FW12 Screen flickering

Framework Laptop 12 Linux
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1

I’ve got an issue with screen flickering using Arch Linux. I suspect its related to the graphics driver in some way.

I’ve tried both the i915 and the xe driver. I’ve also tried almost every combination of the enable_psr, enable_dc, enable_guc, psr_safest_params, enable_psr2_sel_fetch driver options. Intel graphics - ArchWiki

I’m using the latest version of Arch, with Linux 6.15.4-arch2-1

The flickering is very intermittent, I’m using gnome shell and the flickering only rarely happens, but if I hibernate the flickering then kicks up. I tried out plasma for a bit and for some reason it triggers the flickering immediately.

The flickering once triggered to happen intensely can only be fixed with a clean reboot.

Any ideas of what else to try is appreciated.

2

That is odd. I’m using Plasma (wayland) without issue. lsmod tells me both i915 and xe are loaded, but xe is used by 0 and i915 is used by ~60.
I have a default install, plus plasma-meta, and sddm enabled.

3

Same here, i915 and xe are loaded, using plasma on last arch kernel version and I have no issue. I think you should try to take a video of the issue and open a support ticket.

4

I got this issue as well this week. I’m using Fedora 42. I never had this issue before (Since I received my framework 13 2025 in may).

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Here is a video of the flickering. flickering with Arch Linux on Framework laptop 12 - Album on Imgur

@technick since you mentioned it only happening recently, I tried other versions of the kernel but didn’t have any luck. I tried 6.1, 6.6, and 6.12, but they all still had the issue for me.

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6

Happened today for a few seconds — exactly like in your video. I will look a little more through the log file.

7

Any possibility of a loose cable?

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There are two cables connecting the screen that I found, I tried reseating both of them, but it didn’t have any affect.

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Thank you for the video. To just make sure it isn’t your personal install of Arch there, would it be possible for you to create a fedora live usb and boot from it? The idea being to see if you could get this flickering to start on Fedora.

If you can’t then it is most likely a configuration issue, but if it happens on Fedora, I would submit a support request.

10

I was finally able to find some time to try a new OS. I did a fresh install of Ubuntu 25.04 since it was on the supported list, and it exhibits the same screen issue in the exact same way.

I have submitted a support request and am waiting for a response.

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It seems you’re experiencing more flickering issues than I do on my Framework 13. Running Fedora 42, I only notice it once or twice a week, and it lasts just a few seconds.

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I submitted a support ticket to Framework but its been over two weeks without a response. It seems I’m just stuck with a flickering screen. :confused:

I’m just hoping some new kernel version might fix it somehow.

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Did you get the confirmation email after submitting a ticket? If you did, reply to that email and ask for an update. If you never got a confirmation email, check your spam folder.

14

In dealing with my flickering on Fedora 42 I noticed that an x11 session solved the issue.

Trouble is it’s not always practical to use x11, but maybe you can.

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I did get a confirmation email after submitting a ticket, they sent me a few questions which I replied to but never heard back. I sent a few more follow up emails with updates

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I had an update with the issue on my end, I was finally able to try an external monitor with it and I was able to get it to happen with an external monitor too. I think this confirms the problem isn’t with the built-in display.

17

that’s really interesting, I haven’t tried X11 at all yet, I suppose the issue could be related to wayland, I’ll have to see if I can try X11.

for what its worth, I’ve never seen the flickering outside of a graphical mode, but its not like I’ve spent much time using the laptop that way, so it is hard to say due to its intermittent nature.

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Did you ever end up getting a solution on this?

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Nope, no solution. Also framework support still hasn’t replied to me.

For now, what I have figured out works is when the flickering starts, I can shut the laptop lid for a little bit so the screen turns off and then open it again and it will seem to reset it so the problem goes away for a while.

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20

just got back from dropping mine off at fedex to return it for a refund. Was really looking forward to this laptop, but not gonna spend $800+ on something thats bad out of the box with crappy support.

I did link this thread to a reply of theirs to me on twitter and asked for them to follow up with you, so hopefully that gets some eyes on it.

If/when they solve your issue I’d be curious to know what the solution ends up being(assuming they don’t just swap the whole laptop, which IMO is what they should be doing with these cases of it being bad out of the box)