We need to remember that stronger hinges does not mean less wobble.
Wobble is because the chassis and the screen flex when you put force on it to rotate it along the hinge. To reduce flex in this case, loosen the hinge.
If the display wobbles when the device is moved (e.g., on a train, etc), it indicate the chassis is not stiff enough, rather than having a not-storng-enough hinge.
If the hinge is loose, vibrations (and light nudges) might cause the screen to rotate.
If you didn’t realize already, framework laptop have a pretty weak chassis. Not that it’s not durable, it’s not stiff.
I find that when I’m using it in my lap and the screen is past 90 degrees, any lifting and moving of the laptop makes the whole screen creep back to the 180 degree position.
I agree the chassis / screen stability is important, but I would definitely want a stronger hinge so this doesn’t happen. I could care less about the “wobble” but the unintentional opening all the way really gets in the way for me.
Edit: Also one-hand opening is really not a feature I use anyway, so while it might make the laptop seem super high-end, this screen-falling-back issue spoils that feeling for me.
I contacted Framework about my loose hinges and how it falls flat when on my lap. They sent me new tighter ones and I installed them. It works much better now but it does not open with one hand as easily.
rather than the “bolted” version (note the exposed hex nuts)
You can still use things like a desk vice (or a press) to squeeze the “collar”, although it’s much more difficult to do and harder to control.
Looking at their current hinge I think we need to redesign the shape of the mounting plates as the current one has no place for pressing together the two springy plates (black disks in 2ng pic) or for the tightening nut.
My hinge is irritatingly weak, and seems to be getting weaker. If it’s not straight up at 90 degrees, it slowly makes its way down as I type.
One-handed opening is a nice, but staying in place is critical. I consider the current hinge strategy to be a failure on an otherwise excellent laptop.
I sent Framework a polite email detailing how much I like the laptop, but that the lid wobbles downward as I type. The response was less than helpful.
We’ve tuned the hinge force for one-hand opening, which means that the force is light enough that the lid can move when the system is in motion. We’re exploring a higher force hinge as a Marketplace item, which would lose one-hand open but be higher force to hold the lid angle while in motion.
Regards,
Framework Support
I don’t want to buy a new hinge that doesn’t exist yet, I want my display to stay up. I responded
I appreciate the one-hand opening, but my lid shouldn’t fall toward the ground merely by my typing on the keyboard. And it’s too loose to use on my lap.
That was a couple days ago and the last I’ve heard from them. I realize they’re busy, but I honestly expected better support.
There are two separate issues here that are getting mixed up.
The hinges are not as tight as some people would like. This is what causes the screen to open further when the laptop is moved. This is annoying for people who move their laptop around a lot.
The frame of the laptop, or where the hinge attaches to the frame, is too flexible. This is what results in the wobble. If the screen wobbles when struck, moved, vibrated, etc. but does not end up more or less opened than before, this is not due to the hinges being too loose, but rather the frame not being rigid enough.
Both of these problems annoy me to some extend, though I can get over the wobble. My biggest problem is with the hinges being too loose, since I regularly move around the house with my laptop, and any sudden movement will cause the screen to tilt open further. The screen is looser than any laptop I’ve ever used before, and it’s brand new. And we can only expect the screens to get looser over time as the hinges wear.
I understand their desire for one handed opening. But they erred way too far on the loose side. The hinges could be much tighter and still allow one handed opening. And even if they couldn’t have both, I would prefer a stable screen. One handed opening is just some stupid test reviewers throw in that most people really don’t care about.
I think that is a oversight of Framework’s development team. Instead of using a “bolted” hinge they used a “pressed hinge” (previous post) which mean that 1. the tension cannot be adjusted and 2. There is no way to compensate for the wear on the joint and 3. there is no mechanical “snap” when the hinge is completely closed.
Yeah that would be a tough one to swallow. But unless you have a desk vice/press there is little you can do either.
Both of the issues are present (especially on the display side) but it seems like there are more posts complaining about the hinge being loose.
If you look at post 10 and post 3 nrp was basically saying that Framework don’t think a unadjustable hinge is an issue. Which is acceptable by me (since I haven’t ordered mine yet), but can be an issue for people receiving the units prior to the launch of said “stiff hinge” marketplace item.
I still believe an adjustable “bolt on” hinge will eliminate all of the problems as well as increasing repairability. Which is why as I said it seem to be an engineering oversight, considering that other laptops not exactly renowned for their repairability (dell, hp, fujitsu, asus, lenovo) have been using adjustable ones quite extensively.
Nah, that’s crazy @Richard_Tango-Lowy – you can definitely expect your hinges to work as laptop hinges are expected to work! 99.9% of us have hinges that work perfectly fine and several people who have had problems with the hinges have had the problem fixed by FrameWork.
If you aren’t having any luck there try again – collectively we’ve found they are extremely interested in keeping everyone happy, but sometimes it takes a bit of time.
I just emailed the following back to Framework, hopefully with a bit of (hopefully) constructive criticism.
I spent a good chunk of my career doing customer and tech support consulting for companies like HP. Framework needs to get some sort of basic support structure in place. Doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive, but it needs some formal processes to ensure cases are logged, managed, and resolved.
Per my emails of January 11 and 12, please send me a new hinge as soon as possible, as my screen no longer stays open without being propped up.
I realize you’re busy making laptops, but support of them is equally important, and the support I received was lackluster. I’d reference a ticket number from the email you sent, but it doesn’t look like you have an incident management system. Selling laptops is one thing, keeping happy customers is another. If you want to survive in the longer term, you really want to get your support organization in order.
I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I’ve seen far too many organizations fail for lack of effective customer management.
I sent another contact form message to Framework about my hinge. I received an email (again) suggesting that I purchase a new hinge. I responded (again) about why I wasn’t going to pay to replace my defective hinge.
I then received an email requesting a video (VID_20220120_193421.mp4 - pCloud) of my wobbly hinge, which I sent. That was last week and I haven’t heard a word.
I consider Framework support to be a pretty complete failure at this point.
I suspect the reason that you’re getting the cold shoulder from support is because your video doesn’t demonstrate your claim. If it does then your definition of “typing” must be a lot different from mine.
Yes, if I shake my laptop like that it will also go from 140 → 180 degrees. I don’t believe that’s a manufacturing defect.
