An Expansion Card bay on my laptop does not function correctly
July 14 2022 10:29pm • Est. Read Time: 2 MINTHIS ARTICLE IS ONLY RELEVANT FOR EARLY FRAMEWORK LAPTOPS SHIPPED FROM JULY 2021 - SEPTEMBER 2021. If you have a newer Framework Laptop, it uses updated EMI shields and attempting to remove or reposition them could damage your system.
If your EMI shield looks like the image below, DO NOT attempt to remove or reposition it.
If you are having issues with one Expansion Card bay not functioning correctly, try the following steps.
Confirm the issue is with the bay
Confirm that the issue is with the bay and not the Expansion Card you have inserted. Try switching cards with a different Expansion Card bay and see if the bay still doesn't function.
Check if the malfunction is only in one orientation
Try using an Expansion Card plugged into a USB-C Expandion Card in both orientations to see if it only works in one orientation.
If the two tests indicate that this impacts a single bay and your laptop was from pre-order Batch 1 or 2, you may need to open the laptop and adjust the EMI sticker that is placed on the receptacle on the Mainboard.
First, open your laptop following instructions in this guide: https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Checking+out+the+inside+of+a+Framework+Laptop/101?lang=en
⚠ Make sure your laptop is disconnected from AC power and the red LEDs on the Mainboard have stopped blinking before continuing.
If the malfunctioning bay is on the left side of the system, peel up the black sticker highlighted in yellow in the following picture
If the malfunctioning bay is on the right side of the system, remove the right-most memory stick, and move the antenna cables to the side.
The EMI sticker is the small silver sticker that is placed on top of each of the USB-C receptacles on the mainboard. Carefully peel up the EMI sticker and pull it away from the connector slightly. The goal is to make it stick to the top of the black diode package next to the port, giving it some space to avoid touching the contacts on the receptacle itself.
Background
The EMI shield on these USB-C receptacles is made of a special ferro-alloy sandwiched between two pieces of plastic. The ferro-alloy absorbs electromagnetic radiation and dissipates the energy inside the absorber as heat which helps improve the performance and reduce interference from signals going through this connector.