Can you confirm this is really a power button? I guess you will have to have the lid open 90 degree for the laptop to allow power-on sequence.
Otherwise, this would mean it’s only a reset button, accessible when the bottom plate is removed.
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I was able to confirm that it is indeed a power button. With the bottom cover removed, I was able to consistently power on the machine (on battery power) by pressing and holding in the button for ~1 second. Also, holding in the button for ~5 seconds powers off the machine.
Some notes:
- The adapter power LED fails to illuminate in response to supplying power, whether via the adapter (even when applying a bit of force to the plug in the way I previously described) or a USB-C cable. However, the LED glows white while powered on, regardless of whether anything is plugged in.
- I was unable to use an external USB keyboard (whether USB-A or USB-C) while in the PureBoot Menu at all, regardless of port. However, PureBoot is able to access the Librem Key without issue, suggesting that this may be by design. (I don’t remember ever trying this before, so I’m not sure.)
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That makes sense. PureBoot’s initial graphic interface interacts only with the internal keyboard on a serial legacy bus PS/2. It would be hard to have a USB keyboard working at this stage (but it could eventually be done via the recovery console, though)
But after PureOS starts, even still in the initrd (root partition not yet mounted), you should be able to enter your LUKS passphrase via an external USB keyboard and have PureOS initialize and work as usual through the USB keyboard. What is your current PureBoot policy? If you plug the LK, can you boot the default kernel without having to type anything? Did you have smartcard-key-luks set up or not?
Of course, this would not make a very usable laptop if you had to power it on with the internal switch (bottom case removed) and use a USB keyboard instead of the internal PS/2 keyboard for entry…
But the point of all this troubleshooting was to try to separate keyboard issues (malfunctioning internal keyboard) from power/charging issues - because it does look to me like different problems.
If you can get to the point where you have PureOS working with a USB keyboard or mouse, we can further check some power issues to try and see what is the situation with BAT0/AC and charging.
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This is a lot of workaround for a problem that should certainly just be fixed by Purism support. At worst … they should be able to tell him the spec for the kbd ribbon cable (e.g. 26 pins, length, pitch [or width] and “same-side connector” or “opposite-side connector”). A good local repair shop should be able to fix the power connector.
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Done! I found the following setting: PureBoot Boot Menu > Options > Change configuration settings > Enable USB keyboard. I had to temporarily reconnect the internal keyboard to enable this setting, but now I’m able to access the PureBoot menu with a USB keyboard, as well as boot into PureOS.
Purism remains conspicuously absent. I also sent a follow-up message including my support ticket number to @JCS and have not received any reply. More and more, it feels like they’ve damaged their brand irreparably and are panicking behind closed doors on their way to bankruptcy. Whatever the case, I hope they realize before it’s too late that their long-term viability as an SPC is contingent upon operational transparency.
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Hello! I escalated your issue to the support department on Friday, the day you messaged me. I responded to your message a few hours ago, as I was observing a holiday yesterday. The support team is currently making progress on your ticket. Thank you for your patience.
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