This seems like a very good move, find out why the hinges have been problematic and hopefully avoid further issues for users in the future.
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If you leave it in your bag for a couple of weeks you’ll find it has another flaw.
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@Jason_Dagless are you referring to the battery drain while powered off issue? Because in my experience it takes a whole lot less than a couple of weeks for the battery to drain while sitting idle.
I didn’t include that in my post because it’s not a quality control issue. Though I would love for it to be addressed at some point if possible through a firmware update. It’s quite disappointing pulling my Framework out of my bag and finding it to be dead.
I’m completely amazed with all the new stuff that got announced today. So I’m pretty happy I didn’t go ahead with ordering a Thinkpad.
Framework just announced a 2nd generation 3.5kg hinge. The timing is a little unfortunate with Framework having just shipped me a replacement 3.3kg hinge. If I’d known they’d be releasing a new hinge, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered going through support, because I’ll definitely be ordering the improved hinge once the Ryzen boards and new batteries are released.
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I see the battery issue was brought up here a few times. I think it would be really good if battery life was increased, I think it’s directly linked to the speakers as well, as their position right now is bad to listen to and also restricts the battery. If the speakers were put up next to the keyboard we could have a bigger battery with a nicer battery life and at least more hearable speakers. That and I wonder what Framework thinks about using CAMM as well.
They are referring to the issue with the 11th gen where the system will not power on due to a depleted RTC battery. Strangely a charged RTC battery is required to power on the machine and said battery will only charge (very slowly) when connected to mains power. Officially this is weeks to months of being unplugged however deep discharges and or bad battery connects have cause some to experience it after a few days. Viability of an ML 1220 rechargable battery for RTC | CMOS (11th gen) - #43 by nrp
Looks to me like the exact same design but the spec is upped from 3.3 to 3.5 kg but time will tell.
Very happy to see FW are addressing the complaints/desires users have expressed, the live event was genuinely so exciting I literally was saying “well done Framework”. That said I still hope we see improved durability of design in general.
Ah, sorry! I’ll make my own thread for it. I just read some complaints about the batteries and wanted to vent.
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I received the new replacement hinges yeterday, and just installed them. With the new hinges, the screen does once again hold itself in place at any angle, as expected.
I still think it’s a little looser than I would hope as you approach 180, but should pose no usability issues during light usage. I would consider this to be within spec given Framework has prioritized one-handed opening over stability for their out of the box experience.
As for the defective hinges that I removed.
The right hinge feels perfectly sturdy. It is pretty difficult to turn by hand, and has uniform stiffness. Feels perfect.
The left hinge however provides almost no resistance. Also, looking closely, it looks like there’s a lot of goop seeping out of the sides of the hinge, which I suspect is lubricant leakage? I’m guessing these hinges are supposed to be sealed with lubricant to prevent metal on metal wear. And with that lubricant leaked out, the hinge pre-maturely failed.
I’ll be sending the hinges back to Framework for review, but I’ll also post this photo here. It would be interesting to know if other users with bad hinges also found this lubricant leakage.
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Interestingly I noticed that my left hinge was noticeably “lighter” than the right hinge, didn’t have a the lubricant leakage you described though. Might be that there were some bad LHS hinges in the mix. I noted FW rate the hinges for 20,000 cycles so unless you are opening and closing the lid every 20 minutes for 16 hrs a day they should last more than a year!
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It was similar with my first defective set. One hinge felt good and the other one was very weak. But unfortunately I threw out that set after installing the first replacement set. So I can’t confirm if it was the left hinge in that case as well.
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Third set of hinges is starting to have the same problem. It’s still stable at most angles, and isn’t much of a hinderance. But the screen will fall under its own weight if you put it past around a 150 degree angle.
My laptop is well out of warranty now. And when I received my second replacement set, I was refused the 4kg hinge. So I really don’t see any point even trying to reach out to support again. The 3.3kg hinge is defective by design.
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On Reddit and here I noticed multiple people having issues with the trackpad, hinges and battery(CMOS). I know people have a tendency to share the bad ones instead of the good ones too.
Multiple horror stories but there’s always people that says Framework is awesome not matter what, some even take criticism of a specific product as personal.
It’s fairly easy to talk about other people problems but ours always hit hard.
I think quality is extremely important specially when we talk about longevity. What would be the point of a device that we need to keep replacing parts because they break after months of use? That would not be sustainable.
I see that Framework has improved and keep improving and I believe they will be great some day, but I do understand your frustration.
I hope we can win your heart back someday.
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I’ve just discovered that my USB-A module no longer works in the front-left port. The same USB-A module works in all other ports. There is no visible dust, debris, or damage in the port. And the HDMI module still works on that port. So I’m not really sure what could have gone wrong there. But I guess I’ll add it to the list.
Likely a short issue, I’ve had similar happen. Unplug all expansion cards, shut down laptop, power on laptop, plug back in. That fixed my port issues when I accidentally connected 5v to ground by fumbling a USB-C connector into a USB-A slot.
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A new issue has cropped up. My fan now produces a buzzing noise on interval. The interval and severity depends on how hard the fans are running. At low speeds, it just sounds like a periodic scratching. At higher speeds, it’s a more pronounced buzzing.
I’ve tried cleaning the fan with short bursts of compressed air. And when that didn’t work, I took it apart and inspected and cleaned more thoroughly. The fan did not appear to be significantly dirty.
I’m not really sure what to do for my next laptop. My original plan was to do a motherboard swap to the new AMD platform. But I have effectively zero confidence in the Framework platform’s reliability at this point, despite how much I want to support their mission.
Unfortunately, this is where my Framework journey ends for now. I’ve been planning an upgrade to a 7000 series Amd laptop, and I’ve been struggling with the decision to upgrade the motherboard in my Framework, or purchase a different laptop.
As much as I love the idea of upgrading my Framework, based on the experience I’ve had so far, I just can’t justify continuing to invest in and use it as my daily driver machine. So I’ve ordered a different laptop. The Framework will not go to waste though. I’ll continue to find some use for it as an appliance or server machine.
I believe in Framework’s mission. And I hope they continue to improve and address issues over time. I’d like to give them another chance in the future.
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thanks for being here for the time being, and I hope that things improve enough for you to restart this journey again someday!
Following up. I ended up buying a Thinkpad T14s Gen 4 (AMD). And I wish I didn’t.
According to their technical support, the laptop is certified to work with Linux, and my issues sound like defective hardware. According to their repair depot, my issues are compatibility issues with Linux. Despite the laptop being officially certified for Linux compatibility.
Aside from the loose hinges, every issue I’ve ever had with my Framework has been worked out, and customer support was very each to reach and quick to respond. And the Linux support is fantastic. I’ve been continuing to use my Framework while waiting for all the RMA processes and communications with Lenovo. And the Framework never has an issue.
I’ve just filed my first ever credit card chargeback, because Lenovo refuses to accept a return on the defecitve laptop. And they also refuse to repair it since their repair depot doesn’t believe in their Linux Certification. So if that works out and I can get my money back, maybe I’ll come back to Framework.
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I never owned a laptop that does not have major issues. I love the thinkpad design language, but always hated their driver and firmware bugs.
I am too switching from a thinkpad to a framework soon and still expecting bugs to be present. But at least framework has a very strong and technical community focusing only on two products.
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I got a framework 13 with a 7780U back in December and have recently also noticed that the hinge can be loose at times though is not a huge issue in my daily workflow
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