Hello Framework community! I have a 12th gen laptop running the latest version of Kubuntu (23.04) and yesterday my laptop randomly flickered and the keyboard and trackpad became completely unresponsive! The only different thing I did that time was use a Bluetooth device (I’ve never used any Bluetooth devices with my laptop till now) with my laptop. I checked journalctl and found nothing but a bunch of suspend logs before the incident but nothing abnormal. Also, when I *turned off my laptop (by holding the power button) and turned it back on, the keyboard still didn’t work, but the trackpad began working. I then decided to open the laptop and the cables were still plugged in and nothing looked wrong inside the laptop. But now, the keyboard is functioning properly, and everything is working. Does anyone have any idea what could have gone wrong?!
*The laptop may have not been turned off, but there was no physical indication of it being on, since the power button wasn’t displaying its light and the keyboard and trackpad weren’t functional
The only thing I could think of was the keyboard cover connector. It seems like taking it off, and adjusting it did the trick.
Sudden jolts or drops exert their force on the internals of the laptop. Because the connections on the framework are made to be unplugged and plugged back in, they are not permanently glued in place, etc.
Glad it worked out again, and excellent choice on Linux distro!
The device didn’t move at all (it was on a desk), and I didn’t touch the cables since they were all seated (plugged in), so I don’t think it was the cable slipping out. But, at the same time, that’s the only thing I can see causing an issue. However, I just remembered that I have tlp and powerprofilesdaemon installed simultaneously (I don’t remember installing tlp) maybe enabling Bluetooth triggered tlp to turn on and cause issues?
Ah! I believe I figured it out! The Framework laptop has a magnetic hardware sensor under the left top corner of the keyboard cover that, when activated, puts the laptop to sleep/suspend. This way, when the laptop’s lid is closed, the magnets under the bezel will activate the sensor, causing it to suspend. Also, I so happen to have a Remarkable tablet with a magnetic stylus that was close to that corner of the laptop. I think when I enabled Bluetooth, it must have enabled tlp which isn’t great since it conflicts with powerprofilesdaemon. Also, since my stylus was close to the sensor, it must have triggered sleep/suspend which probably triggered an event in tlp and powerprofilesdaemon at the same time, which likely caused this issue.
