Rework Instructions for 11th Gen Mainboards to enable powering the RTC circuit from the main battery

Community Support
172

Great news! Thanks for considering the worries that people had about jumping thru hoops – it feels like your asks are totally fair.

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To add to this, you will receive an automated reply with a lot of great troubleshooting information. You may or may not have received this previously, but this is the gateway message into the specific queue dedicated to triaging these requests. Please understand that the message is sent to everyone entering this queue (which is noted at the top of this automated message in italics and bold). Once in the queue, we will be triaging these requests separately from our normal queues and will work with our repair center partners to fulfill requests. We ask for your patience while we continue to streamline this process over time. Responses may be delayed, and we will be queueing up requests and communicating in batches to our partner. Fulfillment will begin next week.

Also, while we understand this has been a frustrating experience for some of you, we kindly ask that you enter the queue with a collaborative mindset as our agents are just trying to assist in fulfilling requests. Aggressive/abusive messages will be ignored.

Thank you for your patience while our entire team worked diligently to deliver these new options.

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174

I have entered a request for the modules for my two machines. For full transparency, I have not needed to reset the mainboard on either machine, but I have run into the need to attach to power before the laptop will boot. To work around that, I keep both machines on power most of the time, with a charging limit. I would like to perform the work on the machines to avoid running into the issue in the future. I would be hesitant to hand off either machine in the current state to someone who does not possess solid technical skills - the RTC holder for example, is extremely fragile, and removing the battery from it is necessary to reset the board. I’m not a superstar technically, but I am ok, and fiddling with the RTC battery gives me pause whenever I have to do it (which thankfully has only been a couple of times).

I’m comfortable doing the work, having done the HDMI card rework on one of my cards. I also am ok being later in the queue than those who have run into the issue. I do feel that doing this work is necessary for me to get the boards to a state where the machines can be handed to anyone to use.

I am thankful that you have provided the means to rework the boards.

Finally, to anyone who made it this far, congratulations, and have a great day.

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175

It doesn’t take a lot of power to solder to this, as it’s only an 0805 capacitor being soldered to that isn’t being sunk into a large plane or anything. The temperature should just be what you would use for the solder type you’re using.

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I am in the same boat. After sitting for more than a day or so it won’t turn on unless I plug it in, even if the main battery is charged. I’d like to request a kit, but I’d hate to think I was getting it before someone with worse symptoms. Maybe I’ll wait a month or something.

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177

You should both make the request. That sounds reasonably likely to be a worn out RTC battery.

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178

I also started running into this a week or so ago after almost two years, so this is fantastic timing! Submitted my request.

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I thought I was affected by this issue but now I’m not sure reading the above post. My issue is that after a relatively short period of time unplugged (2 weeks or so) the laptop won’t boot without mains power, and the BIOS settings have reset. This is evidenced by the time in the BIOS going back to 1 Jan 2021 (or thereabouts) and the charge limit (the only other setting I routinely change) returning to 100. So it seems that the coin cell completely discharging does result in the BIOS settings being lost? I’ll also add if the time is wrong beyond a significant duration, about four days or so, Windows will not automatically synchronise it (as evidenced by messages in the event log).

In summary, although I haven’t had to reset my mainboard, I honestly do dread turning on my laptop now if it’s been some time since I last used it, in case I have to go through the whole rigmarole of setting up my BIOS again and changing the clock manually to what it should be so Windows will properly sync it. Would this RTC Battery Substitution module solve the above issue by keeping the RTC circuit powered thus enabling the BIOS to retain custom settings (and the correct time)?

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@sando simply swapping the RTC battery for a new one will solve the issue. Had the same problem. You can buy one for about 10 USD or ask support to send one for free - the latter option will require you to wait for a few weeks though.

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It seems to me once you have the issue, swapping the battery makes little difference. I’m now on my third battery in 18 months! They just don’t work for long if you are not a regular daily driver with your Framework.

Intel bug aside, the battery chosen was a poor choice.

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I feel this topic has been debated at length now.

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184

Thanks all, it wasn’t my intention to reignite any kind of debate on this, just to gather some more intel on what route to go down with regards to my issue (and clear up a misconception earlier on in the thread re: clock resync). I have the info I need I think, so thanks again :slight_smile:

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When can we expect to hear back from support once we’ve contacted them regarding the coin cell replacement?
I got the confirmation I’m in the ‘appropriate queue’ 17 days ago and have not yet gotten an update.

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Just a reminder - this thread is about the fix. It is here to provide information and assistance to users about the fix. Any posts here that make this information harder to find will be removed.

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Hi @chrisp_chicken. After looking into your ticket, we replied with instructions to provide the following information for processing:

“Simply request this option and provide a clear image/photo of the serial number of your mainboard and your Framework Order Number”

We will also need you to verify the shipping address information as well.

Once you provide this, we’ll work to expedite the shipment for you.

Thanks!

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Thanks @TheTwistgibber for coming back to me. In the same e-mail it also stated “If you are receiving this message, you are already in the appropriate queue, and one of our staff will be following up to assist you.” - hence why I thought not further action was required.
I also requested the option in my initial inquiry via my e-mail along with the original order number.
With nrp’s statement, I thought the mainboard serial number was optional (“and/or include photos of the system and Mainboard serial number”).

So if anyone is wondering when there’s no explicit follow-up e-mail: you may need to explicitly request the option again and always provide pictures of the mainboard’s serial number.

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I too submitted a request for the solder kit. It has been weeks now, so want to make sure I provided everything that was required. Kindly let me know.

Via email to LeMa, I sent a screenshot of the BIOS info, along with a copy of the original order and shipping info. This in addition to my original request in the first week of August.

Thanks

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Hi @chrisp_chicken. In that same bolded top line, right after the message you quoted, it said, “Please read this message FULLY as it will streamline the support process. Thank you!” The message has the following instructions as well:

“If you accept the associated liability, please request this option and provide a clear image/photo of the serial number of your mainboard and your Framework Order Number. If you do not have access to the Order Number, please provide the email used to complete the purchase on the Framework website. To access the mainboard serial number on the top side of the part, please follow the steps in the guide HERE. Also, please verify your shipping information/address (only in supported countries/regions) to avoid unnecessary back and forth communications. For information on acceptable shipping addresses, please see the following article HERE​.”

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Hello @Nicholas_C_DeBord. We never received a response on the ticket you submitted with the request where we provided the instructions on August 9th. You reopened an older ticket that was closed that you submitted a survey for from August 1st, today. Per the instructions, as also noted above:

“Framework Support now has an alternative option for those with the technical skills to solder electrical components. This alternative RTC/CMOS Battery Substitution is a single solder point component which replaces the coin cell battery with a circuit that keeps the RTC subsystem powered off of the main battery. You can find the step by step instructions for installing this module in this guide. PLEASE NOTE : You should NOT request this option if you or the person designated for this rework do not have sufficient electronics soldering experience. While it is only a single solder point, failing to solder this correctly can result in damage to the system and is not covered under Framework’s Limited Warranty. If you accept the associated liability, please request this option and provide a clear image/photo of the serial number of your mainboard and your Framework Order Number. If you do not have access to the Order Number, please provide the email used to complete the purchase on the Framework website. To access the mainboard serial number on the top side of the part, please follow the steps in the guide HERE. Also, please verify your shipping information/address (only in supported countries/regions) to avoid unnecessary back and forth communications. For information on acceptable shipping addresses, please see the following article HERE​.”

It looks like your reopened ticket is being merged with the request ticket and we just need you to provide the requested information before we can send the part.

Thanks.

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In fairness, I made the exact same mistake - the canned response is incredibly long, and it’s a little difficult to correctly parse what we’re being asked to do.

Shortly after people started asking for updates here, I myself received a canned response stating that I never replied with the requested information, even though I did provide the serial number and a photo of it in my initial submission. I replied to the latest email asking for whoever is on the other end to double-check.

I’m personally very eager to get the kit and resolve the issue once and for all.

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