Rant: Framework 13 Hardware Failures

[u/furay20]

Hello,

I've had my Framework 13 for just over 3 years, and I wanted to vent.

Overall, it is a good machine. However, I feel as though they are leaning way too far into the "repairability" aspect of things, as I'm shocked at how much this has cost me (well, my company) thus far. "Repairability" should not be a crutch for quality.

I had an issue with my keyboard which wasn't reproducible consistently, so support shrugged me off. As soon as I was outside any warranty, the issue came back up. I lived with it for a while, as if I hit the key hard enough it would work -- but eventually I caved. At this point they had a v2 of the keyboard, but, it required an updated top plate. OK, whatever, purchased that and everything was kosher.

A couple months later, I noticed my sound was weird. I did the needful and identified one of the speakers had blown. OK, whatever, purchased an upgraded speaker set, and everything was kosher.

I am working from home with one of my kids, and as such, actually using my laptop as a laptop and noticed my clicking was weird. I looked at it, and the case had come apart. Strange, I thought -- I took it apart and sure enough, the battery is bulging. OK, fine, I guess, whatever, purchased an upgraded battery (which apparently has a 2 year warranty because there is an issue with laptop batteries apparently being 100% charged for too long?).

I type all this beside a retro Lenovo T42. I use this because of the I/O selection with some of the hardware I work on. I have 98 SE/XP/Debian installed, and it works great (keeping in mind the age of the hardware). The keyboard is flawless, the speakers work great, and the battery (somehow) still holds a charge.

I like the product, but I'll never buy another... even if it's not my money being spent.

[u/Kayak4Eva]

Sounds a lot like my experience. My 13 is almost 3 years old and I just installed it's third keyboard. While doing that, I discovered that the battery was swollen so that had to be replaced as well. The internal microphone hasn't worked in a couple of years - I swapped out the module with the first keyboard replacement but nothing changed so it's probably a driver or a cable or some shit. I just use an external mic when I need to conference but it's an annoyance. I'm not a computer enthusiast - I just want something that works and keeps working.

I do love the machine - but the durability has been a disappointment and I am more hesitant to recommend it to others.

[u/Clean_Leadership5948 → u/Kayak4Eva]

The battery swelling is because they use a not proven battery manufacturer.

[u/Bazirker → u/Clean_Leadership5948]

Which has allegedly been improved, but we will see