I never had high expectations for Framework. I didn’t buy into the marketing about “modularity” or “repairability.” I didn’t want this laptop in the first place—my company issued it. I knew Framework’s reputation was overhyped: a loud community echo chamber praising a product whose main feature is its marketing narrative, not actual quality. But what I didn’t expect, even as a skeptic, was for the hardware to become a literal safety hazard within the first 8 months.
The battery in my Framework 13 swelled so badly that it physically split open the chassis near the trackpad. The entire keyboard is bulging outwards. It’s unusable, unsafe, and sits on my desk as a swelling fire hazard. This is not just inconvenient. It is dangerous. It is completely unacceptable.
I contacted Framework support with detailed photos showing the deformation, and they still refused to replace the battery under warranty. Their excuse? I have to physically remove the battery to qualify for a warranty replacement. That is absurd. Framework demands the use of their proprietary screwdriver, another needless restriction that contradicts their entire “repairable” branding. I don’t have that tool, and my IT department is the only one with access to it, and that office is hours away.
To add insult to injury, they dismissed the issue as “customer-induced damage” without a shred of evidence, despite me following every usage guideline and keeping the machine in pristine condition. In reality, this is a clear sign of substandard component sourcing and lack of quality control. A lithium-ion battery does not swell under normal, safe usage in under a year unless something was wrong from the start.
This isn’t just about bad support it’s about recklessness. Framework is knowingly stonewalling safety-critical repairs. A swollen battery is an extreme fire hazard, and Framework’s refusal to replace it without arbitrary barriers is unconscionable. Their behavior borders on negligence.
System Performance: Just Plain Bad
The swollen battery isn’t even the only issue. The laptop, despite being relatively high-spec’d with an Intel i7 processor, can’t handle basic productivity tasks without lagging when connected to two Full HD monitors. The OS stutters. Window switching hangs. It heats up rapidly, and the fan blares. This is a clear failure of thermal management, and no amount of modularity fluff can cover for a thermally throttled machine.
Framework’s entire pitch is built around a fantasy of modularity, but in practice, it’s mostly irrelevant gimmicks. You can move a few ports around, so what? The core components—CPU, GPU, battery, thermal design are fixed, flawed, and nowhere near the premium quality the price and community buzz would suggest. You’re left with a hot, lagging, unsafe machine that fails at being a laptop in the most basic sense.
Legal Perspective: Really Bad
My state of Indiana has clear laws protecting consumers from precisely this sort of corporate behavior. Under Indiana Code 26-1-2-314, there is an implied warranty of merchantability. This means a product must be fit for its ordinary purpose. A laptop battery that swells under warranty, warping the chassis and endangering the user’s property, clearly violates this law.
Framework collected Indiana sales tax when this device was purchased, and is therefore subject to these laws. Their refusal to replace the defective battery is not only unethical, it may be illegal.
Framework has built a brand on empty promises and breathless marketing, but they can’t market their way out of this. A company that won’t stand by its product when it puts its users at risk does not deserve praise, it deserves scrutiny.
My advice is to stay clear of this company if you have the choice, some of us are not so lucky.
Hope that’s not the case and OP used AI only for grammar checking or they are just a good old em dash fan.