Introduction
The magnetic Framework Bezel is one of the easiest components to swap. No tools needed, just align it to the Display and you are all set. We plan on having more color options as we go so that you can further customize your very own Framework Laptop.
Tools
No tools specified.
Parts
-
-
Open the Framework Laptop 180 degrees to remove the Bezel.
-
The Framework Bezel is attached by magnets so you will not require any tools to remove it. Just use your fingernail and pry the Bezel away from the display from one of the top corners of the Framework Laptop.
-
Once the Bezel starts peeling off towards the bottom of the Display, lift it up using caution. You might feel a little resistance due to the adhesive at the bottom of the display.
-
-
-
If installing a new Bezel, remove the liner pieces on the bottom of the Bezel to expose the adhesive.
It seems almost all of the comments here belong in the next section about actually installing the bezel - only a few of them (if any?) are pertinent to removing the liner pieces to expose the adhesive on the bezel, which is the only action taken here. It's a bit bonkers there's 17 comments before mine in this section about removing liner pieces and only 4 comments at the time of writing in the next section about bezel installation, the latter of which is clearly an order of magnitude more difficult it seems.
My bezel seemed to install well but the lower left hand corner ended up becoming quite stuck and warped for some reason (perhaps how a particular cable was positioned near the microphone).
It jammed and was almost impossible to open. I have had to detach the lower hinge of the bezel for now and will need a replacement.
Not the best experience.
Also had issues with the left corner of the bezel. What happened was I was trying to route the left corner cable below the hinge! That was stupid of me, but it seemed like the appropriate place for the cable to go without much knowledge of laptop bezels. I did fully read and follow the guide, and had the right cable properly fitted; but for some reason it seemed the left cable was supposed to fit under the hinge.
For anyone who might run into the same problem like I did, here is a picture of how the left cable is supposed to be properly seated:
Also, to be fair, the cable was already a bit seated under the hinge when I first opened the laptop, which led me to assume that was how it was supposed to be.
the guide says "the ezel" instead of "the bezel" at the end of the 4th bullet point.
For me this was really simple and took about 30 seconds.
installed the bezel carefully, or so i thought, when i was finished closed the lid (top cover still off) and the captive screws levered the screen which caused the hinge cover at the bottom of the bezel to just shear off - awesome...i had to re-separate the bezel completely and install from the hinge cover first and then tip the laptop so the captive screws didn't catch in order to check the function again, working now but i've also got half a hinge cover separated from the bezel. Kind of took the shine off my laptop i've been waiting 4 months for
Surprisingly, the bezel was by far the hardest item to install for me. I found that it's easier if done without the top cover, however, be very careful to keep the screws fully seated in when moving the hinge - they can lodge themselves in the wrong spot and cause damage otherwise. This was also pointed out in a comment below, but it should really be a warning at the top of each guide.
As many have noted, the difficult part is getting the lower corners to sit flush. After a lot of tries the best technique I found is:
- release tension from the cables by taking them out from some of their holding brackets
- route them so that, with the laptop sitting flat and horizontal, their highest point is no higher than the hinge's. The picture in the guide shows how to do that - the hinge edges are skinnier than the rest, and you're trying to wrap around that tiny bit of space that they leave.
Even then it's not perfect and my bottom right corner wants to sit a hair higher than the others.
I also had an issue when placing the bottom left of the bezel onto the screen. A cable connecting to the display was causing the the bezel to just not sit flush once it was closed. If you opened it with the cable misaligned it would cause the bottom left side of the bezel to jut out and really look like it would snap. If this guide could provide a picture on how the wiring of the bottom left should look it would be super helpful.
I managed to figure out how to position it after some troubleshooting, I just removed the bezel and kept closing the lid with the cable in a new spot. When the cable didn't pop out the back I tried it with the bezel installed, then closed the lid, then checked the back of the casing. I still noticed the bezel wasn't flush but after just pushing it up against the case it managed to snap into position and now seems to work fine after opening/closing the lid.
If the new bezel being aligned was not black it would more clearly demonstrate how to attach the new bezel.
I incurred two problems.
When installing my new purple bezel, I removed the left adhesive completely from the bottom of the Bezel when removing the liner piece. I was able to REapply it as it was sticky both sides.
I had more issues with the left hinge, in fact it snapped when I initially closed it. I was terrified but was thankfully able to dislodge it. I bloody well hope this will not effect the performance.
Very poor quality indeed, cheap flimsy plastic.
I did not trust myself to continue setting up my Framework Laptop 13 (13th Gen Intel Core) and put it away until I had more confidence.
The bezel is cheap plastic and will break easy… if it happens to break it will start to cause issues. Will update with a pic, bezel definitely needs to be redesigned or done already assembled.
Two captive screws on the bottom of the laptop, near hinges, can mess with opening the screen fully if they are extended too far. Try to push them up (towards the motherboard) to avoid interference. In my case they even left a dent on the inner edge of the screen metal lid.
On your picture, you already have installed the keyboard, which would be the next step in the process. Do the screws still stick out without the keyboard installed?
Same issue here, it somehow fixed itself after pressing the bezel a bit. It does click when I open the lid, though. I think the wire might need some tape?
The bottom right corner of my bezel is not fully pressed down along the display. It's only 1 or 2 mm raised, but it is noticeable when looking at the display from a side view.
Do not be alarmed if this happens to you as it seems others have experienced something similar based on posts in the community. I spent way too long repeatedly taking off and placing off the bezel to try and resolve it. All other edges of the bezel lay perfectly.
-
-
-
Open the Framework Laptop 180 degrees to attach the Bezel.
-
Starting with the bottom of the Bezel which covers the hinges and cables, align the corners of the Bezel to the display and place it down. The Bezel is attached by magnets and should easily click into place.
-
We recommend feeling along each edge of the Bezel to make sure it is seated correctly before proceeding, if it doesn't seem to be sitting flush, lift it back up and try lowering it into place again.
-
Do not try to install the Bezel without first opening the Laptop fully, doing so could damage the Bezel and potentially the Display.
-
If the bottom of the Bezel doesn't seem to fit, lift it back off and check that the cables are seated correctly on both sides. If the Bezel doesn't seem to fit at all, please contact support and do not force it into place.
If the bottom right corner of the bezel won't click into place for you, or pops out of place when you open/close the lid, use the spudger end of your FW screwdriver to lift the webcam cable connecter over the righthand hinge, like this image. Don't worry about damaging the webcam cable, it's flexible, just be gentle.
Just echoing the comments of David P and others below that a diagram and checkpoint on the display cable routing would be helpful here, as the cable routing arriving neat but passing the wrong side of the left hinge (ie on the input side of the hinge instead of the display side) ended up splitting the bezel on trying to close the laptop lid.
Second the cable routing check. Ours came with a bit of adhesive sticker on it, we removed and stuck it down behind the hinge.
If you have trouble getting the bezel to fit flush all the way around:
If there's a consistent place the bezel is usually unable to sit flush, try seating that point first and working your way around the rest of the bezel. Be gentle, but don't be afraid to take the bezel off and try again (it took a good number of attempts for mine to seat nicely). Gentle force is okay, but if it's not seating take it off and try again
NOTE regarding clicking while closing:
if the screws on the underside of the laptop, closest to the hinge, are held captive by the laptop body but dangling loose, when you try to close the laptop you may hear a crunchy click sort of sound as the bottom edge face of the bezel interferes with the screws. For me, picking up the laptop and orienting it so that the screws weren't dangling and sat more flush allowed me to close the laptop without issue, confirming this seemed to be my issue. You may also be able to screw in those screws ever so slightly so they're held more flush with the laptop body before putting the bezel on, but inspect the laptop and make sure you're not causing any problems before attempting, as this is not the recommend order of operations in the guide. You may not want to close the laptop all the way if you do this as the bezel may help to protect the screen
I think adding a clear picture of how the bottom cables should be dressed, or a diagram, would be helpful. With black cables on a black frame, it's hard to see what is supposed to happen and you can break your bezel easily.
Before installing the bezel, check the display cable is routed correctly as per this picture.
At the left hinge, the cable seems to belong on the side closer to the display. Mine was on the opposite side, causing the bezel not to fit well, and after closing and reopening the lid, the bezel tore in this corner. It took a lot of wiggling and adjusting to free the bezel and move the cable to its correct position before the lid could be closed and opened easily.
"Starting with the bottom of the Bezel which covers the hinges and cables, align the corners of the Bezel to the display and place it down. The Bezel is attached by magnets and should easily click into place."
But the "bottom of the Bezel which covers the hinges and cables" is the bent/angled, part with the "framework" logo on it, no?
-
- To purchase a Framework Laptop visit the Framework website
- Want to learn more about the Framework Laptop? Take a look at our blog
- If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to Framework Support
- To purchase a Framework Laptop visit the Framework website
- Want to learn more about the Framework Laptop? Take a look at our blog
- If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to Framework Support
Cancel: I did not complete this guide.
18 other people completed this guide.
5 Comments
I had some issues with the routing of the cable around the hinges. Could you provide some images of proper routing of the cable?
Make sure the cable is routed on the proper side of the hinge as shown in Display Replacement Guide
This one caused more problems/annoyance for me, than initially expected. It becomes very easy however, after you get the hang of it.
1. The captive screws stick out when the top cover is removed, interfering with opening the display 180 degrees. It's best to open the device 180 degrees, whilst holding it bottom up in the air. This way the captive screws fall inside their holes, and don't interfere with the hinges anymore.
2. My display back-light didn't work, initially. Got it to work by gently pressing the on-screen side display connection, hidden under the bezel. So not the connector on the mother-board, but the other side of the cable where it connects to the screen. I'm a bit wary about this, but will see how long it lasts. So it's best to test if everything works, before installing the bezel!
3. Be careful when opening and closing the lid the first couple of times, the bezel could bend and break at the bottom of the screen if it isn't installed correctly.
Where did you press exactly, hard to see the connector to the screen.
This is NOT true in my last screen replacement process, the bezel adhesive stuck to the display firmly and I used quite amount of wiggling to successfully separate the bezel and the (supposed to be fragile) bottom part of the display. The original display thankfully didn't end up damaged because of it, however, please be careful.
林博仁(Buo-ren, Lin) - Reply