I fully understand why Framework has to mention screw torque, and it’s great that they’ve now published torque specs. But my suspicion is that the majority of issues were not due to excess screw torque.
Most of the cracks around screws were not right under the head of the screw, where you would expect excess torque from the screw to be crushing the plastic under the screw against the screw seat/stand-off. The cracks were a centimeter away. This indicates stress induced into the case by the time the screw was fully seated, and having very little to do with final torque. At least, that’s the way it seems to me.
Yeah, I was just being silly. I’m glad to have the torque values now in any case.
Regarding the spacing of the cracks, there’s about a centimeter of reinforcement around the standoff and hole, so I can see how overtorquing could cause a crack away from the screw head. If there is any slack between the metal brace and the top of the standoff, that whole reinforced area would be under constant load, and it’s the weak area around the reinforcement that would give first. Well, I speculate, of course.
edit: sorry, not a centimeter. less. but I don’t want to take off my bottom cover again to measure.
I’m in the same boat. I’ve been considering getting a FW12 for my step-daughter’s birthday and have been keeping an eye on this thread.
I also own a Gen 1 FW16 (batch 13) which I know a bunch of people had issues with but I must have either had a good one or the issues didn’t bother me as much. I do feel like I got a bit lucky with my FW16 unit.
Depends on if you need it right now, but I would probably wait until we have an updated screen, faster processor and maybe a revision of the case (although the cracking is hopefully fixed).
Is this something that will happen soon, or will we have to wait until next year? I want to replace my third-generation 11-inch iPad Pro now that I can sell it for a good price with a tablet PC.
Framework usually doesn’t publish product roadmaps or something like that, they usually announce products the moment you can order them, not sooner.
I’d guess we may see a product update the first half of 2027, but that’s purely speculation based on product updates we have seen in the past. The Framework 12 is still quite new, I wouldn’t expect a new version soon.
Normally it would be faster for you to just ping on the support ticket and they’ll get one out, but since I already have both your and Wolfie’s details… I can go ahead and trigger it.
Nathan, your newest bottom cover replacement that was delivered April 15th is dated Feb 2026 in the SN, so you should have the new material. Are you still having trouble?
Edit:: @wolfie I just approved a new bottom cover dispatch for you. Keep an eye on your email for a message from the Replacements team.
Here is my theory of why this problem has lasted so long.
the dates on the outside of the box, sitting on the FW store room shelf, has no bearing on the date the component inside was manufactured.
so although the date on the outside is new, users are still being send old components, prior to the fix happening. Note, in the UK this is illegal. Product labelling: the law - GOV.UK
I tried to point this stocking problem to FW a while ago, but i don’t think they understood me.
Hopefully FW have fixed the stock labelling problem, and now have something on the label that indicates manufacturing batch date, so processes like this, or recalls in future, can be managed well.
I.e. something on the box label that lets the store worker know they are picking a part that is one of the fixed parts.
Getting labels right in supply chains is alway possible to make mistakes in.
I know one manufacturer who accidentally put 100,000 1TB SSD in boxes accidentally labelled 4TB, and delivered them to the supply chain and users before they corrected the line.
That was an expensive mistake, because of all the resulting returns.
Nope. Ive posted how to tell if it’s the new material. The best way is to look at the serial number on the box. There are multiple other dates and stamps on a machine that are for different things / reasons. Please only refer to official communication for relevant information.
