I noticed that there was a new driver package for my Framework 16 laptop that became available 10/2/2024. There was also a BIOS that I assumed was also new since there was no date associated with it, so I grabbed that also. When I ran the BIOS update utility it has a popup that just told me to save my work before proceeding but it didn’t show me any version information for my existing BIOS and when I clicked “OK” it just started flashing the BIOS even though I already had the same BIOS version loaded. Every other motherboard I’ve ever owned has notified me when the same BIOS version is installed and asked me if I’m sure I want to flash the BIOS since it’s the same version. I found it odd that it flashed the BIOS with the same version again without notifying me it was the same BIOS or even giving me the option to check the previous BIOS and the new BIOS version before proceeding.
Thankfully the BIOS flash worked as expected and the computer rebooted, and everything was fine after that. But I think it might be a good idea to at the very least put a date on the BIOS on the download page, so people know if it’s old or new that aren’t intimately familiar with their current BIOS versions up front. And also making a change to the BIOS update utility to show the current BIOS and the BIOS that is about to be flashed before proceeding so the user can see if they are the same and abort the operation.
This is by no means a breaking issue and shouldn’t be given a high priority since in the end the flash was fine, and everything worked fine afterward, and no harm was done other than an unnecessary flash to the BIOS chip. But I think it would be better if before the BIOS flash starts it shows the user the previous BIOS version and the version that is about to be applied so they can abort if they are the same, or even warn the user that they are same just in case they don’t notice the version numbers are identical. However, if the Framework has a fallback BIOS like most modern motherboards where it’s impossible to brick the laptop during a BIOS update then perhaps none of this is necessary in the end but more like something people are familiar with that would give them just a little more control. Because when I saw the version # that was being applied after the flash already started, I would have aborted it if I could have since there is no benefit in upgrading the BIOS to the same BIOS again unless it somehow got corrupted on the first application.
Request
- Add date to BIOS on download page just like the driver package.
- Show user their current BIOS and BIOS version being updated too with an option to cancel before starting the flashing process.
Thanks!