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.
Tools
Parts
No parts specified.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The fastener on the bottom left (circled in orange) will not unscrew as far as the others, as it is acting as a lifter for the Input Cover.
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Flip the Framework Laptop back over and open the lid to around 120 degrees.
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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.
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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.
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Using a SIM Eject tool or another small pin, very 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. Note that this receptacle is quite fragile, so avoid trying to remove the coin cell any other way (trust us, we've tried).
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Place the coin cell off to the side for now.
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Carefully disconnect the Battery by gripping the connector edges with both fingers and slide the connector straight down from the socket.
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With all power now removed from the Mainboard, let it sit for two minutes to allow any residual power to discharge.
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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.
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Disconnect AC power from the laptop.
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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 the receptacle is fragile.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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After five minutes, you can disconnect the Power Adapter and reassemble the laptop.
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The cable should be inserted far enough that the white line almost touches the receptacle.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Close the Framework Laptop and turn it upside down to reveal fasteners on the Bottom Cover.
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Using the T5 bit in the Framework Screwdriver, screw all 5 fasteners back in.
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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.
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If you run into any issues during this process, please reach out to the Framework Support team. We’re here to help.
If you run into any issues during this process, please reach out to the Framework Support team. We’re here to help.
Cancel: I did not complete this guide.
11 other people completed this guide.
4 Comments
Even after full reset computer still does not show logo screen! All we hear is the fan running!!!!
I have just worked though this guide (13th July) and successfully woken up my Framework Laptop after a 26 day pause in use (Norton 360 reported that many days since last scan). It would not power on and the indicator lights did not illuminate when I connected the power supply. I recalled seeing this guide and refound it by a general Bing search on ‘Framework laptop won’t turn on’, leading me to your page ‘My Framework Laptop is not powering on’ which pointed me here. At Step 10 when I reconnected the battery, the indicator LEDs came on. After completion, the machine woke up to power button (taking longer than usual which I guess is normal after a reset). The Windows 11 lock screen initially showed a date of around 18th June before rapidly updating. The battery status was 80% charge. All seems well now, thank you!
What is the ‘complete guide’ box above for? It does not respond to my Framework account credentials for purchase. Should the RTC coin cell (Real Time Clock?) last so little time?
Heyo! 👋
The 11th gen mainboard is wired up in a way where the RTC battery only charges via wall power and not off of battery. If you don’t frequently plug it in for long periods of time it cannot charge faster than it discharges and will eventually deplete. This has been fixed in the newer 12th gen model / mainboard.
Hope this helps! ☺️
Cheese -
Just done for this guide. It works for my framework laptop which is a 11th gen i5 model. I haven’t use it for more than 3 months, it just sits in my bag for that long, and I guess the RTC battery run out of power through that long period. The symptom at the beginning was that after that long time not using, it actually starts up successfully when first time reusing it, but for the next time, it did not until I plugged it into power, and for the third time, it just did not start up no matter if it is plugged into power or not. So be careful when after long time not using.
