I have a framework 16 with an AI 9 CPU(AMD AI Max 300 Series) and I am on Fedora 44
I was originally on bazzite where the issue still existed.
I have tried plugging it in to all 6 expansion ports (both 1TB expansion cards), I have tried with only a single 1TB expansion card in so its the only module in case its a power draw issue
No matter what I have tried so far, both have the same issue and both get extremely hot even with the thermal pad in the right spot.
I checked to see if there was a firmware update to see if that helped and it didn’t do anything.
Its usually as soon as linux loads/I login that the keyboard stops working but that could just be due to a specific time window which I happen to get (I have not tested, I have not had the capacity).
Has anyone had anything similar or any ideas on what could be causing it, anything that might help/troubleshoot the issue. Any help is appreciated
maybe firmware then, I definitely know it takes ages to actually connect and then not long after it actually loads for a short bit. Not long after that it disconnects. I will do some testing with windows, I do know it doesn’t work with my phone if I try to use it as USB OTG
Edit: Windows has no issues (My nitro V15) while my framework running fedora loses keyboard response. I can’t even mount it while it registers or format it either. Again,not an issue on my other laptop
I have been dealing with this issue and I’m sad to say framework has done a really terrible jo b here. The 1tb drives draw a full 3 amps which means you have to dedicate one side of your lap top to a single 1tb drive. Dropping you down to 3 expansion slots on the other side. if you have an amd extended graphics card that drops you down to 2 expansion slots because 1 has to be power. And they do not explain this anywhere in their documentation or in their sales material.
The reason your keyboard is going offline is because when that massive power draw hits the system responds thininking there’s a power issue and it shuts everything off. You can experiment with this pretty easily. Put nothing in the left side of your machine but the 1tb drive. And only put usbc power, + 2 low power modules in the right side (usb a and a sd card reader for example) Your system will be stable. Of course you didn’t buy the system to use only half the ports you bought a system with six ports because you wanted to use them all.
The worst part. There is no fix. This is an architecture problem. They only designed this to suck so much power at a time from either side no driver update is going to resolve this.
So in other words they are useless and I wasted my money by the sounds of it
There was nothing stating any of that, even with no modules it won’t work for me. I have two LED displays and I can’t remove them which seem to stop the drive from working properly but it doesn’t cause the keyboard to stop working.
There was NOTHING stating any of this anywhere, not even on the purchase page. I just wasted money that I didn’t really have thinking I would have a laptop that would have enough storage and enough power until I can afford to upgrade
I don’t even know if it is worth contacting support about this, probably not so there goes $410 that could have been put towards a GPU or more ram but because they were on sale I thought they were worth it
If it is a power to usb problem, you can use external powered hubs to compensate.
Note: I am just another user like you.
What exactly happens when the keyboard stops working?
Do the backlights go off?
I ask because the keyboard stopping might not actually be linked to the 1TB expansion cards.
It could just be a loose connection somewhere.
So I have a work around for you if you’re interested. Use a usb 2.0 powered hub, plug it into the usb a expansion module and then plug that module into your laptop. Your 1tb drive then plugs into the powered usb hub. This eliminates the power draw issue but limits you to usb 2.0 speeds. Its not ideal. It physically prevents the 1tb drive from using usb 4/thunderbolt power draw. You could potentially use a 3.2 powerd hub as well but I didn’t have one on hand to test with. I’m currently talking to support my self about this issue. They want video evidence of the problem… so yeah I’m not entirely enthusiastic about how well they are going to handle this issue. But if I’m not satisfied I can always post it to YouTube and hope linus or some one picks it up and gripes about it.
So you reference the expansion slot layout and power doc. Which is great… except for the fact that the modules them selves, their power draw isn’t documented, at least not anywhere obvious that I could find. Additionally unless you suspected you would need that document its not readily apparent that you should go looking for it PRIOR to buying the laptop. Which I would consider to be potentially a bad faith concealment of information. Especially since the promotional page shows a configuration that currently will break your machine:https://frame.work/laptop16 That being said none of that is on you, I realize you’re just replying to the issue. But it is something to consider.
This forum / community is only other users like you and me.
You can contact real FW support via their support web page form.
They have a no questions 30 days return policy, so you can just return the laptop if it is still 30 days or less from when you purchased it.