I’ve unscrewed the bottom and checked out the hardware once, nothing inside looked damaged, burned, etc, all the hardware looked good.
I’m going off of the directions they provide at https://puri.sm/librem-ec/. If the ectool is working properly, then I am on the most recent EC firmware (1.11).
They had indicated that other vendors do not sell the battery, but did not indicate that they sold one or a price. I’m sure others have in the past been successful with this, but the problem is inconsistency. As it stands, from my experience its too much of a gamble for me to recommend their hardware, I’ve had too many problems and I’ve seen others running into some of the same problems too frequently.
I’m not arguing with your hardware experience. But it is possible to get replacement parts by (perhaps explicitly) asking to buy them. This information is just as much for other readers as it is for you.
The machine was not usable when it finally arrived. I sent it back and they said they would send another then forgot. I prompted them… They sent the old one back and on from there. Today I opened it up having applied the latest EC patch a week or 10 days ago and it would not boot, i had no valid keys. Right. I also noticed the battery was discharged and the estimate in settings is that it would take 12 hours to charge. I fought with resetting keys and all that, verified the EC patch was the latest and still find it is going to take 12 hours to charge. I was not aware i was investing in a hobby. I had hoped this would converge toward a working machine by now. I am entirely disappointed. Own the 13 v4 and the 14 but I won’t buy anything else.
Given the age of this thread, I wonder if this is still relevant, but just in case:
I’ve had my Librem 14 for several months now, and I am completely satisfied with it. I have not experienced any of the most common problems cited on these threads (e.g., battery not charging, keyboard dropping inputs, high-pitched whines, bluetooth/wi-fi dropping unexpectedly, frequent crashes, etc.) My experience thus far has been excellent. My only disappointment was that when I ordered my L14, the 3-cell battery was out of stock, and so I could not configure the laptop with a second internal drive. Honestly, though, that has proven to be very little inconvenience.
In fairness, I do have one criticism of the L14: the build of screen/top. It feels flimsy. Moreso than I think it should for the price. Whereas the body of the laptop feels solid, the screen has a dissatisfying flexibility to it that makes me want to take extra-special care when handling it.
I can only speak to my experience, but I would buy a Librem again, without hesitation.
I wouldn’t buy the L14 again. My L14 had to be RMAed three times with the exact same issue and was gone several weeks each time. Customer support was adequate once we got connected, but three times is a lemon as far as I’m concerned. At least this time it seems like they got it right and it’s been working OK for a while now.
The keyboard layout is kind of weird and has caused problems for me before, but I’m mostly deskbound so it’s not the end of the world. It’s disappointing that we can’t use the second nvme slot on the motherboard due to the layout/battery.
Certain complaints really aren’t fair - it’s only a 10th gen, 6-core CPU for the cost of current day technology - but that’s part of the tradeoff when you’re worried about security/privacy.
In the L14’s favor are the display (which I really like) and the serviceability (it’s not glued together like everything else these days). It looks very sleek and understated with its exterior. You’re also supporting a company that contributes to security/privacy/open source.
L14 + QubesOS user here. Quite content with my purchase.
Bottom Line Up Front for Issues:
I did experience power issues that were resolved with support. The issue was that the laptop would not charge after being plugged in. The keyboard layout issues (right shift for AZERTY being an issue) for me are managed through carrying a hacker keyboard.
Things I am Happy About:
Some of them have already been said: happy to be supporting an open source and privacy-minded firm. We help pay for the staff at Purism to continue to bring into the world hardware and software that I have longed for. It’s really hard to put a price to that. The L14 is an attractive, easy to use, Linux friendly laptop. Being able to run Qubes without worry of managing compatibility issues is nice.
The rest of the hardware just meets expectations. Same would be said about the HPs, Dells, and Razers I’ve used. It’s good enough to do the job. Resolution is sufficient. I have support for 2 extra monitors. USB-C ports are handy.
Conclusion
Overall - I would purchase another L series laptop. I drive my L14 hard, consuming nearly 50GB of RAM of the 64GB I purchased on average. It fits in my backpack for travel nicely. Has a decent weight and size.
90% of the time my laptop is sitting at the desk connected to two external monitors, keyboard and mouse and I try not to move built-in screen not to annoy flimsy hinges that some other users have complained.
I guess it’s important also to distinguish between “dislikes” that could in theory be resolved for you in the future (like the 3-cell battery availability issue and the microphone in the 3.5 mm audio jack issue) and “dislikes” that you will forever have to put up with (e.g. if a 10th gen, 6 core CPU is a bit low end for a particular customer’s needs or e.g. the keyboard layout).
Sounds like overall a pretty good machine. I think it’s hard to find any laptop that is 100% perfect, as everyone has their own idea on what a perfect laptop would look like.
I think purism as a company puts considerable time and thought into everything they make while also realizing that improvements can follow in future iterations. Hard to find another company that is prioritizing privacy and security in the way which they do, and for that I appreciate the work they have done.
I’m sure some if not most of the biggest issues people have will be addressed in the L14V2 or whatever follows the L14. Until then, the L14 is a great choice.
Is that a company I don’t know about or meant as a general sense/feeling from a company like Purism when such considerations are put in the forefront of their mission/goal?
I just misunderstood, I thought you were pointing out another company with a similar goal as Purism.
Not sure there are than many other Linux laptop makers the fit into the same space as the Librem 14, but I’m not an expert by any means.
If you looking for a label “linux laptop” it is huge outside in the market, including apple, windows, whatever brands laptops as they can run linux blobs with opensouce os blobs… So Purism it using gnu free-software operating systems in they machines, so in the sense purism is selling “gnu laptop” not “linux laptop”.
Linux laptop mean an opensourced/os laptop, not security, not privacy, not freedom, not ethical, not nothing nothing from opensource labels & OSes.
Added: you can also call Linux-Laptop to the Librem 14 if it makes you socially happy, but you can also call it luxurious GNU-Laptop too.
I am satisfied with librem 14 but it did work fine for days. Some apps such as firefox crash sometimes on PureOS via librem 14 laptop thats all. I’m not saying that the librem 14 laptop is an inferior product but I’m just testing the laptop thats all. You know the issue with my librem laptop is the missing firmware thats all.
I went from windows to mac to linux but i have minor issues too with L14 laptop so otherwise the L14 laptop worked after all. And I’m glad to hear it from you.
