[SOLVED] Front left USB-C port stopped working completely

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I have a Framework Laptop 13 with an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U based mainboard from batch #5. I have just recently (a few days ago) noticed that the front left USB port (the one without display output functionality, denoted #2 here) completely stopped working. (It was definitely working earlier, but I don’t remember the exact date of the last time I used it successfully.)

The issue doesn’t seem to be with the USB Type A expansion card that was in that slot so far, as it works in other slots, and the port doesn’t even seem to work with devices connected directly to the mainboard without any expansion cards.

I’m running NixOS 24.05, but have tried booting another OS image while troubleshooting with the same results before realizing that the port in question doesn’t even charge or provide power, so I’m incliden to think that it’s a hardware related issue.

One thing that happened lately was that I updated from BIOS 3.03 to 3.05, which did fix compatibility with some of my chargers, so I guess that it had to have done something to the USB controllers. (I also remember reading that if someone were to update a mainboard without a battery, they would have to change the port they are powering the device throught the procedure.)

Has anyone ever experienced anything similar? The other issues I was able to find were related to overcurrent protection, which doesn’t appear in my dmesg logs, and they usually mention a port that works intermittently, while currently mine seems to be completely dead.

I guess that I’ll also open a support ticket if this turns out to be a completely new type of issue, but I assume that it doesn’t hurt to ask here first.

Thanks for any help in advance!

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Which port did you have the charger plugged into for the update?

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I didn’t remember, but as I manically document every process I deem at least partially risky I found a photo showing that it was plugged into the back left port.

ps.: I haven’t yet opened up the chassis to check for physical damage, but will try to do that soon, as I’ve seen other people reporting melted plastic around USB controllers.

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Try plugging the charger into a port on the right side and re-running the BIOS updater.

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Thanks for the suggestion!

Since I wasn’t sure whether I could force a reinstallation using lvfs / fwupd (I guess I could by providing an update file manually :thinking:) I went through the EFI shell this time, plugging the power source into the back right port and the installation medium into the front right port through a Type A expansion card.

The process seemed to go just fine this time as well, my photographs from both occasions show all the following checkmarks appear in the bottom right corner of the screen as well as the green Update Complete!!!:

✓ BIOS: JFP30.03.05
✓ EC: -ec:b4c1f
✓ PD1: 0.0.1C
✓ PD2: 0.0.1C

Still, the front left port didn’t return to life. I tried multiple devices while booted into NixOS as well as plugging in a charger while turned off to make sure that nothing OS related is interfering with it’s operation, but no luck.

After this I opened the machine to check for any visible signs of hardware related issues, but found none. I closed it back up, rebooted multiple times and ended up pausing on the boot device selector screen activated by F12, while I decided to grab a USB keyboard to see if the BIOS screens respond to USB input through that port by any chance. (It didn’t really make sense to try, as the port wasn’t even providing power, but still, I decided to give it a go.)

When I grabbed the keyboard and returned I barely caught the power LED on the left side of the machine blink if I recall correctly a few times white and then a bunch of different colors in a sequence. Here’s where I’m a bit uncertain in the order of events, as I might have already plugged the keyboard into the port before the blinking happened. Anyway, after the blinking stopped, I breathed a sigh of relief as I was able to switch between the listed input devices using my external keyboard. I booted up NixOS while it was still connected, and sure enough, it kept functioning just fine even under Linux. I have tried multiple devices and charging as well through that port and everything seems to work perfectly right now.

It feels a bit weird not really knowing what fixed it, but still I’m really glad that everything’s back to normal! :slight_smile: Thanks for the quick responses @Morpheus636, even if the reinstall might not have been the exact step needed, it led me to experiment in a direction that finally somehow sorted this situation out!

ps.: Another reason while I’m glad I didn’t start by opening a support ticket is that now anyone experiencing a similar situation can find this thread and firstly, maybe fix their issue through a set of steps outlined here, as well as secondly, maybe report back with some more information that can help shed light on the exact circumstances, under which the port decides to come back to life!

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Glad you got it sorted! The blinking would’ve just been a POST code, as the machine took longer than a few seconds to power on, so I doubt it’s related. Not really sure what fixed it, but glad it’s fixed!

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I realize this is a somewhat old post, but is the first post I came across when searching for my symptoms.

I had a similar issue with the AMD 7640 board. I don’t use the port often so this anecdote may have be a coincidence, but my 3 year old was discovering that a USB C male connector will fit inside a USB A port (which I kept in the same slot as you). Possibly causing a short of some kind?

I thought the port was dead (no messages in dmesg, but the expansion cards showed messages when connected to the other ports).

The only thing that seems to have worked is disconnecting the battery. I opened the case to look for damage (disconnected the keyboard to get inside and disconnected the battery to possibly reset something). I doubt disconnecting the keyboard was related. The red leds did blink (I didn’t pay attention to the pattern, but it was brief) when I reconnected the battery which would seem to be some sort of POST.

Now it will charge via the problem port, and my USB A flash drives are working correctly.

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Welcome to the community @Garrett_Randle.

Physically disconnecting, waiting for a while, then reconnecting the battery does indeed force the EC to go through a set of startup routines (I am just guessing here) that it normally does not do after the battery connection has been established and values are stored in NVRAM for the EC.

Including evaluating the components it is programmed to look out for to communicate/control. [Low level controls are like this for different subsystem components, because they can be arranged in different ways, configurations, adaptions, etc. Other manufacturers can reuse similar subcomponents in different models of laptops while using the same mainboard and EC.

That port had some sort of “event” that the EC determined was either catastrophic or invalid. It is designed with some self-preservation for the remaining components (i.e. if one port goes bad it isn’t like old christmas lights where if one bulb goes out, the whole string remains dark). In essence, that port was marked as BAD and the system kept chugging along because the other 95% of the machine was working fine.

The physical battery disconnect essentially calls a full check on the items it has a list to check upon first POST and seeing the port with no abnormalities marked it as valid again. Thanks to the engineers and scientists who help make this possible in modern electronics!

If you need some 3year-old protective port covers, the ones from @XenoCow are pretty spectacular. Be warned that your 3-year old might find all kinds of things to fill in the snack drawers! :grinning:

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I am having a similar issue on Debian 13.1 on the fw13 AMD Ryzen 7 7840U.

That old BIOS got my battery all swole up so I’m waiting to see if I can get a new one to try the suggestions in the thread. Right now it’s just running on a hope and a dream.

I just saw this elsewhere: Fully Resetting the Mainboard State - Framework Guides

I’ll try that and see what’s what

E: yep that was it. Shut the machine down, waited about 5 minutes. Plugged in AC power to the questionable port, waited about 10 minutes and then powered it back on.

The extra waiting probably isn’t necessary. I was just being careful

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