Framework 13 won't boot after EC reset

Hello everyone

My Framework 13 was working fine, until I noticed that my Fn keys weren’t working. After a quick google search I found that resetting the EC (Embedded Controller) could fix this issue.

So I shutdown my system, pressed the start button 30 seconds, and the system restarted doing the hardware initialization LED thing. All LED blinks are green, yet I don’t get any display output anymore. Even after waiting 15+ minutes… Not even the keyboard lights up, except the power button square.

I’m currently leaving it unplugged with battery disconnected for a while, hoping that resolves the issue.

Anyone have a solution to this? I already contacted FW support for more information, but it’s Friday so I will probably have to wait until Monday for response…

Thanks for any reply…

Welcome to the forum!

You will likely have to perform a mainboard reset. I couldn’t find the procedure for the Intel 13th gen board, but this is the one for AMD. Suddenly no display on Framework 13 AMD and blinking lights - #6 by James_Bloom. They are the same generation so this may or may not work.

If you want, you could try digging through the forum to see if there are any posts for resetting a 13th gen mainboard.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Still nothing after a full night of being un-powered. I also tried the sw3 thing you send, without any success.

I’ve had similar issues 10 months ago, right after purchase of the device. So I guess it’s a faulty main-board. My first experience out of the box with this specific Framework, was three hours debugging why I didn’t get any image. I then noticed there was image but no back-light, re-seated some of the display cables, still nothing… Then after a while it randomly started working perfectly fine, for the next 10 months, until I did the EC reset thing yesterday…

My mom has the same device, her’s works perfectly fine and was up and running in less than 10 minutes out of the box. (Which I could use for debugging my device, swapping her main-board in mine to see if the issue persists, if the Framework staff approves of this method)

Guess I’m going to ask for a main-board replacement under warranty. I’ve zero trust in the reliability of my device at the moment, even if it randomly decides to boot up again. I use it as my daily work machine as freelance embedded developer, so I need something I can trust to actually boot in the morning when I’m with clients…

My overal experience has been great with the Framework, especially as a Linux user. Fingerprint reader works, touchpad works great, etc … Just the boot issues after an EC reset worries me…

If you are prepared to try a mainboard swap, you could just remove your main board, NVMe and RAM and all others user bits and then just try it again. Also you could then try in in your mum’s laptop.

But like you said ~ check the idea with support ~ if you still have a valid warranty.

All the best

I already tried the following:

  • Connecting an external HDMI display, on both left and right top ports, but no image
  • Connecting an external USB keyboard, trying to enter the bios, without success
  • Testing without the SSD, no change
  • Testing with one ram-stick in both slots, no change
  • Testing with the other ram-stick in both slots, no change
  • Removing all expansion cards, no change
  • Re-seating the display cable, no change
  • Leaving the battery and AC disconnected for 12 hours, no change

I’m out of ideas to try and suspect the main-board to be faulty.

I’ve to address that similar issues where present on day one with this specific Framework, when we got it brand-new out of the box.

  • The first ever startup in Dec 2023, did not show any image at all, for several hours
  • After leaving it running for a while, it randomly had image but no back-light. I tried re-seating the display cable, without change.
  • The next day when I wanted to record the issues and contact FW-support, the system started working flawlessly… Until the EC reset past Friday…

The other Framework laptop in our house, has not shown any of these reliability issues. It was assembled and working in just a couple of minutes.

I suggested FW-support through email, to swap the mainboard from our working device into the defective one, in order to exclude other issues. I’m currently waiting for a reply with their approval as both devices are still under warranty.

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