Media / Fn Keys Not Registering on Framework 13 | Linux

I had a peculiar issue on my Framework 13 after a kernel upgrade where my media keys didn’t work. I shut the machine down and back up, the it worked. Some time later, this happened again and the same fix of shutting it down and turning it back on and the keys worked again, but the other day, this fix did not work. Reboots or cold boots didn’t solve this issue and I was annoyed. I did find a fix here on the Framework community forum.

Problem

In some situations it has been experienced where the special function / media keys would not register. Whether you pressed the Fn key along with the media keys along the top or not, the desired action would not happen.

Originally, I thought this was a me issue but as it turns out, this isn’t unique to my openSUSE Tumbleweed machine but also affects at least one Arch user. According to the forum post, It looks like this should not be an issue with kernel version 6.11.x but i you are not there yet there are two things you can do to correct this.

First, check to see that there is a config file:

/etc/modprobe.d/framework-als-deactivate.conf

That has a single line in it

blacklist hid_sensor_hub

Reboot the Framework 13 and check to see that the media keys are working. I will note that this was already present on my system. So, I went on to the next step.

Restart Embedded Controller

Shut the Framework 13 down, not sleep but fully off. When it is completely off, hold down the power button until the Power-LED blinks. Release the button and the machine will boot up normally. It will take just a few moments longer than a normal boot up.

Once your machine boots up, you should be back to normal operation with your function / media / special row of keys.

Final Thoughts

I was thinking about this issue with the Framework 13 keyboard that I had and I am not upset or irritated at all. I have owned many machines, most of which are Linux but I have also owned Dell and HP laptops. They have problems too. All machines will give you an issue at some point it time. The good thing about Framework machines is that the company provides you with every resource possible to be able to self-correct and truly own your hardware.

What I learned in this process is that there is an embedded controller that manages the keyboard that can be forced to be rebooted. That, whole nugget of knowledge is worth every iota of irritation I received by having to research this problem. Hopefully, this article will help someone out.

References

https://community.frame.work/t/fn-key-media-keys-broken-in-arch/56880
https://frame.work
https://get.opensuse.org
Framework 13
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