[SOLVED] FW13 Ultra Series 1 125H: Right-Side Ports Accept Data But Not Power

My current laptop was originally an 11th Gen i5 Framework Laptop. An important thing to note is that, at some point with my original 11th Gen, I did drop my laptop which resulted in the fingerprint module cracking. I ended up replacing the fingerprint module with a new one, and thought nothing else of it. Also, I did upgrade my 11th Gen mainboard’s BIOS previously past the version that fixed the 0% charging issue.

Recently (this week), I upgraded to the Ultra Series 1 mainboard with 32 GB of DDR5, though I believe my charging issue may have existed before the mainboard upgrade.

For whatever reason, independent of OS issues (tried on both Windows and Manjaro/Linux), the ports on the right side of my laptop do not accept charge from a 65 watt charger, but they do accept and recognize flash drives that I plug in through USB-A. It’s not an LED issue either, as Windows and Manjaro themselves report that the battery isn’t charging.

I’ve tried the following:

  • Switching Chargers
  • Swapping modules around from side-to-side to confirm it’s not the modules
  • Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery
  • Bypassing the cards entirely and plugging into the USB-C slots themselves

None of the above have seemed to work, and I’m stuck. Any ideas where to go from here?

Hi @V_V,

Congrats on the upgrade. That is odd that the new motherboard will do data but not power. Did you have the same issue with your 11th Gen i5 board? Do you have another charger to test out the ports with?

There are two halves to the ports on each side of the motherboard. (i.e. BIOS for each side) I wonder if one is not the same BIOS version and that is causing the issue? You should contact support over the issue and see what they say.

Especially since you tried bypassing the expansion cards. If you really wanted to be creative, you could try operating the motherboard standalone (outside the laptop) and see if it will even power itself from the right side.

Interesting scenario that you have there. Let us know what you find out. :grin:

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Hey @pkunk,

Did you have the same issue with your 11th Gen i5 board? Do you have another charger to test out the ports with?

I already tried another charger. To refresh my memory, I tried operating my 11th Gen Mainboard standalone, and I can confirm that it runs from both USB-C ports on the right side.

For the BIOS comment, I would’ve done a support ticket, if not for my next discovery.

The standalone motherboard idea for the Ultra series was good. After testing (involving unplugging the battery), I noticed that the lights came on, even with the use of a USB-C card.

After replugging the battery, the right side appeared to have magically started working. I still have no idea why data was working earlier but not power, though.

I guess the issue is solved, and the moral of the story is to replug the battery multiple times and to not rely on battery disconnect through the BIOS.

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