Late last week Framework announced that is has made its EC firmware open source for all to have a look and contribute to! This is an exciting move making the Framework Laptop an even more enticing option for those that aren’t a fan of a closed operating system and firmware. Show
On top of this Framework has also said it is working to replace the proprietary firmware it is currently using, sharing that it is ‘stuck’ with it for now.
The Framework Laptop’s embedded controller (EC) firmware is based on Google’s Chromium-EC project which is what Chromebook’s use. Framework has released its EC firmware under the same BSD 3 clause which allows for modification and resharing as you like. For those that aren’t aware what EC firmware does, it controls low level features of the laptop in the form of power sequencing, keyboard, and touchpad interfacing, and controlling system LEDs. It’s important to note that modifying the EC firmware can result in damaging or bricking your Framework Laptop. It is advised to modify the firmware at your own risk and if you are willing to take the risk. You might likeSource: Framework Tags: Framework, Framework Laptop We earn commision on affiliate links.
This article covers the installation and configuration of Arch Linux on a Framework Laptop. For a general overview of laptop-related articles and recommendations, see Laptop. HardwareFramework is intended to be a configurable and upgradeable laptop. The lists below is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the hardware sold with the framework, but rather a list of tested modules that are specially made for the Framework laptop. MotherboardsNote: Probably needs a better way to distinguish between motherboard revisions and CPU model used.
WiFi
i915
Expansion Cards
Headset jackThe Framework laptop includes a 3.5mm combination headphone/headset jack (TRRS). By default, when a device is plugged into the jack, it will be recognized only as headphones. To allow recognition of a headset (with microphone), add the following: /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf options snd-hda-intel model=dell-headset-multiInstallationACPINote: This was tested on a pre-production unit. Some acpi_osi options seems to cause CPU stalls on the laptop. This table is just a list of tested values.
systemd sets up the reboot watchdog and generates an error when the laptop reboots: [...] watchdog did not stopYou can disable the shutdown watchdog: /etc/systemd/system.conf RebootWatchdogSec=0FirmwareBIOS UpdatesThe Framework laptop BIOS current version is 3.07. It can be updated by EFI shell script placed on a bootable USB flash drive. [1] However, this firmware update method clears EFI bootloaders registered in NVRAM, so having a recovery disk or alternate method of reinstalling your bootloader(s) handy is recommended. Notable new features in 3.07 include the ability to set a maximum battery charge target via BIOS configuration screens, or via userland utilities. [2] LVFSSupport for fwupd is planned and being tested, but currently not available [3]. Secure BootOne can enroll custom keys into the Framework Laptop without any Option ROM concerns, or use the SHIM approach. See Unified Extensible Firmware Interface/Secure Boot for details. SuspendWarning: Some NVMe drives do not successfully wake from the deep sleep state described below, disconnecting from the laptop and becoming inaccessible until a reboot, which typically causes the laptop to lock up. One example is the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0[4][5]. Before enabling this sleep state in a production installation, you may wish to test the suspend functionality of your NVMe drive from the Arch installer environment so as not to cause corruption. The inefficient s2idle (Suspend-To-Idle) suspend variant is pre-selected as default. This state is a generic, pure software, system sleep state. You can select the much more efficient deep (Suspend-To-RAM) variant, which offers significant power savings as everything in the system is put into a low-power state, except for memory, which is placed into the self-refresh mode to retain its contents. Note that the deep variant results in longer resume times. $ cat /sys/power/mem_sleep [s2idle] deep # echo deep | tee /sys/power/mem_sleep $ cat /sys/power/mem_sleep s2idle [deep]To make this permanent, add mem_sleep_default=deep to your kernel parameters. TouchpadThere are reports of the touchpad exhibiting issues (e.g. pointer does not move, two-finger scroll does not work, etc.) after waking from sleep. Disabling PS/2 mouse emulation under Advanced in the BIOS seems to resolve the issues[6]. Function keys
TroubleshootingStuttering, flickering and periodic freezeThere are reports of stuttering, flickering and periodic freezes on the laptop when using GNOME and Wayland. Disabling Panel Self-Refresh has been reported to work[7], although this may no longer be needed on kernel 5.14. PSR is helpful for battery life, so it should be left on if there are no issues. /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf options i915 enable_psr=0See also Intel graphics#Screen flickering. Bluetooth on Linux 5.13/5.14The AX210 Bluetooth controller does not appear to work as expected when using 5.13 or 5.14 (current as of 5.14.7), tested with bluetoothctl list. Here is the upstream bug report: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=213829. AX210 Bluetooth works on 5.14 with cold boots, but the controller disappears after a warm boot. If necessary, downgrade to 5.12.15 for working Bluetooth support, or use a Bluetooth controller that is known to work, such as the AX201. This issue is resolved with 5.15.4 [8]. Two/Three finger clicksBy default, the touchpad provides middle and right click by clicking on specific regions (bottom middle for middle click and bottom right corner for right click). To switch this two-finger click for right click and three-finger click for middle click, you will need to set the "click method" via libinput. First, find your "Touchpad" device name: $ xinputAnd then set the click method, where device is the name (or ID) found in the previous step: $ xinput set-prop "device" "libinput Click Method Enabled" 0 1To make this persistent, put it in a startup script. Alternatively, if using X11, one can create a custom Xorg configuration file with the appropriate settings (see libinput#Via Xorg configuration file). Dealing with HiDPI with a classic X11 window managerSee HiDPI. Changing the brightness of the monitor does not workIf you are using a tool like xbacklight(1) (xorg-xbacklight), it might report that it cannot detect any output devices with backlight settings. This is despite a standard backlight directory tree in /sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight. Use xbacklight(1) (acpilight) instead for a compatible tool that works with this laptop. Bootmanager flashing black screen and not loading operating systemIf your Framework laptop loads the bootloader and can recognize the EFI partition on your flash drive or m.2. drive, but cannot load your boot manager (it only flashes a black screen before returning to the bootloader), you must disable Secure Boot.
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 reset/ low throughput / "Microcode SW error"Under high stress, Wi-Fi device restarts and network speeds become abysmally slow or non-responsive until disconnecting and reconnecting to WiFi network.[9] This issue has been observed by owners of other manufacturers' laptops (not just framework). [10] Disabling IEEE 802.11ax seems to be a suitable workaround for the time being. [11] /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf options iwlwifi disable_11ax=YIntel is aware[12] of the issue and there is a patch[13] that fix slow tx after restart, and another[14] that address the SW error. Fingerprint Reader Device Disconnected ErrorWhen the fingerprint reader has been used to enroll a fingerprint on Windows, and you later attempt to use the reader under Linux without first unenrolling your print from within Windows, fprintd can fail to work. In this situation, upon enrolling with fprintd-enroll, the command will hang, as fprintd has crashed. The best way to deal with this, if you still have access to Windows, is to boot back in and unenroll your fingerprint from there. If this is not possible, you can try a script posted by someone on the Framework laptop forums. Additional HardwareDocking StationsThe following docking station(s) work out of the box with no additional configuration:
External GPU
See also
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