Getting no response from Framework support after escalation

Community Support
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I have an early Framework 16, and it has thermal issues, constantly going up to 100C. I wanted to order a new mainboard since they say they’re now using the PTM pads for better thermal performance. I’ve heard that some of their existing stock might still be using the older liquid metal and the way to check for this is via the serial number. If the 11th, 12th and 13th digits are lower than 444 then it should be using liquid metal and if equal or higher should be using PTM.

However, the issue is that the serial number on the box and the serial number on the mainboard itself don’t match and one is over 444 and one is under. (This has been the case with 2 mainboards).

I can’t get a clear response on which one should be used for determining the thermal solution, but I have gotten conflicting answers. I had a long email thread until I stopped getting responses from Framework support.

The conflicting answers are below:

  1. They stated that I had a PTM pad using the S/N on the order.
  2. They said that I had liquid metal when I sent them a picture of the serial S/N on the mainboard.
    I returned and reordered to try and get a different mainboard with a serial number confirming that it used PTM. On the box the 11,12,13 digits were over 444 and on the mainboard it was under again.
  3. They said that the box has the serial for mainboard and thermal kit, but on the mainboard is just the serial for the mainboard.
  4. They mentioned that the mainboard S/N can be enough for checking the thermal kit.

So statements 1 and 3 would imply that the box’s S/N is the correct one to check for determining the thermal kit, but statements 2 and 4 would imply that the mainboard’s S/N would be the corrct one to check. So I have no idea which one is correct. They have stated that all of their newly created mainboards are using PTM (from a blog post in december), and the manufacture date was after the blog post, but I"m not 100% sure. Framework support has mentioned that some of their existing inventory may still be using liquid metal.

Now, in my original email thread I haven’t gotten a response since June 5th and I opened a second support thread on June 15th where they escalated the issue (they mention that responses may take 1-2 working days) and have gotten no response. I’m getting close to the return window for my second mainboard order since I haven’t gotten response in so long and am not sure whether I’ll need to return it.

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FW sent me a PTM thermal pad for my FW16 with instructions on how to fit it myself.
If you are comfortable doing thermal pads yourself, that is an option.
The problem that the thermal pad helps with is the range of temperatures of the 8 cpu temp sensors. If the range between the cores is more than 20C, it generally points to the need for PTM.
My cpu still hits 100C, it just gets more work done before it reaches that limit.
I.e. before the PTM, I had some cpu cores at 70C while others were at 100C.
After PTM, they are all normally in the 90s together.

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It sounds like you wish to be sure you have what you want. The only way to do that would be to return it and wait till you feel confident that the old stock is gone.

Assuming you don’t want to disassemble and potentially have to deal with a liquid metal, then there is no other option. As I would guess those who can say, with certainty, which s/n can be ignored, don’t frequent the forum.

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Hey there, two things happened here - 1) I realized I updated Reddit and Discord and totally forgot to hit send on the forums but our Escalations Support team was out from June 19th-22nd for holiday (Juneteenth) and 2) the team is currently following up with our Supply Quality Analyst to make sure we have the right answer and look into the situation further, both of which added to the delay in response here. I’ve followed up with them internally on this post, my apologies on the wait here and thank you for your patience as we get back to you.

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How difficult was the process? I might do that with my old mainboard, but I’m worried about damaging it and would prefer not to.

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our Escalations Support team was out from June 19th-22nd for holiday (Juneteenth) and 2) the team is currently following up with our Supply Quality Analyst

I get that you’re pretty busy, but the last time that I asked a question was on June 6th, which was well before the holiday weekend. I wish you let me know that the issue was escalated or someone was looking into the issue earlier.

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Update: I did get a reply on my email thread today. They mentioned that the new mainboard should be using PTM and not liquid metal.

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