Hey everyone.
Yes, after almost 10 years, I have gotten a lot of use out of this laptop. Though it needs some repair work in 4 areas:
- The microphone won’t work unless the screen is tilted at a certain angle. This happened pre-warranty expiry when I first got the device and tested it out.
- The battery is dying and will only hold a charge for about 30 minutes. Will reboot without an orange LED warning even though capacity says around 70%. Likely due to undervoltage and age.
- Keyboard has gotten very dirty over the years, even though I have tried to clean it. Trying to clean a scissor-switch keyboard makes me highly paranoid about breaking it. Certain keys don’t work unless they are pressed on the center, specifically the space bar, left shift and “A” key have problems registering key presses.
- Lately this year, the screen bezel adhesive is starting to peel itself off at the bottom left corner
But my problem is the Librem 14 is a 14-inch laptop. I really want the 13-inch one because it fits perfectly in this laptop bag along with my Wacom Intuos Pro Medium tablet and various accessories.
Even though it is out of warranty now, would it still be possible to send it to the original manufacturer/Librem to get work on it at all? I can probably pay the repair costs.
Otherwise, my next laptop will be a 13-inch from some other place like the Framework laptop, System 76, Dell, or something with a BIOS/UEFI that doesn’t suck so much, and without integrated this and that, and the other, and just not being a pain to repair in general.
So while it is possible to have this laptop repaired with a third party, how do I find someone trustworthy? This is a list of like 4 HW repairs, maybe even 5 if the bezel itself needs to be replaced, not just adhesive.
I want to keep using this laptop, but the laptop needs tlc.
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@mrjpaxton
Librem 13 batteries are available in the store, though standalone batteries can only be shipped within the US: Librem 13 Battery – Purism
For the other parts, or if you would like to discuss options to send it in to us for repairs, please contact support@puri.sm. I believe we have other Librem 13 parts, but I don’t know what parts exactly.
The LCD is larger but the exterior dimensions are almost the same:
- Librem 13: 325mm x 18mm x 219mm
- Librem 14: 322mm x 17mm x 220mm
(from Purism– Librem 14 under “Same Footprint, Larger Display”)
If you have any other questions about dimensions / comparison, I’m happy to answer them 
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Ooooohkay, I see, so by 14-inch, that probably means a reduced bezel size for the screen then. Dimensions are similar.
In that case, sure, I will definitely consider upgrading now! I’ll just have to figure out how to sell my old Librem laptop later I suppose. 
Though for something bought for 2 grand back in 2016-ish, I have no idea what something that runs Intel Kaby Lake would be going for these days.
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… particularly given the tired state of the laptop that you so lovingly document in the original post. 
If you are in the US then I suggest you get a quote from Purism to get a new battery. That can inform your decision as to whether it is worth getting a new battery in order to sell the laptop or to keep using it.
If you are not in the US then it is likely that it doesn’t make sense to attempt to get a new battery.
Without a new battery, it’s probably e-waste, unless the Librem 13 can run without a battery (can it?) and you can find a buyer for whom that particular use case works (or that use case works for you).
It is a pity that laptop batteries are not more standardised. Fortunately I was able to get a replacement battery for my even older (not Librem) laptop when the battery died a few years ago.
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