USB-C Ports Stop Charging

Summary

A cross-generation issue where one or more USB-C expansion card slots (most commonly on the left side) stop accepting charge or passing data. In some cases the laptop also resets itself every few hours. The problem has been reported across Intel 11th Gen, 12th Gen, 13th Gen, Core Ultra 1, AMD Ryzen 7040 Series, and AMD Ryzen AI 300 (HX370) models¹²³⁴. The root cause appears to be the Embedded Controller (EC) entering a stuck state, causing USB Power Delivery (PD) negotiation to fail on one or both PD controllers⁵⁶.

Symptoms

• One or more USB-C ports stop charging; right-side ports may continue to work¹²
• Laptop resets itself every few hours without user action¹
• Charging indicator light flashes on and off instead of staying solid³
• Battery shows "Discharging" despite being plugged in³
• USB-A expansion cards disconnect intermittently or kill connected flash drives¹
• Plugging the charger directly into the bare mainboard USB-C jack still fails on the affected side²
• Ports may temporarily recover after the laptop is powered off for several minutes or after a battery disconnect²⁴

Affected Models

• Framework Laptop 13 (11th Gen Intel)²⁷
• Framework Laptop 13 (12th Gen Intel)⁸
• Framework Laptop 13 (13th Gen Intel)³
• Framework Laptop 13 (Intel Core Ultra Series 1)¹²
• Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series)³⁴⁹
• Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen AI 300 / HX370)¹
• Framework Laptop 16 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series)⁵⁶

Root Cause

The issue involves the Embedded Controller (EC) and the two USB PD (Power Delivery) controller chips on the mainboard — one managing the left-side ports, one managing the right-side ports:

• EC stuck state — The EC can enter a state where it stops communicating with the battery charge controller, causing PD negotiation to fail. A full board reset or battery disconnect can restore it temporarily³⁵⁶.
• PD controller firmware failure — During BIOS updates the PD controller firmware may fail to flash correctly, leaving one PD controller at version 0.0.00 while the other reports the current version. Reinstalling the same BIOS with the charger plugged into the opposite side can sometimes recover the failed PD controller⁶.
• USB bus flooding — Connecting Apple devices (iPhone, iPad) to expansion card ports can flood the USB bus with messages, causing the port to shut down⁴.
• Manufacturing variance — Some boards exhibit the problem from the factory, with front-left ports consistently unreliable across kernel versions and operating systems⁹.

Diagnosis

1. Test all four (or six on FW16) expansion card slots with the same charger and cable. Note which slots charge and which do not¹².
2. Plug the charger cable directly into the bare mainboard USB-C jack (with the expansion card removed). If the bare jack also fails, the issue is on the mainboard, not the expansion card².
3. Check PD controller versions in BIOS setup — both PD controllers should report the same firmware version. If one shows 0.0.00, the PD firmware flash failed⁶.
4. Try a full power-off — shut down, unplug charger, wait at least 2 minutes for the EC to fully discharge, then plug in and power on²⁴.
5. Try a mainboard reset — follow the Fully Resetting the Mainboard State guide⁴.

Workarounds & Fixes

Solution	Effectiveness	Notes
Power off 2+ minutes24	Temporary	Lets EC fully discharge; ports may work again for hours or days
Battery disconnect4	Temporary	Remove battery for 10–24 hours; one user confirmed full recovery
Mainboard pinhole reset4	Temporary	Follow Framework's mainboard reset guide
BIOS reinstall (charger on working side)6	Can fix PD firmware	Re-flash the same BIOS version with charger plugged into the working side so the failed PD controller receives power during update
Remove USB-A expansion cards1	May stop resets	USB-A modules have been linked to random resets on some boards
Avoid Apple devices on ports4	Preventative	iPhone/iPad can flood the USB bus and trigger port shutdowns
Use only USB-C expansion cards1	Mitigation	Reduces bus-related disconnections; use a dongle/hub for other connectors
Mainboard replacement	Permanent	Contact Framework Support; users with persistent issues received replacement boards5

Resolution

For units under warranty, contact Framework Support for a mainboard replacement. If one PD controller shows firmware version 0.0.00, first try reinstalling the BIOS with the charger on the working side — this can recover the failed PD controller without hardware replacement⁶.

EC resets and battery disconnects are temporary workarounds. If ports fail repeatedly after resets, the mainboard likely has a hardware fault and should be replaced⁵.

Related

• Framework Laptop 13 Ultra 1 stop charging and start resetting itself — Framework Community
• FW16 Failing to charge from any port other than 1 — GitHub
• Fully Resetting the Mainboard State — Framework Guides
• Framework 13 not charging unless restarted into BIOS — Framework Community

Footnotes

1. Framework Laptop 13 Ultra 1 stop charging and start resetting itself — Framework Community ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. No more charging on the back left port — Framework Community ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

3. Framework 13 7840U randomly stops charging — Framework Community ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

4. HELP! The return of the: Half my USB ports stopped working randomly! — Framework Community ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

5. Framework 16 Failing to charge from any port other than 1 — GitHub ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. Issues with ports and charging — Framework Community ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

7. Framework laptop no longer draws power over USB when powered on — Framework Community ↩

8. Front left USB-C port has stopped working — Framework Community ↩

9. Framework Laptop 13 AMD left side ports only work when reattached or shut down for ~10 minutes — Framework Community ↩ ↩²