B650E-I M.2 Compatibility Issues

[ECC_4_ALL]

It seems ASUS has a strange & incompatible M.2 slot on the front side of its B650E-I board. I was able to get this working on the back side of the board's M.2, but even that did not come with the parts it should: an M.2 riser screw (otherwise the NVMe card is bent towards the motherboard by the screw). Here are some pictures to illustrate the issues with the front side M.2 slot:
https://imgur.com/a/bBznSYJ

Yes that is a M.2 -> U.2 converter by StarTech, which is supposed to be compatible with any M.2 slot. As you can see in the 3rd image, the hole of the NVMe is not over the ASUS board hole. Also the strange plastic connector does not work because the screw hole is not at the very edge of the board (semi-circle hole).

ASUS should offer/include a product that can make this work, does it?
StarTech support (I can copy them with ASUS support if needed) says this is in ASUS's domain because their card was designed as per the spec (while ASUS's wasn't).

Please advise. Thanks!

[ECC_4_ALL]

So basically 2260 cards are incompatible with this motherboard? Is there a way to ask ASUS if they sell a product that covers this for their boards? Thanks - I need to plug this in!

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @ECC_4_ALL 

I've moved this post to the ROG Care section for the attention of service.

[ECC_4_ALL]

@Silent_Scone I need to get going with this project. Do you know if ASUS makes an ITX board that definitely supports 2 2260 M.2s?
Thank you!

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @ECC_4_ALL 

According to the ROG STRIX B650E-I GAMING WIFI user manual, both M.2 slots support 2260 M.2.'

Could you please confirm if your current M.2 to U.2 adapter can be properly installed in the M.2 slot on the back of the ROG STRIX B650E-I GAMING WIFI but not on the front?
If you're not using an adapter and instead connecting a 2260-length M.2 module directly, are you experiencing the same issue?

Thank you.

[ECC_4_ALL]

Yes that is what I described with extra details above. Confirmed. No adapter necessary; it is a 2260 card and it is a 2260 compatible slot - and it does not work (on the front) because of the way ASUS designed the slot (more details above).

[ECC_4_ALL]

Please let me know if the issue isn't absolutely clear yet. Thanks.

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @ECC_4_ALL 

Thank you for confirming.
We can confirm that both M.2 slots on the ROG STRIX B650E-I GAMING WIFI support 2260 storage devices.
Therefore, kindly cross-test with a 2260-spec M.2 SSD or another M.2 to U.2 adapter.

Thank you.

[ECC_4_ALL]

Does that mean ASUS is claiming that this is not a 2260-compatible M.2 card? https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B073WGN61Y

This is either StarTech's job or ASUS's job - I don't see why a customer should spend months dealing with this. Again... Unless you're saying this is "not a 2260" card, which StarTech claims that it is.
"Confirming" does not help; your motherboard manual already confirmed for me that 2260s are supported in both M.2 slots.

Asking me to test with a 2260 M.2 adapter months after I've contacted support via phone and via this forum with details on my details on that exact testing is... A problem. 

[ECC_4_ALL]

Really hoping the ASUS team will have some feedback soon because I needed 2 2260 M.2s as was advertised as working. The back side of the board is compatible with a 2260 M.2, but not the front side, it seems. Does ASUS have another board 

There are also a lot of threads like this. I also experience a coil whine / hiss coming from this board, which is slightly and suddenly reduced by moving the mouse: https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/191b8rq/anyone_with_asus_b650ei_experiencing_coil_whine_i/
So if there's another ASUS board without both flaws, then it would be great to find it. I still need ITX & 2 M.2s (without chipset / direct to CPU), though!

Thank you, ASUS team.