: power enabled
[ 1183.109599] anx7688 0-0028: eeprom0 = 0x03
[ 1183.109637] anx7688 0-0028: fw loaded after 40 ms
[ 1183.114711] anx7688 0-0028: OCM firmware loaded (version 0x2410)
[ 1183.123922] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=0x00 05 00 32 90 01 26 12
[ 1183.156404] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=0x01 05 01 2c 91 01 26 16
[ 1183.156937] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=0x02 11 02 00 00 00 ec 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 39 00 00 51 77
[ 1183.158099] anx7688 0-0028: send pd packet cmd=0x03 05 03 00 00 01 ff f8
[ 1183.158591] anx7688 0-0028: OCM configuration completed
[ 1183.161194] anx7688 0-0028: status changed to 0x00
[ 1183.161227] anx7688 0-0028: cc_status changed to CC1 = SRC.Open CC2 = SRC.Open
[ 1183.161235] anx7688 0-0028: DP state changed to 0x00
[ 1183.161344] anx7688 0-0028: VCONN role change to SINK
[ 1183.161369] anx7688 0-0028: DATA role change requested to UFP
[ 1186.962919] anx7688 0-0028: updating power mode to USB, current limit 0mA (0 => BC1.2)
[ 1186.972012] anx7688 0-0028: enabling vbus_in power path
[ 1187.581568] anx7688 0-0028: BC 1.2 result: SDP

---

Ahah! Fixed it. I re-flashed the firmware with the very latest version from https://xff.cz/git/linux-firmware/ and rebooted; now it's detecting the display!

[bcnaz]

Yeah, the mainboard swap video I watched did not even mention firmware.

But the 'Factory Test OS' will install your anx firmware from what I have read elsewhere on the forum.

The Link to it is in the wiki along with the current operating systems.

I am surprised that there has not been more discussion on this.

[Peter Gamma]

Not all docking bars work with the Pinephone. The one from Pine64 and the Anchor 5 in 1 (reportedly) are two. Others I have tried just don't work. Something makes them not compatible. It would be nice if we could compile a list of ones confirmed to work.

I agree it would be nice if we could compile a list of ones confirmed to work.

[uncleanblessing]

Hello All,

Has this ever been resolved? I've purchased a multi-function usb c dock off of Amazon--has usb c power in (to charge), HDMI, extra usb 2/3 ports, and Ethernet in. I have not yet tried it (still setting the phone up). Did I waste a whole $15? Are there any CLI hacks (Mobian/Plasma) that can mitigate any snafus? It would be sure nice to do the setup with wired ethernet and on a bigger monitor.



Thanks.

[Kevin Kofler]

Uh, try and see? Modding the hardware should not be necessary with any recent PinePhone in any case, only the early community editions had hardware issues requiring that mod, the later ones and the Beta Edition have that fixed. That said, did your PinePhone not come with a dock? I thought the non-convergence version has been out of stock for months and only the convergence edition is available, which comes with a dock.

What I can tell you is that the included (convergence edition) dock works with my PinePhone Beta Edition running Manjaro Plasma Mobile. But I have not tried any third-party dock nor the Mobian distro, so I cannot tell you whether that combination will work or not. Hence, my suggestion to just try and see.

(Note that I also have an older PinePhone Beta Edition whose whole USB subsystem has failed after 1½ years of use. Even the internal USB modem does not work (anymore) on that one. Neither does the USB port, except charging. But that seems to be a very rare hardware flaw, so you will hopefully never run into that. And as I said, it breaks more than just the dock, so you would notice pretty quickly.)

[Peter Gamma]

As a rule of thumb user reported that there are issues with the cheapest adapter as I had. I bought one for 20 USD on Aliexpress and HDMI out did not work with my Pinephone. And I had issues with two other cheap adapter which where laying around where HDMI out did not work.

Others reviewed thirt party adapters for the Pinephone Pro and listed what works, I have listed those here:

https://petergamma.org/four-usb-c-to-hdm...epone-pro/

but the one which best is the one from the Pine64 shop. From this it is mainly known what works and what does not work, from 3.th party only little is known.