DisplayPort Expansion Card firmware update to reduce system power consumption

[Second_Coming]

@James_Adams

bricked the card instead. Now the card is not visible to the OS

Man, that sucks…

[Jieren_Zheng]

Something random for those running Linux like me and doesn’t have an Windows installation, looks like this wiki from Arch Linux might be helpful:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Windows_PE

Not sure if it works though.

[nrp]

@James_Adams

UPDATE: Well, I was wrong about having nothing to lose. Initially the FW update seemed to correct my problem, even though my issue was not the one listed here, as the DP card did not cause my laptop to freeze or shutdown. However, the DP card also stopped responding correctly. I figured I’d rollback to the “original” FW but the software just bricked the card instead. Now the card is not visible to the OS and so I can’t apply either FW update. Oh well, HDMI it is then!!

This sounds like the card may have originally been malfunctioning. You should reach out to our Support team around it.

[nrp]

On the HDMI Expansion Card version of this, we are still working through it. One thing to note is that these Expansion Card firmwares are ultimately a bit of a hack to work around bad behavior on the retimers in the laptop. We have firmware work currently in progress to force the retimers to behave better, which reduces the need for changes on the Expansion Card end.

[Second_Coming]

@nrp

We have firmware work currently in progress to force the retimers to behave better, which reduces the need for changes on the Expansion Card end.

What’s the likelihood of this firmware being released this year? (For the 11th and 12th gen models)

[Peter_Straathof]

I’ve experienced the same issue as James_Adams with the DP expansion card myself. More often then not it would not be recognized and once it does it disappears as soon as a cable is being inserted.

I still don’t know what scenario will cause it to spuriously detect the card but sometimes it does. Once this was the case I checked the firmware using the above tools and it seems I was on a even older firmware: 3.0.17.5. So first I tried the “stock” 3.0.17.6 firmware which flashed fine but this did not seem to help the problem.

Currently awaiting the magic to happen for the DP adapter to be detected before I can try 3.0.17.100…

Apart from the power draw, searching the support pages indicated more people experience this issue. Is the plan for this to be resolved with the new firmware as well?
(for what it’s worth I’m on a 11th gen i5 mainboard on windows 10)

-EDIT-
Managed to get it re-connected and showing as USB device in windows. Flashed with the 3.0.17.100 twice and now at least windows seems to be recognizing the expansion card more frequently. Unfortunately I still get a disconnect in windows when connecting the displayport cable (DP1.4 ) for my monitor to the expansion card. Cable is brand new so I don’t expect that to be the problem.

[Roman_Valls_Guimera]

Bad news for me… neither the “normal” firmware nor the “beta” one detect my DisplayPort LG 34UC99-W monitor:

LG 34'' UltraWide Curved WQHD IPS Monitor | LG Australia

I guess I’ll have to contact support

[nrp]

We have a final version of this DisplayPort firmware in the guide here: DisplayPort Expansion Card Power Saving Firmware Update - Framework Guides

[dimitris]

Would the Windows-only firmware update work in a Windows guest on a Linux host via USB device pass-through?

[ayhcheung]

Just a couple of observations/questions on the final guide:

1. The guide currently seems to suggest that the expansion card needs to be plugged into a Framework Laptop for the firmware upgrading to work. I have just tested this process using a desktop computer with TB4 ports, and the process worked just fine.

2. In a related vein, do we need to sign up separately for guide accounts, or am I encountering some sort of login error?

[Leseratte]

I have not found a similar thread for the HDMI card firmware update, sorry for using this thread:

• Once you have the new hardware revision of the HDMI cards ready will there be a clear indication in the shop about the card being “v2”?
• When buying HDMI cards used (in the future), is there an easy way to figure out if you’re buying the old or the new fixed version? Maybe you could print like a “V2” next to the USB plug so it won’t be visible when plugged in, but you could still tell looking at the card. Or can there be a program that not only detects the installed firmware version but also tells you if it’s the old or the new hardware?
• In the HDMI Rework Guide I can only find a download link to the new beta firmware (3.0.16.105) but no download link to the original firmware in case there’s a need to downgrade. Will that be provided as well, or do the HDMI cards not support downgrading?

[jhenson]

@dimitris

Would the Windows-only firmware update work in a Windows guest on a Linux host via USB device pass-through?

I was able to update my DP card in a Windows 11 VM running on QEMU (linux host). I just redirected the USB device to the VM and it updated with no issues.

[McFly]

Sorry I’m bumping an old thread here, but is there any update on a Linux installer? I don’t have Windows available.

Alternatively, maybe a detailed instructions on using a “Windows guest” whatever that is.