RTC cell removal advice

Minor Versionm

by Sandy Qualey-Dobson

Fully Resetting the Mainboard State

Written By: Nirav Patel (and one other contributor)
  • Comments: 24
  • Favorites: 1
  • Completions: 19

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

14

Time Required

00:10:00 - 00:15:00

Sections

3

Flags

0

Introduction

In the event your Framework Laptop isn’t powering on, it may be necessary to reset the state of the Mainboard by fully cycling power to it. Usually you’ll only need to do this if directed to by a Knowledge Base article or by the Framework Support team.

    • Power off the Framework Laptop by navigating to the Windows icon on the bottom left and clicking on "Power" followed by "Shut down," or if on Linux, the equivalent action there.

  2. Unplug your power cable from the USB-C Expansion Card in your Framework Laptop.

    • Unplug your power cable from the USB-C Expansion Card in your Framework Laptop.

    • Close the lid on your Framework Laptop and place it upside down on a soft, non-marring surface, such as the bag that it shipped in.

    • Using the T5 bit in the Framework Screwdriver, unscrew the 5 fasteners on the Bottom Cover. These fasteners will remain attached in the Bottom Cover so that you do not lose them.

    • The fastener on the bottom left (circled in red) will not unscrew as far as the others, as it is acting as a lifter for the Input Cover.

    • You'll hear this fastener start clicking as you rotate when it is unscrewed far enough.

    • Do not use a powered tool for these steps, as this will likely result in damage to the fasteners.

    • Flip the Framework Laptop back over and open the lid to around 120 degrees.

    • Important: Pull the Input Cover off carefully as it is still attached to the Mainboard via the Touchpad Cable. You don't need to disconnect this cable to do most repairs. You can just flip the Input Cover over. If you do want to disconnect it though, make sure to disconnect the Mainboard side using the finger loop over the orange label.

    • The bottom right corner of the Input Cover lifts up when the five fasteners are properly unscrewed from the previous step. You should not have to use any excessive force to remove the Input Cover.

    • Carefully lift the cover up from the bottom right corner. If you need to, you can use the spudger end of the Framework Screwdriver to lift it as well. Lift the Input Cover off the Mainboard, flip it over (keyboard side down), and place it about halfway on the Bottom Cover.

    • Be sure not to put too much force on the Touchpad Cable when doing this.

    • If the LEDs on the left and right sides of the system are flashing red when you lift off the cover, it means the system is still powered on. Make sure your power cable isn't plugged in and that you have shut down correctly.

    • Note that it may take up to 30 seconds after shutting down for the system to fully power off. Wait until the LEDs stop flashing before proceeding.

    • You should keep the Battery connector plugged in unless you need to replace the Battery, Mainboard, or Speakers. This connector is easy to accidentally damage, so it's better to not handle it.

    • Using a SIM Eject tool or another small pin (such as a paperclip), carefully insert the pin into the hole at the bottom edge of the coin cell receptacle, and tilt it down to eject the coin cell battery. Please use caution here as improper removal can potentially result in damage to the RTC cradle

    • Place the coin cell off to the side for now.

    • Be extremely careful when sliding the Battery connector out, as it is very easy to accidently bend the pins. Make sure to slide straight down, and avoid letting the connector twist or bend.

    • Carefully disconnect the Battery by gripping the connector edges with both fingers and slide the connector straight down from the socket.

    • With all power now removed from the Mainboard, let it sit for two minutes to allow any residual power to discharge.

  7. Now with the Battery still disconnected and the RTC Coin Cell still removed, plug your Power Adapter back into the laptop. At this point, you should see the LEDs on the left and right sides of the Mainboard start to blink red. This confirms that the board is powered on and in a reset state.

    • Now with the Battery still disconnected and the RTC Coin Cell still removed, plug your Power Adapter back into the laptop. At this point, you should see the LEDs on the left and right sides of the Mainboard start to blink red. This confirms that the board is powered on and in a reset state.

    • If the LEDs do not blink red, confirm that the Power Adapter is working by plugging it into any other USB-C device you have available, or by trying a different USB-C power adapter on the laptop.

    • If you still do not see blinking red or ran into any other issues along the way, make sure to reach out to Framework Support. We're here to help.

    • Disconnect AC power from the laptop.

    • Re-insert the RTC Coin Cell battery by sliding in the top edge first, and then pushing down on it until it clicks into the receptacle. Make sure the Coin Cell is aligned well, and don't apply too much force, as forcing the cell in could damage the receptacle.

  9. Before plugging the Battery connector back in, double check the pins on the Battery receptacle on the Mainboard, and make sure none of them look bent.

    • Before plugging the Battery connector back in, double check the pins on the Battery receptacle on the Mainboard, and make sure none of them look bent.

    • Don't plug the Battery connector in if pins look bent, as that will bend them even further. Reach out to Framework Support for guidance.

    • If you feel resistance when plugging in the Battery connector, stop, slide the connector back out, and make sure that no pins are being bent.

    • Carefully slide the Battery connector back into the mainboard, gripping both edges of the connector and sliding in straight without letting the connector twist or bend.

    • At this point, plug the Power Adapter back into the laptop and let it charge for five minutes. The LEDs on the sides of the Mainboard should blink red when the Power Adapter is plugged in.

    • If the LEDs did not blink red, with the Power Adapter still plugged in the the laptop, follow the earlier instructions to unplug the main Battery and plug it back in. After this, the LEDs should start blinking, confirming power. If not, please reach out to Framework support.

    • After five minutes, you can disconnect the Power Adapter and reassemble the laptop.

    • After reassembling the laptop, keep it plugged into power for 24 hours to let the RTC Coin Cell fully recharge.

  11. Before closing up the laptop, make sure that the Touchpad end of the Touchpad Cable is fully seated in the receptacle. The cable should be inserted far enough that the white line almost touches the receptacle.

    • Before closing up the laptop, make sure that the Touchpad end of the Touchpad Cable is fully seated in the receptacle.

    • The cable should be inserted far enough that the white line almost touches the receptacle.

    • If it is not inserted far enough, you'll need to flip up the black latch on the other side of the connector, slide the cable in further, and then close the black latch again.

  12. Flip the Input Cover over the Bottom Cover so that the keyboard is facing up and attach it to the Bottom Cover by aligning the top and bottom edges of both covers. The covers are magnetic and should fit into one another easily. If you feel any resistance simply lift the Input Cover up and try again.

    • Flip the Input Cover over the Bottom Cover so that the keyboard is facing up and attach it to the Bottom Cover by aligning the top and bottom edges of both covers.

    • The covers are magnetic and should fit into one another easily. If you feel any resistance simply lift the Input Cover up and try again.

  13. Close the Framework Laptop and turn it upside down to reveal fasteners on the Bottom Cover. Using the T5 bit in the Framework Screwdriver, screw all 5 fasteners back in.

    • Close the Framework Laptop and turn it upside down to reveal fasteners on the Bottom Cover.

    • Using the T5 bit in the Framework Screwdriver, screw all 5 fasteners back in.

    • Be sure to not over-tighten the fasteners.

  14. Plug your Power Adapter back in and let the laptop charge for 24 hours. You can use your laptop during this time, but keep it plugged in to let the RTC Coin Cell fully recharge.

    • Plug your Power Adapter back in and let the laptop charge for 24 hours. You can use your laptop during this time, but keep it plugged in to let the RTC Coin Cell fully recharge.

Conclusion

If you run into any issues during this process, please reach out to the Framework Support team. We’re here to help.

19 other people completed this guide.

Author

with 1 other contributor

Nirav Patel

Member since: 03/24/2021

22 Guides authored

Team

Framework Member of Framework

6 Members

50 Guides authored

13 Comments

I have gone through this guide several times without success!

Steven Taylor - Reply

I followed this guide because my Framework does not boot up unless plugged in. But it did not fix that problem.

Careful: read the whole guide before you start doing any work. I did not do that and found some steps in the end a little confusing.

Lukas - Reply

Hey I just completed these steps after having a dead laptop[ let ubuntu run it's update and did not power on the next time I was going to use the laptop] , laptop sees daily use so this was a new issue. Only thing I want to note is that the LED lights came on as soon as the battery was reconnected and stayed flashing when the power adapter was reconnected. After assembling and powering on again, the USB-C port went from green to white but the screen remained off. I then pressed the DEL key and the laptop power cycled itself (the USB-C port white led pulsed a bit) and then went into a normal boot again. Not sure if this warrants any hardware replacement but, I have nothing else to blame other than the OS update. 1st issue too , been running smoothly since May 2022!

Roger P - Reply

I also went through this procedure, but I noticed some things that I did not expect based on the instructions. I think the reset was successful eventually (though I did this because of issues with my microphone, which were not fixed, but that was a long shot anyway).

I wanted to go into detail about what I observed in this comment, but it seems the character limit won't let me. The short story is that the leds did not exactly behave as documented, partly because the laptop powered on when I plugged in AC (which is a setting I have enabled in the BIOS, though it seems weird that that BIOS setting was preserved at step 7, and reset like all BIOS settings at the end of the procedure).

I wrote down more details at https://gist.github.com/matthijskooijman... but I mostly suspect that maybe these instructions should be reviewed with the "power on AC" setting enabled. Or maybe the difference is that my battery and/or RTC were not empty, but still charged?

Matthijs Kooijman - Reply

Followed this guide with success. My 11th gen i7 model was not charging after sitting idle for a couple months. I left it in sleep not powered off. So I assume this happens with long periods of no use. I changed the usb c port to all sides with no success. Once I followed this guide it is charging and working and charging again!

Jonathan Telep - Reply

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