I think it’s important to be honest about our experiences. I was a rabid Framework enthusiast, but I was not expecting to have to pay to replace the mainboard just 21 months after getting the laptop.
The support experience took about a six days of 25 back and forth messages, taking lots of pictures, where after examining the backside (facing down while laptop is operating) of the mainboard, roughly underneath the ‘Q’ key on the keyboard, I found the cause of death. The IC left of the PF4 label is toast, smells burnt, and appears to have oozed something out (its vital life juice, perhaps?).
It even left a burn mark on the inside of the case.
I reported back to support, who had me take additional photos, and then finally I got this reply:
Thank you for your patience and cooperation. After checking our exceptions page, it seems that 11th gens are only ones that we currently have exceptions for Out of Warranty laptops. unable to replace.
You can review the complete details about the Framework warranty at this link: Framework Computer Inc Limited Warranty
You may purchase a new Mainboard Kit for Intel 13th Gen mainboard through our Marketplace: Framework | Framework Marketplace | Mainboards
In follow ups, I tried to ask for what the burnt chip was, and what might have happend, but was only referred to the github repo (which does not have any relevant 13th gen intel files), explained that they could reveal more details due to NDAs, and was discouraged from attempting a self repair, to use a reputable repair shop, instead.
backstory about what happened:
A month ago, I grabbed my laptop (Framework 13, 13th gen Intel, Batch 1) from charging overnight, and the light was indicating white, that it was full. When I got to a cafe, and opened it up, I noticed that the light wasn’t pulsing like it does when it is suspended. I tried turning the laptop on, but it does not start even after a long 30 second holding down. There was a smell of burnt plastic or some sort of burning electronic smell.
I was able to trigger the POST lights, which after recording a a video clip of it, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBvNP9eW3JA I was able to decipher the following red lights
2 Red - Power Good 3V5V supply
9 Red - Fan detected and spins up
10 Red - CPU reached S0 state
what now
It’s been two weeks since the new board arrived, and so far so good. I’d still prefer to attempt to bring the other board back to life, though, or understand better what happened, hence why I wanted to share this with the community.
