Framework 13 (Intel Core Ultra Series 1) External Monitor via active USB-C Cable not working

Community Support
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Hi all,

After submitting the issue to Framework support earlier, I thought I might share this with the community as well.

We have two FW13 Core Ultra 5 125H laptops and are experiencing problems with our external monitors. In short, the USB and power delivery works fine but the video only works with a 0.8 m cable that shipped with the monitor.

We’ve tried all combinations with the following components with reproducible results.
Cables
Cable #1: CableMatters Thunderbolt 4 (certified) 2.0 m USB-C Cable
Cable #2: USB-C Cable 0.8 m (came with the Dell U2520D)
Cable #3: OWC Thunderbolt 4 (certified) 2.0 m USB-C Cable
Computers
2x FW 13 running Windows 11 Pro 23H2
1x Surface Book 2 (13.5”) running Windows 11 Pro 23H2
2x Lenovo Thinkpad running Windows 11
Monitors
Dell U2723QE
Dell U2520D

Whenever using a FW13 with any of the 2.0 m Thunderbolt 4 cables, the display is not recognized and no video output is transmitted. When reverting to the 0.8 m USB-C cable that Dell shipped with the monitor, it works fine. On all other laptops, either combination works fine.

I also tried bypassing the adapter card on one FW13 by directly plugging the cable into the mainboard’s USB-C port with the same result.
My impression is that the issue lies with the FW13s, not any of the other components. However, I can’t figure out why this is the case and what I could try to solve it.

If you have an idea on what to do or simply are experiencing the same issue, feel free to jump in.

Thanks!
C

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2

Connecting external monitors with the Framework Laptop’s USB C can be quite a bit finicky. There have been quite a few reports of USB C display devices not working but plugging in with an HDMI cable does work.

If you haven’t yet, try plugging in the cable to all the different ports on the Framework Laptop to see if one of them works.

If you have an HDMI cable, try using that. It seems like the 0.8m cable is just USB C while the other ones are Thunderbolt 4, so try using a regular USB C cable that supports video.