Why does the Linux shows "Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?" error message when a USB 3.1 thumb-drive is plugged-in?

Description

In Quartus® Prime software of version 25.3 and older, you may see the error message “Cannot enable. Maybe the USB cable is bad?” when a USB 3.1 thumb-drive is plugged-in.

This is due to an incorrect Phase Locked-Loop Bandwidth configuration in PMA direct mode for USB, which caused the instability in USB 3.1 link layer when reaching the U0 state.

This issue has been fixed in the newer Quartus® software releases.

Resolution

To solve this issue, upgrade your Quartus® software to Quartus® Prime Pro 25.3.1 version or newer versions.