I believe the Bios software should be open sourced so the community can work on programming in things that can be used by everyone, even if it’s not used as much.
The hardware is already modular so not everyone will have the same hardware configurations. Having a BIOS that’s configured BY the user and the community would be more fitting for this brand of laptops.
It is unlikely that Framework will be able to open-source InsydeH2O’s UEFI (which is the boot firmware they’ve licensed and customized); however, you can follow this thread for more information about open-source¹ boot firmware.
¹ Mostly–apart from some Intel binary blobs/the Intel Firmware Support Package
That’s ok. It was more of a suggestion.
BIOS/UEFI is now so complicated that some of us need a list of items that likely need attention.
I installed Ubuntu Studio 21.04 (based on Kubuntu) on a Batch 5 DIY from a USB stick. Installation failed until I disabled “Enforce Secure Boot.” That was a wild lucky guess on my part, and I am not certain that it was the right step. I have left “Enforce Secure Boot” disabled, and I am not sure whether that is correct, either. Based on the time sequence, I’m guessing that Secure Boot prevented the installation from writing some part of the boot code, rather than preventing the appropriate boot code from activating for boot. But that’s more wild guessing.
Nope. Secure Boot only allows “trusted code” to run when booting the system. Trusted by whom? Well, it verifies trust by looking to see who signed whatever code is running and whether that key is trusted by the UEFI. By default, most UEFI systems come with Microsoft’s keys built-in, which means that unless people go out of their way to add custom keys, bootloaders and other such things will need to be signed by Microsoft’s key in order to boot on a Secure Boot-enabled system.
In general, people have fewer issues on Linux systems with Secure Boot disabled.
Ubuntu is signed using Microsoft’s keys
Fedora is as well I think and one other I believe
Perhaps Ubuntu Studio is not however idk
Yup, so is Debian. It’s why I didn’t even have to think about Secure Boot until I realized it disables hibernation (everything “Just Worked”).
There is a bug in the 3.06 beta BIOS so Framework recommends not installing it as this time: OFFICIAL - Framework Laptop BIOS 3.06 Notification - PLEASE READ
3.07 is due soon which has a fix for that bug: Clock stuck at .39Ghz - #186 by Kieran_Levin
3.07 beta is now available: BIOS 3.07 + Windows 10 and (11 Alpha) driver bundle
This has the fix for the bug in 3.06, the first implementation of battery charge limits, and a fix for the 0.4GHz charging bug.
I tried to edit this page’s wiki, updating for BIOS 3.07, but I couldn’t do it by the 403 error message at the moment. The knowledge base is updated.
I’ve shared that with the development team. I also see an error when trying to edit the wiki post.
Is there some forum or post-area where we can sign up to get emails or push-notifs when something like a BIOS update is released? I just happened to think to look for one, hence finding out that 3.07 was released about 3 days ago (at time of writing) but short of my random thought to it, I would never have known.
Also, got the firmware updated on Arch just fine, took about 40 minutes to get my bootloader reset, but once I realized what I was doing, it was actually about 10 minutes or commands and process, rather than my previous 30 minutes of tinkering, research, and troubleshooting. So happy to finally have battery charging limits supported!! Looking forward to future changes/additions!
What is the process needed to prevent losing the bootloader registry? I know other OEMs have managed BIOS updates without clearing the bootloader (on Windows, anyway). It would be more convenient to not have the BIOS wiped, unless all OEMs have issues with Linux and not Windows, and I just don’t have enough experience to know that yet.
Will “Erase all Secure Boot Settings” put Secure Boot into the “Setup Mode”?
If you have purchase a laptop or have an account within the community part of the website, then you should receive a notification.
There was an email sent out on the 24th of December with a subject, ‘Important Firmware Updates for your Framework Laptop’, denoting of the recent BIOS update as well as detail on a firmware update for some Western Digital SN850 SSD on Windows.
There is also an article on the knowledgebase section:
Hope this helps.
@Patrick_Corey I didn’t get an email for some reason, at least not one that I noticed. I bought my laptop a while ago and have been signed up for email alerts and newsletters since August. Not sure if I missed it or something bugged out. If there are meant to be email alerts, I will keep my eye out next time.
I’m in batch 2,and did not receive an email about the new bios either. They seemed to have sent it out only to later batches shipped with 3.06.
Everyone should be included in bios updates info.
Do we have an “always on USB charging” or similar thing? Or are USB ports always “always on”?
Another batch 2 baby here. I didn’t receive an email either, fwiw.
I too have never gotten an email about Bios upgrades. I am a batch 2 DIY customer. I have 3.07 because I browse this forum. I do think all customers should be getting bios update notices by default.