FW13 AMD - Ubuntu: No success

I’m running Ubuntu 22.04 on my FW13AMD. I specially picked Ubuntu as it was stated that this was officially supported.
Unfortunately this hasn’t been a success:

  • Wifi roaming doesn’t work for 75% of the time. Laptop keeps connecting to old AP when moving location. Doesn’t even find new AP’s after opening the lid. Only reboot seems to help.
  • Reboot often keeps loading at boot window. After using the shutdown button it boots fine.
  • Bluetooth mice randomly disconnect or have extremely laggy input. Performs zoom while scrolling, selects when not selecting or just stops working completely. Reboot fixes the problem.

I’m honestly pretty disappointed as I expected this to be a fully functional combination.

Framework now recommends installing Ubuntu 24.04 on AMD-based Framework Laptop 13, you may want to test whether the issue is still reproduced there.

Also, have you followed the instructions in the Ubuntu 22.04 post-installation setup guide? Installing Ubuntu without that setup may not provide the expected experience.

Please only provide such reply as a last resort.

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Hi

I did the post installation steps.
I also tried most of the AI’s solutions, none helped.

I will update to 24 and update this post.

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1. Wifi Roaming Issue

  • Update Drivers: Ensure your network drivers are up-to-date. You can do this through the Ubuntu update manager or by using the command sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade . → Did it, no change
  • Network Manager Configuration: Check the settings of your NetworkManager. You can try disabling the “Wifi Power Saving” option which can sometimes interfere with roaming. → Did it, no change
  • Change Wifi Channel: If your router allows it, try changing the Wifi channel being used. Some channels can be more congested than others, which can affect the connection quality. → No other device has the same issue using the same channels. Also roaming issue happens on other wifi networks as well.
  • Reset Network Configuration: In some cases, resetting the network configuration can resolve persistent connectivity issues. You can do this by deleting the NetworkManager configuration files and restarting the service. → Did it, no change

2. Boot Issue

  • Check Hard Drive: Use the Ubuntu Disk Utility to check the integrity of your hard drive. Bad sectors can cause boot problems. → Brand new SSD but could try it.
  • Update BIOS: If your computer allows it, update the BIOS to the latest available version. This can resolve hardware compatibility issues. → Did it, no change
  • Disable Fast Boot: Fast Boot can sometimes cause boot problems in Linux. Try disabling it in the BIOS settings. → Did it, no change

3. Bluetooth Mouse Issue

  • Update Linux Kernel: An outdated Linux kernel can cause compatibility issues with some Bluetooth devices. Update your kernel to the latest stable version. -> Did it, no change
  • Change Bluetooth Driver: If your computer allows it, try changing the Bluetooth driver being used. Some drivers may be more stable than others. → Could try it but souldn’t the default driver be the best? Since Ubuntu is officially supported?
  • Reset Bluetooth Configuration: Remove saved Bluetooth devices and re-pair your mouse. This can resolve persistent configuration issues. -> Did it, no change

Upgraded to 24.04 and some issues are improved. But still not doing very well:
Fans are way to loud, roaming often doesn’t work, laptop randomly freezes or reboots when in sleep, keyboard randomly stops working sometimes.
This has been a serious downgrade coming from a surface laptop studio.

That sounds like it might be some real hardware issues.

I’ve had my FW13 for almost a year now. “Reboot often keeps loading at boot window” isn’t something I’ve seen before. My fan rarely comes on; I used “ectool” to adjust the settings to make the fan turn on much sooner when the CPU temp goes above 80c or so. (Otherwise, for some very CPU intensive task, it would take 30 seconds or more with the CPU at 95c, before enough of the motherboard around the CPU heated up, for the EC to decide to turn up the fan. It would really avoid turning on the fan as long as possible, and practically never turn on.)

I don’t use bluetooth, and probably don’t roam between wifi APs much. Wifi with single APs/routers works well for me. You can replace the Mediatek wifi card that comes with the AMD models with the Intel AX210 (but not the AX211), which has different drivers which work better in some cases. Framework sells them for $18, you can also find them on amazon etc.

So it sounds like maybe your heatsink assembly is messed up, or there’s some hardware issue/glitch in some component that is causing your CPU to spin and stress while retrying some communication that throws errors all the time, I’m totally speculating here, but what you see isn’t normal. Maybe something you have plugged into some port is bothering it? When the fan is spinning up, I suggest watching CPU temps and which processes are busy, using a few of the many tools available to do that. And check kernel messages (dmesg) for a bunch of strange errors (a few errors/warnings are normal though).

If you think you shouldn’t have to replace a wifi card, or repaste your heatsink, or do any of that other stuff, I sympathize … but the convenience of doing all that is the main Framework advantage over their competitors, everything else not so much. You can contact support, they’ll ask for videos and log files and unplugging all modules etc, but then may send you a motherboard replacement, or take in the laptop for repair.