Framework 13" 11th gen - thunderbolt and HDMI expansion cards sometimes don't push to external display

Framework Laptop 13
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Hi everyone! Curious if other people are experiencing this issue and if there’s any advice to fix.

I’ve noticed that the USB-C expansion cards does the following:

  • when I connect directly to an external monitor (no adapter/dock) via the USB-C expansion card, I see this strange flickering effect on the monitor, and the display has a lot of blue, black, and violet streaks all over.
  • sometimes, I can see that the monitor detects that it has connected to the Framework, but it doesn’t detect a signal
  • In the past, turning the Framework off and on again a few times sometimes fixes the issue. Sometimes disconnecting and reconnecting the TB3 cable connecting my monitor and my Framework laptop fixes the issue. But now, the issue persists, no matter which other slots I connect my USB-C expansion card into AND no matter which USB-C expansion card I use (I have 2 USB-C expansion cards. But exhibit the same issue, despite one of them typically sitting in storage rather than in the Framework laptop itself)

In addition, the HDMI expansion card

  • sometimes, I can see that the monitor detects that it has connected to the Framework, but it doesn’t detect a signal
  • I noticed that this tends to occur more often if I leave the computer idle that the screen turns off or it goes to sleep.

By the way, I also have everything set up so that the Framework is closed while connected to the monitor. I’ve changed the Windows settings to allow the Framework to do nothing (as opposed to going to sleep) when the lid is closed.

Hope this helps explain the situation :slight_smile: thank you!

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Welcome to the forum!

The USB C card is a passive card, meaning that it doesn’t do any kind of signal conversions from the mainboard. It is essentially just an extension card for the USB C connection from the mainboard.

Unless this is a signaling issue, it likely isn’t the root cause of the issue. If you want to check, you could try plugging your TB3 cable directly into the mainboard.

I would also recommend checking if the TB3 cable is the issue.

1 Like
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thank you Elliot! Appreciate the extra info enlightening me on how the expansion card works :slight_smile:

I gave the changes you recommended a try, to these results:

  • When I plugged in my TB3 cable directly into the mainboard, I see that the monitor detects that it’s connected to the Framework, but it doesn’t detect a signal. So it charges my Framework, but doesn’t push to display.
  • Same thing happened with other TB3 cables I have, sadly

Could it be…that the mainboard is the issue? Perhaps it’s old? I had this laptop since 2021, if that helps.

Many thanks again for your help!