[RESPONDED] HDMI monitor problems (not or intermittently available)

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

Current behaviour (Fedora 39)

Behaviour with 2 monitors: plug in, laptop screen goes blank, monitor does not appear to acknowledge a signal. Remove cable, re-plug cable: monitor wakes up and works.

Behaviour with another (older) monitor (tv): no amount of re-plugging makes it work.

Past behaviour

I don’t recall these problems with Fedora 38. I did not have these problems with Ubuntu 22.04 (and possibly 22.10 and 23.04, sorry can’t recall).

Specs

I have an 8th batch Framework laptop with an 11th Gen Intel processor, Iris Xe graphics, BIOS 3.16 running Fedora 39 and

inxi Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel TigerLake-LP GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] vendor: Framework
    driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-12.1 ports: active: eDP-1
    empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, DP-4 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9a49

dmidecode:

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 26 bytes
BIOS Information
        Vendor: INSYDE Corp.
        Version: 03.10
        Release Date: 07/19/2022
        Address: 0xE0000
        Runtime Size: 128 kB
        ROM Size: 12 MB
        Characteristics:
                PCI is supported
                BIOS is upgradeable
                BIOS shadowing is allowed
                Boot from CD is supported
                Selectable boot is supported
                8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
                CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)
                ACPI is supported
                USB legacy is supported
                BIOS boot specification is supported
                Targeted content distribution is supported
                UEFI is supported
        BIOS Revision: 3.16

debugging info

This is the journalctl output after plugging in the screen that doesn’t respond:

Dec 27 09:33:23 dove kernel: Registered IR keymap rc-cec
Dec 27 09:33:23 dove kernel: rc rc0: DP-4 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/rc/rc0
Dec 27 09:33:23 dove kernel: input: DP-4 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/rc/rc0/input24
Dec 27 09:33:23 dove systemd-logind[1330]: Watching system buttons on /dev/input/event16 (DP-4)
Dec 27 09:33:23 dove rtkit-daemon[1323]: Successfully made thread 3492 of process 3443 (/usr/bin/gnome-shell) owned by '1000' high priority at nice level 0.
Dec 27 09:33:24 dove rtkit-daemon[1323]: Successfully made thread 3492 of process 3443 (/usr/bin/gnome-shell) owned by '1000' RT at priority 20.
                     ----several pairs of these rtkit messages----
Dec 27 09:33:34 dove gnome-shell[3443]: Can't update stage views actor <unnamed>[<ClutterActor>:0x560e584a8160] is on because it needs an allocation.
                     ----msg repeats with different                                             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -----------

I plugged in the monitor and blindly ran inxi, here’s the Graphics section:

Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel TigerLake-LP GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] vendor: Framework
    driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-12.1 ports: active: DP-4 off: eDP-1
    empty: DP-1,DP-2,DP-3 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9a49
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.20.14 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.2
    compositor: gnome-shell driver: X: loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa
    dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: DP-4 model: Panasonic PANASONIC-TV res: 1280x720 dpi: 47
    diag: 800mm (31.48")
  Monitor-2: eDP-1 model: BOE Display 0x095f res: 2256x1504 dpi: 201
    diag: 343mm (13.5")
  API: EGL v: 1.5 platforms: device: 0 drv: iris device: 1 drv: swrast
    surfaceless: drv: iris wayland: drv: iris x11: drv: iris inactive: gbm
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 23.2.1 glx-v: 1.4
    direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Xe Graphics (TGL GT2)
    device-ID: 8086:9a49 display-ID: :0.0

Any tips gratefully received! Thanks.

2

Looks like you are on older BIOS (understandably waiting for the EFI release, I imagine), but this does limit me as I am on 3.19 myself.

Let’s start off with this approach in the meantime:

  • Forget the TV for now, let’s focus on what should be the known to be working monitor when plugged and unplugged.
  • Boot to a live USB of Ubuntu 22.04.3. Test that display with this configuration.

Does it present the same behavior? If it does still happen, the next step is to test with a different set of cables and test with the expansion cards in different slots while on the live USB.

Let me know the results, from there we can determine if this is a kernel bug, bad cable or something else.

3

Hi @Matt_Hartley thanks for your response, and happy new year!

I booted Ubuntu 22.04.3 ok and the monitor behaved itself. I only tried it once. However, the test session was X11 (I’m on wayland) - I don’t know if that’s relevant. And I guess the monitor might not have been in the same state (I don’t know how many power states it manages, but it had recently been ON before this test). I’ll try Ubuntu again with the other monitor shortly.

Typical behaviour with 2 monitors and 2 leads is that I plugin in the morning and my laptop screen goes blank but the monitor never turns on (from power save mode). I unplug and immediately (I wait for the laptop screen to turn on again) re-plug the monitor and it typically wakes up then. Sometimes it can take a third attempt, and very rarely, a fourth. Rarely does it work on the first attempt as it should.

BIOS 3.19 - yes it seems it is not available for linux users yet.

4

How is the monitor in Ubuntu 23.10?

5

This would also be an option, as it would have a newer config for your 11th gen. But honestly, this feels like something we want to test against a current version of the BIOS as there have been significant improvements made in the current power department.

1 Like
6

Not sure if this is a helpful response, but with the 7840U board and F39 on the 6.6.9 kernel, the HDMI card is working fine when booting up with it plugged in and when hotplugging.

7

Fedora 39 trumps Ubuntu 23.10 I think; Fedora being released 1 month later.

@Alex_S I don’t know if 7840U refers to a CPU but my CPU is i5-1135G7 and my kernel is 6.6.8. I’ll upgrade to 6.6.9 just in case.

New information just in: so I’ve found that after plugging monitor in, if I do Ctrl-Alt-F3 (to get a TTY which displays on laptop screen only), then Ctrl-Alt-F2, my external screen awakens.