Subject: Wi?Fi and Bluetooth not detected when booting Debian 13 from external SSD (USB?C enclosure)

Hello,
I installed Debian 13 (Trixie) on an internal SSD connected directly to an
ASUS PRIME B760-PLUS motherboard. The installation was fully successful:
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, firmware, kernel modules, updates and upgrades all worked perfectly on that hardware.
After completing the installation, I moved the same SSD into a USB?C
external
enclosure (Realtek RTL9210B?CG) to use Debian as a portable system on my
ASUS
laptop.
The system boots fine from the external SSD, but Wi?Fi and Bluetooth are completely missing:
- lspci shows no wireless device
- lsusb shows no Bluetooth controller
- rfkill shows nothing
- dmesg contains no firmware loading attempts
When I put the SSD back into the original motherboard (ASUS PRIME
B760-PLUS),
Wi?Fi and Bluetooth work normally. So the installation and firmware are correct.
I have already tried:
- installing firmware-iwlwifi, firmware-realtek and other firmware packages
- full apt update and apt full-upgrade
- reinstalling kernel modules
- testing multiple kernels
- disabling Secure Boot and Fast Boot
- BIOS shows Wireless Interface as "Unlocked"
It seems that when Debian is booted from a USB?C external SSD, the kernel
does
not enumerate internal PCIe devices (including the laptop?s Wi?Fi/Bluetooth card).
Question:
Is there any way to force Debian (or the kernel/bootloader/BIOS) to detect internal PCIe devices when booting from an external SSD via USB?C?
I am looking for a practical and permanent solution. Any help from
experienced
Debian users would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

--
Best regards,
Behrooz Kashaf Rashti


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: Wi?Fi and Bluetooth not detected when booting Debian 13 from external SSD (USB?C enclosure)

After completing the installation, I moved the same SSD into a USB?C
external enclosure (Realtek RTL9210B?CG) to use Debian as a portable
system on my ASUS laptop.

What model of laptop is this, or more importantly what kind of wifi and bluetooth hardware does it include?

It seems that when Debian is booted from a USB?C external SSD, the
kernel does not enumerate internal PCIe devices (including the
laptop?s Wi?Fi/Bluetooth card).

I find this explanation very unlikely. At most, it's possible that your laptop's BIOS initializes the hardware differently when booting from an external drive, but AFAIK the Linux kernel's code to enumerate the PCIe
devices proceeds exactly the same way regardless of how the kernel
was booted.

E.g. I'm pretty sure it does enumerate PCIe devices because otherwise it probably wouldn't be able to access "itself" over the USB connection
because the USB controllers are themselves on the PCIe bus, nor would it
be able to configure the video card.


=== Stefan

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: Wi?Fi and Bluetooth not detected when booting Debian 13 from external SSD (USB?C enclosure)

On 5/17/26 13:56, behrooz kashaf wrote:

Hello,

I installed Debian 13 (Trixie) on an internal SSD connected directly to an ASUS PRIME B760-PLUS motherboard. The installation was fully successful: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, firmware, kernel modules, updates and upgrades all worked perfectly on that hardware.

After completing the installation, I moved the same SSD into a USB?C
external
enclosure (Realtek RTL9210B?CG) to use Debian as a portable system on my
ASUS
laptop.

The system boots fine from the external SSD, but Wi?Fi and Bluetooth are completely missing:

- lspci shows no wireless device
- lsusb shows no Bluetooth controller
- rfkill shows nothing
- dmesg contains no firmware loading attempts

When I put the SSD back into the original motherboard (ASUS PRIME
B760-PLUS),
Wi?Fi and Bluetooth work normally. So the installation and firmware are correct.

I have already tried:
- installing firmware-iwlwifi, firmware-realtek and other firmware packages
- full apt update and apt full-upgrade
- reinstalling kernel modules
- testing multiple kernels
- disabling Secure Boot and Fast Boot
- BIOS shows Wireless Interface as "Unlocked"

It seems that when Debian is booted from a USB?C external SSD, the kernel does
not enumerate internal PCIe devices (including the laptop?s Wi?Fi/Bluetooth card).

Question:
Is there any way to force Debian (or the kernel/bootloader/BIOS) to detect internal PCIe devices when booting from an external SSD via USB?C?

I am looking for a practical and permanent solution. Any help from experienced
Debian users would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Perhaps your laptop has a PCIe bridge between the processor and the
wireless networking card, the ASUS PRIME B760-PLUS motherboard lacks
that hardware, and the Debian installer omitted the required driver(s)
and/or configuring settings (?).


I would boot the SSD using the Asus motherboard, run the various
information gathering commands you mention, and save the output in
files. Then repeat using the SSD, USB-C dock, and the laptop. Then
remove the SSD from the USB-C dock, install a second SSD, connect the
dock to the laptop, do a fresh install of Debian using the exact same
choices you used for the first SSD, reboot, and gather information to
files. Then remove the second SSD from the enclosure, connect it to the motherboard, and gather information to files. Finally, compare all the information files, figure out what is missing or changed on each SSD,
and install modules as required. The goal is to get both Debian
instances on both SSD's to work on both the motherboard and the laptop.


David

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: Wi?Fi and Bluetooth not detected when booting Debian 13 from external SSD (USB?C enclosure)

Hello everyone,
Thank you all for your helpful replies and questions.
I wanted to provide a complete update, including the hardware details that
some of you asked for, and also explain what actually solved the issue.
Laptop hardware
-
*Model:* ASUS ZenBook UX434IQ (Q407IQ)
-
*CPU:* AMD Ryzen 5 4500U with Radeon Graphics
-
*Internal WiFi:* Intel Wi?Fi 6 AX200 (PCIe, device ID 8086:2723)
-
*Internal Bluetooth:* Intel AX200 Bluetooth (USB interface, device ID
8087:0029)
-
*External USB WiFi adapter used for testing:* TP?Link TL?WN722N v2/v3
(Realtek RTL8188EUS, device ID 2357:010c)
What the problem actually was
The Debian installation on the external USB?C SSD did detect the AX200 PCIe device and loaded the iwlwifi module, but the required firmware was
missing. Because of this, the interface never became operational, and NetworkManager only used the external TP?Link USB adapter.
After installing:
sudo apt install firmware-iwlwifi rfkill
and rebooting, the AX200 firmware loaded correctly:
iwlwifi: Detected Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX200
iwlwifi: loaded firmware version 77.2753b721.0
wlp2s0: renamed from wlan0
Now both WiFi and Bluetooth work normally, even when booting Debian from
the USB?C SSD enclosure.
Additional note
The TP?Link USB adapter was masking the issue earlier, because
NetworkManager preferred it and ignored the internal AX200. Once the
firmware was installed and the USB adapter removed, the internal WiFi came
up immediately.
Thank you again for your guidance.
Best regards, Behrooz


On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 9:32?AM David Christensen <dpchrist@holgerdanske.com> wrote:

On 5/17/26 13:56, behrooz kashaf wrote:

Hello,

I installed Debian 13 (Trixie) on an internal SSD connected directly to

an

ASUS PRIME B760-PLUS motherboard. The installation was fully successful: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, firmware, kernel modules, updates and upgrades all

worked

perfectly on that hardware.

After completing the installation, I moved the same SSD into a USB?C external
enclosure (Realtek RTL9210B?CG) to use Debian as a portable system on my ASUS
laptop.

The system boots fine from the external SSD, but Wi?Fi and Bluetooth are completely missing:

- lspci shows no wireless device
- lsusb shows no Bluetooth controller
- rfkill shows nothing
- dmesg contains no firmware loading attempts

When I put the SSD back into the original motherboard (ASUS PRIME B760-PLUS),
Wi?Fi and Bluetooth work normally. So the installation and firmware are correct.

I have already tried:
- installing firmware-iwlwifi, firmware-realtek and other firmware

packages

- full apt update and apt full-upgrade
- reinstalling kernel modules
- testing multiple kernels
- disabling Secure Boot and Fast Boot
- BIOS shows Wireless Interface as "Unlocked"

It seems that when Debian is booted from a USB?C external SSD, the kernel does
not enumerate internal PCIe devices (including the laptop?s

Wi?Fi/Bluetooth

card).

Question:
Is there any way to force Debian (or the kernel/bootloader/BIOS) to

detect

internal PCIe devices when booting from an external SSD via USB?C?

I am looking for a practical and permanent solution. Any help from experienced
Debian users would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Perhaps your laptop has a PCIe bridge between the processor and the
wireless networking card, the ASUS PRIME B760-PLUS motherboard lacks
that hardware, and the Debian installer omitted the required driver(s)
and/or configuring settings (?).

I would boot the SSD using the Asus motherboard, run the various
information gathering commands you mention, and save the output in
files. Then repeat using the SSD, USB-C dock, and the laptop. Then
remove the SSD from the USB-C dock, install a second SSD, connect the
dock to the laptop, do a fresh install of Debian using the exact same choices you used for the first SSD, reboot, and gather information to
files. Then remove the second SSD from the enclosure, connect it to the motherboard, and gather information to files. Finally, compare all the information files, figure out what is missing or changed on each SSD,
and install modules as required. The goal is to get both Debian
instances on both SSD's to work on both the motherboard and the laptop.

David

--
Best regards,
Behrooz Kashaf Rashti


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: Wi?Fi and Bluetooth not detected when booting Debian 13 from external SSD (USB?C enclosure)

What the problem actually was

The Debian installation on the external USB?C SSD did detect the AX200 PCIe device and loaded the iwlwifi module, but the required firmware was
missing. Because of this, the interface never became operational, and NetworkManager only used the external TP?Link USB adapter.

Makes sense. The only remaining mystery is why you got:

- lspci shows no wireless device
- lsusb shows no Bluetooth controller
- rfkill shows nothing
- dmesg contains no firmware loading attempts

Based on your above description, I'd expect both a `dmesg` message about missing firmware and some relevant entry in `lspci`.


=== Stefan

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)