Android phone does not appear in lsusb after entering "downloading" mode!

I've been trying to use Heimdall to install custom ROMs on my Samsung Galaxy GT-i8190 (Galaxy S3 Mini), but running

sudo heimdall detect

Gives

ERROR: Failed to detect compatible download-mode device.`

I just noticed that when the device is in "download" mode, it doesn't even appear in the list of connected USB devices!

Here is the output of lsusb when device is connected in normal mode:

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8008 Intel Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 13d3:5188 IMC Networks 
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 13d3:3362 IMC Networks 
Bus 003 Device 015: ID 0000:0538  
Bus 003 Device 023: ID 04e8:6860 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd GT-I9100 Phone [Galaxy S II], GT-I9300 Phone [Galaxy S III], GT-P7500 [Galaxy Tab 10.1]
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Notice the phone on 003:023? Well, then I put it in download mode (running sudo adb reboot download or the long-press V-, Power and Home key for a few seconds). Device is still connected. USB debug mode is on. Here's the output of lsusb

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8008 Intel Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 13d3:5188 IMC Networks 
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 13d3:3362 IMC Networks 
Bus 003 Device 015: ID 0000:0538  
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

The only line missing now is the one with the device, ergo device is effectively not connected to any USB port, thus heimdall detect won't be able to detect it. Are there any external drivers I need? Can anyone provide any input?

Most of the suggestions out there on how to fix similar (but not the same issue as this) include;

• Ensure you have the udev rules setup correctly - see installation instructions
• Trying different USB cables
• Trying different USB ports
• Restarting the computer
• Ensure you're using USB2 ports

However, for me, none of these worked, even though it would appear that the USB port was good, that is until you switch to download mode.

I experienced this on both Ubuntu Linux 14.04 and Windows 7 on the same machine.

I thought perhaps because the issue occurred in both Linux and Windows and the USB ports seemingly worked fine when not in download mode that it must be an issue with the phone. On the phone I checked that;

• KNOX wasn't running
• Performed a factory reset, several times, as some users out there seem to have reported success on their third or fourth factory resets

Finally I tried on an older Dell laptop, running Ubuntu 10.04, using the cable supplied with the phone, and it worked flawlessly first time.

So, my suggestion would be that perhaps try a different computer.

I'm yet to confirm whether the issue is related to the Ubuntu version, but I'll do that later today. Confirmed, Ubuntu 14.04 works fine on another machine.

Had the same issue on Ubuntu 12.04. It was the USB cable all along. Don't use flimsy alternatives. Use the ones you got with the device.