FW13 not connecting to PD1161 Drawing tablet Display

I tried that and it looks like the steam deck recognizes there is a display, but the tablet does not retrieve any signal (black screen sleep mode). This is similar behavior to what I see what I have the expansion card connected through the dock.

Does it work with another hdmi display device? Like a TV or monitor you have handy?

Yes, the framework laptop works other displays I have connected it to.

FW13 + hdmi expansion module + PD1161 = not working
FW13 + hdmi expansion module + other display = working
Steamdeck + hdmi expansion module + PD1161 = not working
Steamdeck + hdmi expansion module + other display = working?

To me making sure that the last combination works kind of seals the deal that there is something wrong with the the hdmi expansion module and the PD1161 specifically. I am guessing that maybe a different usb-c to hdmi adapter will work just fine.

So all of your descriptions are accurate except the last one. When connecting the steam deck through the HDMI module to a display it does indeed work. I am not sure what to make of this.

So I had a display splitter that uses a usb-c lying around and hooked that up to the USB-c port directly bypassing the adapter. Turns out the HDMI adapter port doesn’t always work with third part devices I guess? (And people wonder what I do with all the random cables lying around)

I am still wondering what is going on with the HDMI adapter now because there has to be some type of bug that is going to cause issues down the road. I am fine bypassing it, but I feel like there should be a real solution in place.

It just depends on wether the non standard behavior is in the fw hdmi expansion module or if its in the drawing tablet.

It could be either.

An interesting test you could probably do to further trace down the issue is checking the logs between the third party adapter you are currently using to connect your tablet and the official Framework 3rd Gen HDMI Expansion Card.

This might give more light as to whether it is the tablet or the adapter that is causing the problems.

So far youve got two HDMI devices that dont work with the PD1161.

Steamdeck dock HDMI - weird static image
Framework HDMI expandion module - no signal

What model is that adapter that works?

It is a generic Insignia converter I picked up from Best buy, and plugged directly into the USBC port. I will run the above CMD line args and see if there are any differences later today.


here are the logs from me connecting the hdmi cable, and then the drawing tablet (hdmi only no usb connection). The tablet display turns on at this point.

Sep 18 18:02:36 PainStation kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Selective fetch area calculation failed in pipe A
Sep 18 18:02:56 PainStation kernel: usb 3-2: new full-speed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd
Sep 18 18:02:56 PainStation kernel: usb 3-2: not running at top speed; connect to a high speed hub
Sep 18 18:02:56 PainStation kernel: usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=2109, idProduct=0103, bcdDevice= 0.01
Sep 18 18:02:56 PainStation kernel: usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Sep 18 18:02:56 PainStation kernel: usb 3-2: Product: USB2.0 BILLBOARD
Sep 18 18:02:56 PainStation kernel: usb 3-2: Manufacturer: VLI Inc.
Sep 18 18:02:56 PainStation kernel: usb 3-2: SerialNumber: 0000000000000001
Sep 18 18:03:05 PainStation kernel: usb usb2-port1: attempt power cycle
Sep 18 18:03:13 PainStation kernel: usb usb2-port1: unable to enumerate USB device
Sep 18 18:03:23 PainStation kernel: Registered IR keymap rc-cec
Sep 18 18:03:23 PainStation kernel: rc rc0: DP-1 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/rc/rc0
Sep 18 18:03:23 PainStation kernel: input: DP-1 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/rc/rc0/input27
Sep 18 18:03:25 PainStation kernel: input: HUION 256C PEN STYLUS as /devices/virtual/input/input28

Would it be possible for you to send both of the same segments one with the HDMI Expansion Card and one with the Insignia HDMI Card?

I tried comparing the segment you sent below with the ones previously sent but they do not seem to match up.

I would expect some differences. Since I am not using the framework hdmi adapter in the latest logs. I am not sure what you mean by them not matching up?

As far as I can tell it seems like the problem is with the framework hdmi adapter, so I am going to update my original post for people having a similar issue can have a solution. It is unfortunate that the solution is to remove the framework hdmi adapter and use a 3rd party usb-c to hdmi adapter.

I was trying to compare the two log files to see the differences, but the log files sections you posted for the hdmi adapter and the insignia one don’t seem to be in the same part of the file.

It could also be the PD1161. Both sides have hardware/firmware inside that attempts to follow standards.

The HDMI expansion modules do seem to have updatable firmware. You might want to respond back to framework that it is an incompatibility issue with their expansion module. I am not 100% sure if there are any debugging steps they can provide you. Not sure how interested they would be.

Personally I haven’t run into any issues yet with the HDMI 3rd gen. Though I am not too happy with it because it’s only HDMI 2.0b… So I might as well use my hdmi 2.1 usb-c to hdmi adapter cable to get 4k@120hz on my monitor.