One review said that the hinge is a bit weak so the display will wobble. Is that correct?
In terms of hinge force, there is a careful tradeoff on having it stiff enough to not wobble if you’re using the laptop on a train or plane or generally moving around with the lid open, while also not having it too stiff for one-hand opening. We tuned the force to basically sit between those two goals. For resonance outside of the hinge actually moving, the 3:2 aspect ratio that makes the display taller does mean that it will resonate more than a shorter 16:9 display. In general use though, we haven’t seen it be an issue (e.g. no matter how hard you type, it won’t make the screen shake).
There are some good shots of the laptop in motion in the Linus Tech Tips video: A COMPLETELY Upgradeable Laptop? - Framework Laptop Review - YouTube
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For those of us who don’t really care about one-handed opening, would it be possible to tune the stiffness ourselves? From what I can tell on other laptops it’s not straightforward, not sure if Framework’s implementation is different though.
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@nrp Hi Nirav. You have mentioned elsewhere that you have made the hinges easily replaceable. Does that mean that you will be making the hinges available as a replacement part on the Marketplace?
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FWIW I find the hinge stiffness perfectly fine on mine. I’d maybe prefer it a tiny bit stiffer to account for it loosening up over time, but it’s easy enough to replace the hinges I’m not that worried about it.
Ah ok. That’s my major concern. I had a few laptops where the screen would start wobbling as I typed, getting worse as momentum built up. And thanks so much for the prompt reply!!
@Sxm_63 The screen wobbles a bit after adjusting the tilt, but it does not budge when typing. I would not describe the hinges as loose at all.
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The hinges are relatively easy to replace, and we will be offering replacements in the Marketplace in the event they ever wear out.
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I’d also like to throw in my opinion that one-hand opening is an overrated “feature” that probably won’t be appreciated as much as a stable non-wobbly hinge.
The latest macbooks feel like a cheap toy compared to their pre-2016 versions.
Good work on the overall design though. I’m looking forward to becoming a customer soon!
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I support the opinion that one handed opening is overrated. Has anyone tried tightening the hinges?
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Hello @nrp sorry to bring this up again but it seems there are people asking about the possibility to tighten the hinges ourselves and there hasn’t been an answer (at least not one that I’ve seen).
I just got my Framework laptop in a couple of days ago and while I agree that there is no wobble while typing on the laptop on my desk, it definitely wobbles when it is in my lap.
I understand that there is this trend with YouTube reviewers testing one handed opening on laptops…but for the rest of us, can we tighten the hinges ourselves, or would it be possible that we could see a stiffer replacement hinge option in the marketplace in the future?
Thank you for your time!
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There is no method that we are aware of to manually tighten a hinge. It is technically possible to do a stiffer hinge as a Marketplace item if there is enough interest in that.
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Thank you for the response. Fingers crossed enough people will request this to warrant a new set of hinges in the marketplace. IMO it’s the only hardware quality issue I have with the laptop, although I do realize it’s a personal preference.
For anybody who doesn’t have one yet, Dave Lee touches on it in his video, I’ve time stamped it here:
I, for one, would greatly appreciate that.
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One thing I’ll mention here, which is just a hunch to me, but I would be wary of tightening my Framework’s hinges. I don’t think the display / lid are really thick enough to handle needing more force to open the screen. This is kind of a tradeoff for having a thin and light design. I love it though. I have no problems because I rarely use the laptop on my lap and when I do I don’t have a hard time not causing the screen to bounce or wobble.
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I have not used my frame.work on a plane or train yet, and haven’t noticed any motion with the screen when using it on my lap or table or couch. If I hadn’t read this thread I wouldn’t have thought about it at all. One thing I like is, the screen is pretty light (Comparing to a 15inch dell with touchscreen) so its less mass to have to hold still, so the seemingly lighter hinge, for me, still doesn’t move at all. What are most of the use cases where the screen moves? I’m curious to check against my use cases to see if I’ll ever run into a similar issue. I like that i can easily open the lid currently though. And compared to a few other machines I’ve used, I prefer it.
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Of course Framework will provide you with replacement hinges if you ever break them
The display receive the long-armature side and the base receive the short armature side. The display will be ok but I will be a little bit concerned about the chassis as the torque will be rather high.
Keep that in mind while adjusting the tension nut on the hinges. Of course you can adjust them to fit your liking. Just make sure they take almost the same amount of force to move.
The base side does have a bit more leverage in the form of a tab sticking out from below, which is better than at least some garbage hinge like on the GPD, but it could be better. For a 13 inch, though, it’s pretty adequate.
especially if this laptop have full metal chassis (lid, palmrest, bottom cover).
The display wobble is real. It’s not an issue you would have on a Macbook or a Surface. This is not a compromise we should have to live with. Let’s get a fix on this.
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