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 <[email protected]> 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
