Haven’t been on this forum in a while, so I wanted to check in to see how the build quality of the latest deliveries of the FW16, especially just before the new gen is out.
Wondering if the fitment has improved since the the pre-release batches (I was in one of the teen batches and had to return for refund).
Looking to see if I should jump back on the 7040 series or the new Ryzen AI series.
The build quality of my FW16 is excellent - at the time i gave Framework a 10/10 for the whole process.
I was originally part of the initial batches of early orders if i remember correctly i was in batch 7. I eventually cancelled that order and waited until about 6 months ago when i purchased mine. Im glad i did.
I remember the anxiety of checking my emails when i was part of the early order batches. I’m glad i decided to wait until the collective frenzy died down. When i eventually ordered my FW16 within a couple of weeks it was delivered and on my desk built and not missing a beat.
Not to mention some of the issues experienced by the early adopters - most of these issues had been resolved by the time i ordered mine.
My hardware came from batch 4 of the 7040 release and I’ve always been happy with the build quality. I’m not keen on the spacers in the touchpad row, but everything else has fit and felt nice, not to mention held up exquisitely through daily use (lugging to/from work, airport handling, dropping it once).
I changed up the 7040 for an AI 300 board and I’m quite happy with that, too. More cores to offload VM work make my standard workflows so much more pleasant.
I got my batch 1 ai-300 version half November. 1 screw (13: upper richt corner) could not be tightened, lame? Also the toughpad and spacers did not fit as they should. (0.25 mm space between front ends or so).
I just use it and build quality is oke. The screen can be twisted a little, it not as sturdy as a complete glued surface, but I take that for granted over a fully self repairable laptop!
Also 1 loose screw is not the end of the world. I was happy fixing it with locktit (Screw thread bolt) but hè it s brand new not cheap device and also me reporting this could improve production for later releases.
I send photos and video to support and after 3 to 4 emails asking for more photos different angles the reported me the following:
‘Your ticket has been escalated, and after carefully reviewing the submitted photos and all the troubleshooting steps done, we’ve concluded that there is a need to replace the Bottom cover kit, touchpad module, and touchpad spacers.’
So I will get these free of charge. Not received them yet. Also don’t look forwards to the build time it will cost me to replace the parts. First time cold water anxiety?
So support is good so far!!!