Shout out to URTechDotCa who was the only reason I could do this without losing my mind.
this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2025
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As a tech support, this is exactly why I shill for Framework to friends and family. HP are the worst offenders, Lenovo is full of chinesium spyware and Dell no longer makes devices designed to be fixed; they all make devices designed to be replaced.
I popped my keyboard out of my Framework laptop for fun just to show my friends how easy it was.
Dell is stupid simple, it's typically about 4 screws, none of which hold the laptop together.
Except this model,which is 2 hours of bullcrap just to find the keyboard.
I don't know what the current tech scene is like, but I prefer military grade approved laptops. My old Dell B130 is one such laptop.
Sure it's old and came out in 2006 I think, but their military grade line is meant to be easy to repair even in the field, better RF shielding, underclocked a bit for CPU longevity, and runs cooler than consumer grade laptops..
Is that something they still offer?
To be honest, I'm not sure anymore.
In the framework 16 it's connected by magnets. You can do the whole thing without tools.
As easy as a Dell is, and how rarely a keyboard needs to be replaced, I'm fine with a couple screws
Dell is pretty maintainable as well in my experience. I replaced my old XPS 13 battery and it was like a 30 minute task.
Big thing with framework is the customizability and the upgradability.
When you say framework, what do you mean? The way a laptop is constructed?
It's a company that makes and sells modular, upgradable laptops. (They also have a sort of desktop machine too.) https://frame.work/
Oh, that's neat.
But isn't NVidia the one that linux has issues with? Of the 3 laptops I looked at, all 3 had NVidia.
Since they're so easy to repair/replace, could you just as easily tell them not to put Nvidia, and then you put intel?
Just checked this. For the 16, the GPU is a module. You can choose either an RX 7700S or an RTX 5070 Laptop gpu.
For the 13, the GPU is integrated onto the CPU, which can be an AMD HX 340, 350, or 370, so, AMD gpus.
The 12 uses igpus also, but on Intel cpus, so, intel GPUs.
I think they felt an obligation to offer nVidia because a lot of people are brand-loyal to it. But it seems like they have plenty of non-nVidia options.
My understanding is that not anymore. I have nvidia gpu and didn't run into any major issues on Linux Mint.
I will second Dell not being repairable anymore - I had a Latitude 7280 which needed a keyboard replacement, and what an absolute pain in the arse that was because much like this post shows, most of the laptop has to come apart and then the keyboard is still held in with 50 goddamn screws.
I later found one of my friends had a similar era Latitude with the same keyboard design also fail in the same way mine did - if it doesn't get used in a while, keys stop working or become intermittent, and you need to spend hours mashing each key repeatedly to restore functionality, until the next time that laptop sits.
Edit: I know that it wasn't always this way because I owned a 2012 Latitude E6420, and that is the most modular laptop I've ever had and it was easy to repair, including the keyboard.
I recently replaced a Dell keyboard in 10 minutes. They're stupid simple.
My current Lenovo has no spyware and it runs Windows - but I installed the OS myself and built it my way.
I've done lots of Wireshark testing on my network, and run PiHole for DNS so can look at reports - there's nothing unusual going out of my network.
Look up the Superfish incident from about 10 years ago, im sure they got the memo and stopped that shit, but to me and a lot of cybersecurity professionals, that bridge is burnt.
It depends on the model. Sometimes, yeah.
The pro models like a low end Latitude.
Part of why you just don't by the consumer models.
Regardless, you don't need to remove the wifi card to change a keyboard.