after my recommendation, my sister also got a Framework 13 (Ryzen 7, Batch 4 or 5) and I’ve noticed that both the keyboard and touchpad are stiffer than mine (11th Gen i5, Batch 9).
The keyboard isn’t that much different, but the touchpad is noticeably stiff.
I’ll (incorretly) use grams as a measurement of force, because most people are probably better acquainted to it.
Specifically, at the bottom edge, my touchpad requires a force of exactly 150g (~1.48N) to click.
Hers, however, takes 320g (~3.14N), which we both find to be very stiff. It is quite tiring on the fingers if one has to click a lot.
Due to the hinged design, this means that in the middle it would take ~640g - or over half a kilo - of force to click.
The touchpad is also not rubbing (I’ve adjusted it and centered it in the cutout) and the click is definitive and takes the same force everywhere along the bottom edge.
Out of curiosity, I have also measured the force it takes for my work notebook (Dell Precision 5570) and it also is 150g at the bottom edge.
Has anyone else had the same experience and/or measured the force it takes to click the touchpad?
An easy way to measure is to put the entire notebook on a kitchen scale and slowly increase the force until the touchpad clicks. If it’s tared with the notebook on it, you will get the force required to click.
Mine is pretty much in the middle - about 240g on the bottom of the trackpad, ~450g in the middle. Even that is noticeably stiff, I tend to try to tap-to-click to reduce fatigue.
Thank you for sharing your experience, @chrisp_chicken! Your forum thread has been really enlightening, and it’s good to know I’m not alone in this.
I have weak fingers due to muscular dystrophy, and I’m considering sending my new FW13 AMD laptop back. I’ve never encountered issues with stiff touchpads before, as I’ve used Lenovo ThinkPads and Dell Latitudes without any trouble. Although most click functions can be circumvented with gestures in Windows 11, but i don’t find them very practical.
What did you use to measure the stiffness of your trackpad?
Yes, the touchpad is hinged at the top and the physical button is at the bottom (middle, I think). So you will have the least force at the bottom, about double in the middle and the top is effectively not clickable.
I have personally encountered very few notebooks that featured a different design and even my ~4k€ work laptop uses the same design.
I just did measurements on all Notebooks with that type of touchpad i could find at home.
Modell
Position
Gramm required
Newtons required
FW13 AMD DIY Batch9
Front left
300-400
300 * 0,00981 = 2,943
400 * 0,00981 = 3,924
FW13 AMD DIY Batch9
Front center
250-300
250 * 0,00981 = 2,4525
300 * 0,00981 = 2,943
FW13 AMD DIY Batch9
Front right
250
250 * 0,00981 = 2,4525
Lenovo ThinkPad x240
Front left
80
80 * 0,00981 = 0,7848
Lenovo ThinkPad x240
Front center
100
100 * 0,00981 = 0,981
Lenovo ThinkPad x240
Front right
80
800 * 0,00981 = 7,848
Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G2 ITL
Front left
100
100 * 0,00981 = 0,981
Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G2 ITL
Front center
100
100 * 0,00981 = 0,981
Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G2 ITL
Front right
100
100 * 0,00981 = 0,981
Notes:
For the FW13 I gave a range because the measurements a varying a lot depending on where exactly you press.
The x240 is older and secondhand, so it is probably a bit worn-out.
On closer visual inspection, I noticed that the touchpad is not perfectly centered.
It does not show great on camera, but you can see the darker shadow on the right.
Thanks for the insight and thorough analysis - that’s a lot of data points!
Generally, you can adjust the position of the touchpad. Just loosen the touchpad screws 1-1.5 turns, center it and re-tighten.
For my touchpad however, I wasn’t able to center it all the way, as it reached the end of the adjustment/slack in the screw holes.
