On May 26, a user on HP’s support forums reported that a forced, automatic BIOS update had bricked their HP ProBook 455 G7 into an unusable state. Subsequently, other users have joined the thread to sound off about experiencing the same issue.
This common knowledge regarding BIOS software would, then, seem to make automatic, forced BIOS updates a real issue, even if it weren’t breaking anything. Allowing the user to manually install and prepare their systems for a BIOS update is key to preventing issues like this.
At the time of writing, HP has made no official comment on the matter — and since this battery update was forced on laptops originally released in 2020, this issue has also bricked hardware outside of the warranty window, when previously users could simply send in the laptop for a free repair.
Overall, this isn’t a very good look for HP, particularly its BIOS update practices. The fragility of BIOS software should have tipped off the powers at be at HP about the lack of foresight in this release model, and now we’re seeing it in full force with forced, bugged BIOS updates that kill laptops.
This happened to me on my daughters Lenovo. Got a windows update overnight. Updated while traveling in the car. Wouldn’t boot. Apparently the BIOS updated and there was no fix. Had to send gor a replacement under warranty. Sent it off, took 8 weeks to get it back. Wasn’t even the same serial number, just a replacement with no sdd.
Ugh. Microsoft really trying to advertise for Linux again
on these laptops you can update bios from bios, just needs to be connected via ethernet
But that’s not automatic or forced. Linux would never automatically update a BIOS.
Is it even possible to update BIOS on Linux? AFAIK, the installers are either for Windows or directly through the BIOS itself.
I think its highly manufacturer dependent but I install BIOS updates from Ubuntu on all my Dells.
yes, but the manufacturer need to support, thinkpads update bios fine under linux for example, usinf fwupd
Right, but so few do that. In general, updating BIOS through Linux isn’t really a thing.
Updates for my laptop show up in the ‘update’ view of Discover. I currently manually decide whether to proceed, but the ‘click to update all’ I suspect is close enough for most people to be fully automatic, and perhaps even is fully automated for some people.
HP did the damage.
I read this as talking about BadBIOS at first - did that ever turn out to be real, or was it just paranoia?
firmware updates that come through windows update are from your PC’s manufacturer.
I’ve heard that some antivirus programs, such as comodo, can sometimes cause that to happen after certain windows updates.
This is why you need to delay your windows updates with the group policy editor…Or policy plus if you don’t have windows pro
Microsoft has no business forcing firmware updates on anything. This is something HP should have handled. Those laptops are THEIR products, not Microsoft’s.
This logic breaks down when you realize the laptop is mine, and not HP’s or Windows. And any software that is mine, my copy of windows should also be mine and not microsoft’s, can modify my device if I have selected some of my software to do that.
Well, you might want to avoid
fwupdtoo thenFwupd is a pull model, not a pushed automatic update. Who the fuck doesn’t read release notes and do due diligence before running fwupd?
Every fucking Ubuntu user where it’s installed by default in Software Center?
Fedora pulls fwupd by default. If you use one of the ‘check for updates’ UIs, fwupd, dnf, and flatpak sources are all polled.
Those laptops are THEIR products, not Microsoft’s.
Microsoft: All your PC are belong to us.
What you say!!?
Move, Zig!
“Hit the road Jack”
This is something HP should have handled.
If a bad update is rolled out then it’s the responsibility of the software maker partner (HP) and the distributor (Microsoft), not just one or the other.
Those laptops are THEIR products, not Microsoft’s.
Both Microsoft and HP have branding on their laptops and a responsibility post-sale for the reliability of their systems. Hardware, firmware and OS responsibilities are all party to this chain of failure.
since this battery update was forced on laptops originally released in 2020, this issue has also bricked hardware outside of the warranty window, when previously users could simply send in the laptop for a free repair.
I hope HP aren’t surprised when they get accosted with bricked laptops through their execs’ windshields at random intervals…
If i knew of any execs near where i live they would be getting a front row seat to my reenactment of the Office Space printer scene.
It’s rare for me to viscerally hate someone just for existing, but if i met an HP exec I would have to exert quite a bit of self control to not beat them until I lost feeling in my hands
It’s rare for me to viscerally hate someone just for existing
Microsoft exec as well
Since when does Windows Update touch the BIOS? How is that even possible?
About halfway through windows 10 iirc
Windows update fetches all sorts of things now. If the hardware advertises X device then Windows update will check if it has anything for it. Approved vendors can provide all sorts of guff. Historically that has included drivers that intentionally brick your devices. HP probably packaged up some software that updates the BIOS and got it into the Windows Update DBs.
No one should buy HP products anymore. Seriously everything they make is terrible and then they break it more when they get bored of you and want you to buy another one.
Thing is, all the other major manufacturers are just as bad or worse.
As a PC technician, HP still somehow has the best service and support, which speaks volumes about how bad everyone else is. Dell’s support tools are a generation behind HP’s, and Lenovo’s build quality is atrocious. Not to mention Lenovo’s technician support is so badly fragmented and poorly run, they default to having the customer send the device in for repair and avoid sending an on-site technician just so they can avoid dealing with technician support. Speaking from personal experience, getting to the right person when I have a problem or need to order additional parts is like pulling teeth, and even if I manage to reach someone, they’re usually equal parts incompetent and unhelpful.
And Apple doesn’t even want to service their stuff.
These days, you have to pick your poison.
Why anyone buys HP shit these days is beyond me. So many better options.
I have a no HP policy because of their printers and a no Samsung policy because of their TVs.
deleted by creator
I also have a no Samsung policy, because of their refrigerators.
I tried to disable the atom cores on the £2000 laptop recently.
It took me about 10 mins not finding it in the BIOS, to discover that HP just doesn’t have an option for it.What are your suggestions? The only reasonable choice I’ve found is the Framework. I’d prefer if I had more than a single choice.
I don’t buy enough laptops to answer that. My last purchase was an Asus which I’m happy with, but after their recent scandal with scamming customers on warranties I don’t think I’ll be buying from them again. But HP has such a terrible track record with laptops, printers, and just the way they operate in general for consumer stuff, that I would never consider purchasing consumer devices from them.
I work at in a place that has 1000s of these piece of shit probooks. There is so much marketing about environmentalism yet these laptops are e-waste after 4 years if they even last that long. No one repairs any thing.
after Windows pushes new firmware
If a Linux distro pushed bad HP firmware, people would be blaming the Linux distro. Why does Microsoft get a free pass?
It’s not really Microsoft’s fault, they’re just delivering what HP releases via the firmware update channel.
I mean, Microsoft are a bag of dicks, but not on this one.
They don’t get the blame, but they definitely will earn a conspiracy charge. They didn’t commit the crime but they drove the van.
I think it’s HP that pushed the update though. So I’m guessing that it’s their driver that they broke not windows in general.
Some Linux distros probably did push the bad HP firmware. Vendors push updates via fwupd.
Jeez, I am currently trying to install Linux on my HP ProBook and having issues with it - one thing I noticed was my bios was last updated in 2014 so I was going to see if updating helped… Might hold off on that now
I thought UEFI had replaced BIOS a number of years ago. Or are we just keeping the name BIOS because everyone knows it?
The latter. It has been BIOS for so long that it is ubiquitous now.
How do these things not have unbrickable A/B firmware partitions by now? Even I have that on a $2 microcontroller. Self-test doesn’t pass after an update? Instant automatic rollback to the previous working partition.
My motherboard legit does this. Though it’s probably more so it’s an industrial one with like 8 SATA ports than anything else.
Removed by mod
It’s pretty ridiculous not to have a way of recovering from a failed update.
On my desktop, I just have to plug a flash drive with the BIOS image into a specific USB port and press a button on the motherboard. It doesn’t matter if the BIOS is broken and it doesn’t even require a CPU or RAM to be installed.
HP notebooks can do that too though
Gigabyte?
It’s an Asrock board.
do they even use ‘dualbios’ anymore? all i’ve seen lately is ‘q flash’ (for updating bios without a cpu or video present) on their boards.
Hate to be that guy, but I bet someone somewhere did the math of how much extra profit they can get from people having their device bricked and just getting a new one vs how many of them actually do the warranty claim
Is it just for ProBooks?..I think something similar is plaguing my Pavilion Gaming as well.
Presumably any model using the same motherboard/chip set, running that OS, I would think. Not my area of expertise.
This is interesting. Not a lawyer, but I’d encourage anyone in Australia to demand a free repair under Australian Consumer Law because the company bricked the laptop. I’d guess it would fall under the Acceptable Quality consumer guarantee, since the fault was caused directly by the manufacturer.
Not sure how you’d go about proving that, but you could then just take it to your state tribunal, like VCAt in Victoria and file a small claim.
Not a lawyer, not legal advice, but something to think about if you’re in this situation.
HP expanding their bad practices from printers to PCs now?
Microsoft should also be to blame here. Sending BIOS updates via automatic windows updates should not be a thing.
The alternative is that BIOS updates simply never get applied.
Not sure when the sentiment changed, but it used to be heavily recommended against updating the bios on any computer unless there was a specific feature or fix your computer needed.
Sentiment changed when the “BIOS” became a component for enforcing security architecture via “SecureBoot” and also Bitlocker sealed to PCRs only does so much if the BIOS code is vulnerable. Now they really badly want a “trusted” chain from some root of trust until the OS bootloader takes over. Problem is that the developers have historically enjoyed being in a trusted, single user context for decades and so the firmware has been full of holes when actually pushed.
Which is better than bricking a machine
That’s a better alternative…
deleted by creator
