[danShumway]

How hard is that to do? I know Frameworks are repairable, but you can really do a swap like that completely on the fly?

Honestly, this comment is a somewhat decent sales hook for me; I've been thinking about getting a Framework for my next laptop whenever the current one I use really starts to fail (depending on how their AMD stuff works out), and this comment makes me more curious to look into them.

[nrp]

Swapping an Expansion Bay Module like an discrete GPU will take ~2-3 minutes:

1. Shut down

2. Slide out the input modules covering the Expansion Bay connector, and open the cover door.

3. Unscrew three or four captive fasteners to remove the Fan Cable or GPU Cable.

4. Unscrew two captive fasteners to release the Expansion Bay Module.

5. Slide out the Expansion Bay Module.

6. Reverse the steps with the new module.

It's not something we specifically designed to happen on the fly like swapping Expansion Cards or Input Modules, but it is quick enough that you don't have to plan ahead for it.

[danShumway]

Thanks for the reply/clarification.

This kind of direct response from an owner is also somewhat of a selling point that makes me more interested Framework laptops. :)

> on the fly like swapping Expansion Cards or Input Modules

I knew that Framework was doing input modules, but I didn't realize that stuff like input modules would be hot-swappable. That's pretty cool to see in action.

I'm sure it's not something that there are any current plans to do, and I'm sure it's not possible to talk about even if there were plans, but just as a side-note: seeing the keyboard on the fly get replaced like that -- if there was a way to get a digitizer/screen with good stylus support to be thin enough be used as a keyboard replacement, I could easily see that module turning the 16 inch Framework into not just a laptop but also a replacement for my travel drawing tablet (especially knowing that I can stick a GPU on the back).

[stavros]

I don't know about the GPU, but in general, you unscrew five screws, lift up the magnetic lid/keyboard, and you have access to all the internals. I imagine that swapping the GPU is as easy as undoing one more screw.

Removing the battery is a cable and a few screws, for example. Everything is very accessible.

[alpaca128]

From what I've seen the GPU add-on is not an internal component (within the laptop's case) but similar to swappable batteries on oldschool laptops, slotted into a port on the back. It makes the laptop larger just like extra large batteries on Thinkpads.

[stronglikedan]

Hopefully they use some crazy hard screws so the heads don't strip with repeated use. (I don't know much about Framework... yet)

[stavros]

No, they're built to unscrew easily, and they're captive, so you can't even lose them.

[pimterry]

I don't think anybody outside Framework knows for sure yet (maybe not even internally) but my impression from what they've shared so far is that the expansion bays are intended to be very easily swappable (external, a click & push like the expansion slots) but almost certainly not hot-swappable while the machine is powered on.

They do have some initial specs at https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/ExpansionBay that somebody more knowledgeable than me might be able to glean some practical info from.

[danShumway]

Hot swapping would be amazing, but I wasn't really expecting that to be supported.

The images/videos I'm seeing linked in your reply and sibling replies are basically about as good as I would hope for, that it would be the equivalent of swapping out a battery, that it wouldn't require a screwdriver, and that the components wouldn't be so fragile that I couldn't carry them in a backpack or computer case. Definitely something I'll be paying more attention to.

If somehow it is hot-swappable then even better of course, but I'm assuming that wouldn't be the case.

[mfenniak]

It looks really easy in their product preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km3MVZ8HZeY

[pitaj]

I think we'll have to wait and see whether these are hot-pluggable.