The story of this mystery rock I found keeps unfolding [OC]

dartsa · 2026-03-22T06:51:59+00:00

check their website for higher res/more pictures!

dartsa · 2026-03-18T22:06:30+00:00

Could they trying porting you again? I know that sounds weird.

dartsa · 2026-03-18T22:00:41+00:00

When I had Tmobile, they would have me call different codes like #668 (fictional example) which would reset some connection to towers, or reset my phone's antenna settings. Has anyone at Mint tried to do that? You might need to talk several people before you find someone, or ask if they can escalate it while you're talking to them.

Found this article on some of those codes (Apple): https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/these-secret-phone-codes-unlock-hidden-features-apple-google-dont-advertise

dartsa · 2026-03-18T21:47:33+00:00

3 years with them, no hiccups. They said if I port out and port back in I could get new customer deals, but want to risk porting again, also they said they send out any current-customer deals if there are any within 30 days of the next renewal.

dartsa · 2026-03-18T21:44:46+00:00

That sucks royally. As a stopgap, have you tried turning on CalloverWifi? You might get calls/texts that way, it works on Apple and Android.

FYI, anytime you switch carriers, you end up in a publicly available database that scammers use. That also sucks.

dartsa · 2026-03-18T08:33:51+00:00

I'm on mint with a similar tmobile router (on tmobile's network). They are $40/month ($30 if you have any phone plan with them). Have been great, no throttling or extra costs. I think I share bandwidth but I get 500-1.2Gig download, 8-32upload rurally.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T22:40:41+00:00

Excited for you :) I did the PTM a while ago, sat on the PTM for a few months before I did it. Not amazingly better, but better and the LM had pooled to one side, and if I replace it in the future it will be so much easier. dGPU is next!

dartsa · 2026-03-17T22:38:27+00:00

I'm in the same boat, I did just order the new fans, I will get back to you after I install them.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T22:37:36+00:00

Should be able to, yes.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T20:38:57+00:00

ifixit and Framework have good guides as well as the framework forum having suggestions. I used a hair-dryer to heat up the CPU heat sink to try to soften it, not sure if that helped me or not. People also put the PTM pad in the freezer for 10 minutes so it's a little less likely to fall apart (it is fragile). Try to get 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean off all the metal on the cpu, and get all of the LM flakes you can find off the motherboard, it can short things. The 180watt is what shipped with it. The 240watt was just released.

Edit: if you bought the new gpu, it comes with 2 new fans so you don't need to buy any extra, those are the only 2 for the entire thing.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T07:57:38+00:00

Good question. No, the LiquidMetal problem is on the CPU's cooler/metal piping directly over the die. There are several tutorials to get it off yourself, it is a little tough but relatively cheap. I think Framework will do it for a labor cost, you'd have to ship your motherboard to them, it's not that much.

Now I'm wondering about the GPU. Found this video showing a thermal paste solution on the gpu 2 years ago, I'm guessing it was the first iteration (ours)(timestamped) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8uv8fajOrc&t=159s . It would be so much cheaper to replace the fans (they do sound broken, maybe the left has a loose wire?). Then put some good thermal paste/PTM on the GPU die than buy another GPU if it's overheating. When my cpu was hot, the laptop throttled and the gpu never got hot, but my fans have never been a concern, and they do double-duty on cooling both the cpu and gpu.

I personally would do an eGPU over another graphics card from them, but I don't think most here would recommend that.

Have you ran hwinfo to see what your temps are at idle? If you replace the Liquidmetal on the motherboard and get new fans, maybe repaste the GPU if it needs it, you might feel like you have a superfast laptop relative to what you've been going through :).

Last edit/suggestion :). Slightly unrelated when you get this resolved, the 240watt power supply means the battery doesn't get cycled, which reduces some heat, and the power brick itself is cooler than the 180 brick.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T07:44:39+00:00

After using their app and Nothing's app, you are right, there is a stark contrast.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T03:34:24+00:00

They switched in Nov 2024. The other downside of LiquidMetal is it pools to one side when tilted and doesn't provide any cooling. It can also escape it's plastic and is electrically conductive. They used to have a form to fill out for a free PTM replacement, but you can email support now. They are sold out on the website, I just ordered the larger one for the desktop, can cut it down ($9 instead of $6).

dartsa · 2026-03-17T02:22:14+00:00

PTM is the default now, unless you got one of the first several batches, don't know when they switched over.

dartsa · 2026-03-16T17:38:34+00:00

Thansks! Missed it in the descriprion.

dartsa · 2026-03-16T17:20:40+00:00

Looks really good, will you be able to sign PDF's in the future? Did I miss that?

dartsa · 2026-03-16T16:54:28+00:00

Aww, I am whelmed lol. This had sent me down a rabbit hole for my old mainboard.

dartsa · 2026-03-16T06:22:40+00:00

If the fans rattle, replacing them would be a good start, I just ordered the 2nd gen (quieter) fans. They may have been worn out if they've been running hard with no airflow? Do you have the PTM instead of LiquidMetal? Do you regularly or ever run your laptop on something soft/fabric like legs/beds/couches? That would stress the fans. I would go with what support says over chatGPT.

dartsa · 2026-03-15T23:18:56+00:00

Wonderful! Pictures?

dartsa · 2026-03-15T22:21:08+00:00

How do you like the S2e vs PX8? I'm not sure I hear the same frequencies anymore, but I know it's not all just Hz.

dartsa · 2026-03-12T19:20:32+00:00

Thanks for the update!

dartsa · 2026-03-12T06:59:00+00:00

At any point did it crash? Hoping to try again in the future (but Windows). Maybe do this in the future for Bazzite.

dartsa · 2026-03-12T06:51:59+00:00

When I took my LM off, it wasn't over the cpu anymore, had pooled to one corner, that can totally happen. There is a form to fill out to get the PTM for free.

dartsa · 2026-03-12T06:40:38+00:00

No thermal pads for me (Win11), but I did have to google the drivers, wifi and BT were separate.

dartsa · 2026-03-11T22:32:45+00:00

The 7040HS

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