Returned My Framework Laptop - AMA

[qkmiller]

Hi all, I owned a framework laptop for ~1 month and I used it heavily during this time. Hopefully, I can provide some information about it to people who are interested in getting one. My experience overall was good but ultimately I returned it due to an issue with WiFi speeds on 2.4ghz networks. I've opened the laptop many times, reinstalled several WiFi modules as well as completely replaced the WiFi antenna kit which requires removing the display.

Arch Linux was used for most of my time with the laptop, however I briefly installed Ubuntu and Windows for testing purposes. I found that after all of my troubleshooting (operating systems, drivers, WiFi modules, kernels, kernel settings etc...) the framework consistently had slower download speeds than any other device that I compared it to (several phones, several laptops, several WiFi routers at various locations for each). Other than the WiFi issue, the laptop was absolutely amazing and I wish I hadn't needed to return it as a replacement / further investigation from support wasn't offered.

 

Here's some bullet points about this laptop in no order:

• Display: Phenomenal. I'm sure there's better displays out there, but I don't see how anyone could be disappointed with this one. The 3:2 aspect ratio is great, the resolution / pixel density is great, and color accuracy (to my eyes) and brightness is great. Best looking display I've personally seen on a laptop.
• Keyboard: Great. The keys are rather stiff with a decent amount of travel and a nice thock sound.
• Lid Hinges: Good. You can open the lid with 1 finger, however, it was slightly wobbly mostly due to how thin the display was. Also, sometimes it would open itself further just from the inertia of the laptop being set down. Nothing bothersome to me, but worth noting.
• Battery Life: Not so good. With all the performance tweaks I could possibly use, the battery life still just wasn't that great. Coding / writing / web browsing would hardly drain the battery, but discord and youtube would really kill it fast.
• Touch Pad: Fine. I didn't find it to be as good as a macbook, but it was was usable and easy to get used to. I had some rare skipping / missed clicks, but I can chalk that up to poor drivers (libinput) in Linux. I didn't use it enough in windows to fully test it.
• Build Quality: Good. Sturdy, felt solid. The metal can be scratched easily though.
• Overall: Great*. Really good laptop overall, but I just happen to run into an issue that only like 3 other people have run into (or noticed).

[whispous]

So hold on, you say you love the laptop didn't look to get it repaired or replaced because you weren't "offered" replacement?

 

Did you scroll down this page? Did you ask? How much slower was it than the other devices?

 

https://frame.work/support

[qkmiller]

35 minutes ago, whispous said:

So hold on, you say you love the laptop didn't look to get it repaired or replaced because you weren't "offered" replacement?

If I could repair it I would have. I tried 3 different WiFi modules and framework support finally sent me a replacement antenna kit which didn't affect the WiFi range / speed. I asked them if there's any options or anything else I can do troubleshooting wise, else I'd like to return it. They replied saying they'd process the return and gave me a prepaid shipping label. There was no further repairs or troubleshooting that I could have done.

35 minutes ago, whispous said:

Did you scroll down this page? Did you ask?

I posted in the framework community forums, reached out in the framework discord, and had many emails with someone from framework support. I'm not sure what you mean.

35 minutes ago, whispous said:

How much slower was it than the other devices?

10 feet from the router it was about 20mbps slower than other devices. Going further away from the router greatly increased that gap. In my room my other devices get 40-50mbps where the Framework was getting 5-15mbps.

[whispous]

Would this suggest the antennas aren't any good?

[qkmiller]

9 hours ago, whispous said:

Would this suggest the antennas aren't any good?

Yeah, that's the conclusion that I came to.