I’m on a Framework 13 (batch 4) running Windows 11. This morning, I got REALLY scarred that my laptop was dead (not turning on, not charging, led off, etc). In the end, it turned back on, but I realized that if it didn’t and I was on a trip, it would be a really complicated situation.
Next year, I am going on a 3-4 month trip to Southeast Asia. I will be working remotely throughout the trip and would like to be well prepared in case something happens, as it would be hard to get replacement parts shipped where I am.
Other than the Framework screwdriver, what should I bring to be well prepared? Are there parts that fail often enough that I should order them ahead of time and bring them? Or other tools or anything else I should get?
A second one
Then you’ll be covered if two different parts break on both.
This is my plan when they’ll be going to be available in my country or I’ll travel and will be able to order it.
The only thing I miss is that the battery isn’t easily removable and this means it won’t be possible to put the laptop into the checked-in bag.
They didn’t allow me to put a turned-off phone into the checked-in bag because of the battery.
Hard to anticipate failures so yeah a second machine is probably the safest bet… but pragmatically if you’re working remotely and the hardware itself isn’t mission critical, grabbing any ol’ netbook configured for remote login might be good enough in the worst case. I have a couple old Thinkpads that while clunky, at least I know are functioning, reliable, and similarly easy to source parts for if I absolutely need a backup on hand. If you need the computing power on hand and don’t have network access, well… second machine will be expensive.
Hardware failure is relatively rare and tends to happen early in a machine’s life if it will happen, accidental damage is harder to predict and might need more extensive rebuilds… for long trips in remote areas, there isn’t any one component I’d feel safe carrying spares compared to a second machine.
Nothing. Take care of the laptop and avoid damaging it. With electronics anything can and will go wrong at the worst possible time, and there is nothing you can do outside of having a complete spare ready to go laptop with you. Also you say you have a Framework 13 (Batch 4), but do not note the processor. There have now been multiple Framework 13 (Batch 4), now if it is the original 11th gen board, then the answer is replace the motherboard or get the rework done. After that as long as you have main battery charge you should be good to go.
You miss the point.
If he’ll have two framework 13 laptops he’ll be able to swap parts when they break.
So the motherboard doesn’t matter as long as RAM and other components work on both boards which is mostly the case (except I think that AMD’s board’s RAM may work on Intel but not Intel board’s on AMD as the timings shouldn’t match. But don’t quote me on this.).
Well bottles didn’t break for me so it’s not violent enough if they’re encased in clothes well.
Also that means less stuff to carry through security.
It’s hard to predict failures, but pragmatically speaking (11th gen, batch 3), I’d take a second charger and the screwdriver, and maybe a few USBC ports. In the years since purchase, and the few journeys I’ve been on, I’ve never had a problem, and with most vendors, batteries aren’t replaceable at all.
Prefect redundancy is an aspirational goal achieved with a second device. That would enable a full rebuild of needed, but it’s not practical for me, and if that were the mission, then I’d just buy locally, rather than schlep around two computers.
No I did not miss the point. At no point does he say he can either afford or will in fact buy an extra laptop, and the generation does matter as the 11th gen is definitely more prone to failure. Also DDR5 will not work on the DDR4 Intel boards this is a manufacturing choice not an either/or user purchase choice.
Bottles are generally much thicker than the glass in a display screen. Once again why would I want to expose a $2000 laptop to abuse when it is vital that it operate for 3-4 months in a country with low accessibility to parts.
But they both would be preconfigured. Similar like a difference between Hot-site and Cold-site (in this case your example would be cold-cold-site and my example would be cold-site or warm-site). Of cource Hot-site costs more money.
But then you could basically rejoin the same ongoing meeting from another one if your laptop fails.
Ok. That’s good. Yeah, the RAM may be a problem to transfer then. But RAM is also locally source-able in reasonable time. Also both sticks shouldn’t fail at the same time.
@Raph search the forums for the RTC battery issue, basically, 11th gen Intel systems don’t charge the RTC battery through the main battery, only when plugged in, so if the laptop isn’t plugged in frequently enough (officially communication says months, but I’ve had it happen only using the laptop plugged in an hour or two a day every few days), the RTC battery can fail or otherwise require a mainboard reset by opening up the machine.
If you have an 11th gen system I’d consider sourcing rechargeable RTC batteries as a backup.
@Raph this link goes over all the gory details and how to fix it Rework Instructions for 11th Gen Mainboards to enable powering the RTC circuit from the main battery . Good news is they should have a fairly easy single solder point fix for it. Based on your description and the age of the machine I would say your RTC battery is getting ready to give up. I would at least look to replace it before your trip, and if you can get the rework done. You should be able to get a replacement battery through framework support.
If you’re on a trip (and therefore probably using it somewhat often), it’s unlikely the battery will fail, and if it does it’s quite easy to charge it back up! However, by all means the soldering fix does fix the problem completely, so if you’re comfortable with it go ahead and good luck!
if you mean Intel Gen11 bring a CMOS battery. When mine was dead, and I had no electrical socket/proper charger around at one point, I managed to bootstrap it using a large power bank with USB-PD support. That was an interesting experience, for sure.
Ahah joke aside, something not yet mentioned, I would recommend you to bring an usb stick with a live OS on it and your minimal working environment ready. That way you can still work on any device at your disposal, survive an hard disk failure, or even use it as a recovery tool.
I would buy a padded moisture resistant case as dropping it would be your biggest challenge to keeping it running. SEA is hot and moist. A triband phone so you can connect to internet in certain countries and remote (not sure where you are headed). Maybe a cat 5 module and cord. extra usbc as the frameworks fray under stress.
