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

Community Support
, , ,
1

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

1 Like
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.

3

I know the thread is a month old, but same behavior on my end, core ultra 5. I upgraded from an 11th gen i7 mainboard, which worked as expected with the same external monitors and cables i’m currently using. The old board in a 3d printed case still works with the 1 usb c cable to the monitor.
Trying to power the monitor with a separate auxiliary cable also doesn’t work, i just need to fall back to hdmi to use the monitors.

4

I wonder if you guys have tried the new Beta BIOS that recently came out for Core Ultra boards, and if that made any differences?

Seems like the new BIOS updated the EC, PD, and added TB certification.

5

I was looking for a new bios, didn’t realize this was available, thank you!

6

Glad I was able to help! Please do let us know if the update helped, I’m curious too.

7

Keep in mind that it is a BETA release, so there may be unexpected issues that arise.

8

Just completed the update and ran through the different connection combinations (including directly into the mainbaord), unfortunately the same behavior remains, monitor gets power but no display through single cable. I’m curious to see if the beta BIOS resolves @CBee’s issue.

9

Thank you for the update. If this is the case, it seems like the Core Ultra generation introduced some USB-C regression.

Perhaps it’s best to write into support, link them to this thread, and see what they will say.

10

Thanks for the responses and trial-and-error diagnosis regarding the beta BIOS.

I’ve been in contact with FW support for quite a while now and they have recently escalated the issue.

The last diagnosis step I took (together with FW support) was to boot into a Live USB Ubuntu instead of Windows and trying to connect the display there.
Same result as in Windows - USB uplink working fine, but no display signal with the active cable. When swapping the active cable for a passive one, everything works fine.

I’ll try to keep you updated asap if I learn anything new.

11

Interesting, thanks for the update!

You can definitely let support know about @Gregory_Petrillo 's experiment. Since they own both 11th Gen and Core Ultra, and the same monitor+cable work on 11th Gen but not Core Ultra. IMO that’s pretty clear cut, and a good place where Framework’s engineer might want to have a look at.