Has anyone tried sanding it off? Thinking a very fine grit would remove the silkscreened logo, and leave a little texture, without changing the look too much. Mask off the area as best as possible first, and try to keep any grit and/or plastic out of the machine (maybe do it upside-down?).
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The logo is not printed on top of the black key surface; the black key surface is printed with the logo masked out of it. That’s how it remains transmissive for the keyboard backlight.
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Well… File that under “D” for “duh.” 
Should have realized that before asking the question. Haven’t used my Framework in the dark enough yet to have thought much about the backlight.
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Hey, since FW includes a little slip of stickers with its new DIY machines, including several FW logos, perhaps they could include a sticker that could fit onto its windows key. Just sayin’.
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The best solution for now is probably to buy a blank keyboard and use its blank letter keycaps as donors for a few dozen keyboards (if the latch and mechanism matches).
People living in big cities can crowdsource and order one blank keyboard to be distributed among them.
Also nice idea to be done during a Framework fest somewhere
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And furthermore…
The F12 key has a FW logo (on the US english keyboard) so why cannot the super key also have the FW logo? Would that hurt?
Hopefully Framework decides to stay away from CPUs with Pluton then because, according to a recent Phoronix article:
Starting in 2022 for Secured-core PCs it is a Microsoft requirement for the 3rd Party Certificate to be disabled by default.
…and for reference, 3rd party certificates are required in order to boot Linux.
Source:
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The fact that the UEFI secure boot store doesn’t include the “sometimes Linux bootloaders are signed by this certificate” certificate by default is unrelated to Pluton. That could have been made true of any machine manufactured after 2010.
It is not Pluton that manages the UEFI db.
Thanks for the heads up. I have a P16 on order…hope Pluton isn’t part of that.
Pluton only exists currently on Ryzen 6000 and isn’t on any currently-available Intel parts.
Also, at least in the aforementioned article, there is a bios option to manually enable 3rd party certificates, but one can’t exactly rely on that option always being there since non-DIY bios options have always been notoriously lacking in terms of options and settings.
There’s also the general questionable-ness of Pluton as a whole when it comes to using non-Windows OSes, but that’s for another thread.
Yeah, I found another two articles that states it’s not currently on any 12th gen Intel processors, plus Dell and Lenovo have mostly opted Intel’s solution instead of Microsoft’s Pluton.
and some ARM chips as well. It’s heading for intel.
As the FrameWork Laptop officially supports Linux, it would be great to see an option to get a distro-specific super key. FrameWork wouldn’t have to sell a whole new keyboard, they could just sell the individual keycap. however, I can imagine how expensive it would be to make that reasonably.
Oh, thank you for that.
I would like to +1 for an agnostic key cap design.
There should be some sort of solution that is better than “stickers”, using sandpaper to remove layers, or using paint to cover up the existing Windows logo. In the very least, there should be a detailed guide that explains the best way to take off and replace the current key with the least likely chance of breaking it.
Is it true that Microsoft requires their logo to be on these keyboards because Framework sells copies of their operating system? If true, how is this relevant if someone chooses to not buy a laptop with the OS already installed?
Some ideas for what the replacement keycap could feature:
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transparent
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plain black
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super
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tux
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code
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0101
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Framework gear logo
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pirate flag
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triangle circle square
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a large X shape: extending to, and touching, all 4 corners of the keycap
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recycle icon
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I am sure there are others. The important part is that they are OS agnostic.
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I believe that what people have said is that Microsoft offers a discount on OEM licenses if the keyboard has the windows logo on the key. The relevance is that it is cost prohibitive and confusing for Framework to have two versions of every keyboard variant with and without the logo, so they choose to make them all with the windows logo supposedly for the alleged discount.
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You are correct, but in the context of this conversation I was referring to all keyboards with markings on the keys, as we are in a conversation about “replacing the windows logo” and the blank keyboards would not need to be considered here, as they do not have a windows logo to be replaced.
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The takeaway seems to be that Framework can retain their Windows OS discounts, while simultaneously having the option to sell some keyboards without the Windows logo.
So, maybe in the future, there will be non-Windows options directly from the company. Or, maybe someone will provide a third-party option through the marketplace?
You typed “OEM” here. Pertaining to the Windows licenses that Framework sells, do they not have a “retail” option? The OS in the marketplace appears to have the retail price; not the OEM price.
Yes, you are right. I understand the logistical issue with this. There are ways to get around it however.
- Some keyboard manufacturers provide custom keycaps utilizing different “printing” technologies. One such example would be WASD’s UV printing process:
Our Build Process - WASD Keyboards - Or, Framework could eventually only sell keyboards that allow for user replaceable keycaps. Very unlikely, mainly due to the complexity of the butterfly mechanism. However, it would make sense from a business, repair, and environment standpoint.
For example, customers would buy less keyboards because:
- They would not need a completely new keyboard for a different language option.
- Reduce the temptation to buy a blank keyboard, for the sole purpose of cannibalizing.
- From a marketing standpoint, it would make the laptops seem that much more fun and customizable.
- The customer base could sell their own keycap designs on the marketplace. Framework could provide the different language options via this method as well.
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So you guys put a Windows symbol on the keyboard so you could get discounts on Windows licenses so you guys will make money on them when you sell them to us at retail?
Looks like regardless if you buy a pre-built, DIY or just order a Windows license it costs $199 which is the same as if buying from Microsoft retail. I don’t have any issues if this is why, I was just curious.