Long UEFI/Firmware boot time depending on active display output

Hi,

I’m trying to determine whether this is a firmware issue or expected behavior.

The system startup to display the framework logo depends on how I have my computer connected to the monitor
systemd-analyze:
Startup finished in 11.056s (firmware) + 340ms (loader) + 1.140s (kernel) + 71ms (initrd) + 4.263s (userspace) = 16.872s

So normal boot is 11s.

case 1. DP or HDMI direct to Monitor

11s

case 2. Thunderbold direct to Monitor

40-50s

case 3. OCuLink → DP → Monitor

40-50s

case 4. Both Dp-> monitor and OCuLink → DP → Monitor

12s

It looks like the firmware waits for an active display on the integrated GPU, or there is a timeout while initializing DisplayPort Alt Mode / eGPU before POST continues.

The operating system is not involved, because only the firmware time changes.

Has anyone observed similar behavior on the Framework Desktop?

I’m also considering testing with an HDMI dummy plug to see whether presenting a “fake” monitor on the iGPU makes firmware boot fast again.

Any ideas or similar experiences would be appreciated.