Thanks for getting back to me Mauro. So it works on MacOS.... via a hootoo USB-C dongle https://s.natalian.org/2019-01-15/hootoo.jpeg So since my T480s has two USB-C ports, I tried using the same dongle on my Thinkpad. It works! I discovered that I can reliably get the device working by using another USB-C adaptor. https://s.natalian.org/2019-01-15/ss.jpeg This to my astonishment reliably works. [hendry@t480s ~]$ lsusb -vvv 2>/dev/null | grep -A5 2935:0001 Bus 004 Device 002: ID 2935:0001 Device Descriptor: bLength 18 bDescriptorType 1 bcdUSB 3.00 bDeviceClass 239 Miscellaneous Device Maybe it's some USB bus power supply issue on my other Thinkpad ports. No idea. Thanks for sounding me out.