Preface: The coin cell issue itself has been discussed at length in Viability of an ML 1220 rechargable battery for RTC | CMOS (11th gen). This is not about the issue itself but framework’s response.
Rossman’s video with a timestamp where he proposes the correct solution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UUOyGd5UkU&t=585s
I was hit particularly hard by this issue where my laptop would not turn on without first being plugged in, and a bios reset would always occur. While I was able to obtain an RTC coin cell replacement from framework support, this was support’s exact words:
We see that your warranty has already expired. We can offer you an one time exception and provide you with an RTC battery replacement at no cost to you. Once our repair center has shipped it, we will update you with the tracking details.
When I responded with this being a design flaw, and asking what do when it breaks again, this was their “solution”:
A new and healthy RTC coin cell it should take around 80 days off charge to drop below an acceptable voltage but the more a customer deep cycles the cell (i.e. runs it down low) the shorter this time will become. For Customers on 11th Gen Mainboards, our guidance continues to be that if you plan to leave the laptop unused and powered down for weeks/months, to do so with power plugged in. If not, there is some percent chance that the manual reset will be needed the next time the laptop is used.
This just feels like an unacceptable way to treat a design flaw in a laptop. While the solution was fixed in later versions, the support being provided to existing 11th gen customers (early adopters who believed in framework), is lacking. I should not have to depend on the graciousness of a “one time exception” and have to keep my laptop plugged in all the time in fear of it breaking.
Onto the Louis Rossman video, he sums it up perfectly. I understand framework cannot do a recall or give us 12th gen boards (and I am not asking for that). I just want to be able to send the board to framework for a week where they can solder and give me the permanent fix. Framework has the funding to hire a single person to just sit there and fix these boards. Its the least they can do for early adopters who have been hit by this.
The broader implications of their response is that I now refuse to buy or recommend early editions of framework electronics. The new 16inch laptop looks amazing but all those moving parts screams to me that it might have design flaws. Due to Framwork’s response on the coin cell issue I do not have confidence that they will support permanent solutions if they end up being discovered. Even though I want to keep supporting them as early adopters are key to the success of these products.