Dear all,
the battery drain on the CMOS/RTC battery is still a real thing, even with BIOS 3.17.
I really love the Standalone Mode switch within the BIOS, however, there is still one issue:
If one does not use the Framework every x days and has it sitting on a shelf (e.g. as part of a mobile testing unit) without the big laptop battery, the CMOS battery will be drained even faster and can “lock up” the unit. While this issue can be resolved again by re-seating the battery - it is not a quick fix and as a field repair also not advisabale. I am fairly sure one point earlier or later the CMOS battery slot will break and this will become a big issue.
I would request either a) the option to be able to enable the Standalone Mode permanently by modifying the BIOS before flashing it to the Framework laptop or b) having a second BIOS download with this option enabled. This would hugely improve the use of “naked Framework Motherboards” in the field and allow to just remove the RTC battery altogether - because most systems will have NTP access anyway at some point or time - and I would rather have the time to be out of sync then not being able to boot the system at all before doing the little operation and/or loading the battery for 18 hours. It it not something you can always do in the field and you risk breaking the battery connector at some point.
I know its a niche thing, but please dear Developers, I would be very happy if you could honor this request and make it happen - because using the Framework Motherboard as the heart of a project should be a good thing - and always working without having to disassemble the project and risking damage to the motherboard - just because it sat on a shelf for more than some days.
Thank you so much!