Expansion slots 5 and 6 Framework 16 are flaky. I first noticed the issue when my headphones plugged into expansion slot 6 would occasionally repeatedly disconnect and reconnect every few seconds. When the headphones disconnect, the USB audio device is no longer recognized as if I had unplugged it from the slot. Furthermore, sometimes I need to plug in my headphones several times before the USB audio device is recognized.
This issue can happen when I’m watching a video with my hands off of the computer and there was no discernible vibration or movement of the computer. The computer hasn’t been dropped, gotten wet, or otherwise been used in a way that would damage it.
The issue also occurs with slot 5 and IIRC slot 4 but not slot 3. I swapped an SD card reader from slot 3, where it works fine, into slot 6 and the card suddenly dismounts and mounts automatically so I would assume something is wrong with the slot and not the expansion cards. This issue has been going on for awhile and perhaps as long as I’ve had the computer. I was in batch 5 and got my computer at the end of March.
If someone could advise me what to look for or adjust inside the computer, I’ll open it up and perform the requested adjustments. Otherwise, I’m at a loss about what to do.
In case it matters, I’m running Kubuntu 24.04 but I think this is purely a hardware issue.
In my experience slots 1 and 4 seem to be the most reliable.
slots 2 and 5 less so, and slots 3 and 6 the least.
slots 3 and 6 are the least reliable, but maybe only because they cannot supply as much power to the other slots.
For example, I have a usb nvme disk and a Samsung A34 phone that only work reliably in slots 1 and 4.
I’ve read about the expansion card slots. How do I do a mainboard reset? I couldn’t find an article about that in the knowledge base. What is the impact of that? Thanks
Do you experience the same symptoms? Is it normal or acceptable for some ports to be unreliable? I would like all my ports to be reliable. Last night my headphones in slot 6 wouldn’t work at all for an extended period of time.
I was only mentioning the different port reliability to maybe help you. It is only my personal experience with the ports but I think others also experience the same problems. For example, if you have a problem with your headphones in slot 6, it might help to try them in slot 1 or 4 to see if they are less problematic there.
I think some improvements will come in future BIOS updates because of this in the release notes for the latest FW16 BIOS:
Known Issues
There are some device compatibility issues found in 3.03 which are still being resolved. This update is primarily focused on security updates.
Type-c connection stability with some apple phones.
Charger support for certain portable EPR power banks.
System stuck at 500Mhz when attached to an EPR charger through type-c to displayport adapters with type-c input.
ALS sensor reports may occasionally be incomplete. (as seen in dmesg).
In the schematics from the Framework 16 they say that the USB-Ports support 3 Ampere. Also the Datasheet from Genisys Logic says 3 Ampere.
They are using a Genisys Logic GL3590-S for the Ports 2, 3, 5, 6.
Excerpt from the Datasheet: “USB-C port supporting USB-C current modes, including USB Default, 1.5A@5V, 3A@5V”
I am also on Kubuntu 24.04. and also have Problems with USB. My Fingerprint-Sensor does not work correct. When i wake the Computer from Suspend sometimes there is a Delay about ~30 sec. before the Message “Put your …” appears.
When i connect my Smartphone (USB-C on Port 4) for Charging or Tethering my Audio-Module (Port 3) doesn’t work anymore.
Also the Computer hangs when using “sudo lsusb -v” on the console for nearly 50 seconds. Did you ever try the mentioned command?
For the Framework 16 they are using 3 USB-Controller from Genisys Logic. 2 x GL852G-60 Genesys Logic’s advanced MTT hub for the Input-Modules and the Fingerprint-Sensor.
One Genisys Logic GL3590-S USB 3.1 Gen 2 hub for the USB-Ports 2, 3, 5 and 6. Maybe these Parts are crap or there is something wrong with Linux.
Greetings from Germany
P.S.: When i close the Lid my Mouse sometimes isn’t turned off (Port 6, USB-A), means the Computer does not suspend correct. Today my Mouse didn’t work anymore after using “lsusb -v”. Unplugging and replugging the USB-A-Module didn’t help. Console hangs. Device-Manager/Info hangs.
I always wonder when companies don’t provide a link to a datasheet that you can download. Presumably one has to sign an NDA to get it, but I really wonder what they are protecting on this sort of chip.