Framework Laptop 13 Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 1 BIOS 3.05 Release BETA

Framework Laptop 13
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Highlights

  1. Updated CSME 18.0.15.2518 Corporate.
  2. Updated the RtkUsbUndiDxe driver.
  3. Added Dual Display support for pre-boot (BIOS/POST)
  4. Added automatic battery lifetime extender if the system is attached to AC for several days.

Please note: To update to version 3.05, the system’s current BIOS must be version 3.04. Please verify that you are on version 3.04 before proceeding.Due to changes in the CSME data structures, it is not possible to downgrade the BIOS from 3.05 once updated.

You can check your current BIOS version following the steps here to determine if you are on the latest release.

After the beta release, we will monitor community feedback, and publish this release to our stable release channel after approximately one week if no major issues are reported.

Subscribing to release notifications

If you want to subscribe to new release notifications you can now opt in through this link to receive an email when we release a new BIOS or driver update for your Framework Laptop.

Battery Extender functionality

With the high energy density on the 61Wh battery, leaving it at 100% state of charge for an extended period of time can shorten the lifetime of the battery. To prevent this, we have added a new feature that automatically limits the maximum state of charge if the system is left plugged into power for more than 5 days. The timer is reset after the system is disconnected from a power adapter for more than 30 minutes.

Battery Extender Duration Battery State of Charge
0-5< Days 99% → 100%
5-7 Days 90% → 95%
>7+ Days 85% → 87%

This functionality also reduces cycling of the battery by allowing the battery to discharge by several percent before charging again. Note that in addition to this automatic setting, you can also manually set a lower charge limit on your battery in BIOS to further preserve battery longevity.

This feature can be disabled or enabled in the BIOS Advanced menu.

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Battery Extender: This option is enabled by default. If disabled, the system will always keep the battery fully charged.

Battery Extender Trigger: This option sets the number of days that must pass before the battery state of charge is reduced automatically to extend the battery life.

Battery Extender Reset: This option sets the number of minutes that the system is running on battery before the extender is reset, causing the system to charge to 100% when attached to power again.

Battery Charge Limit Functionality

This release modifies the battery charge limit functionality to add a 5% float range. This allows us to reduce the number of microcycles on the battery when the CPU turbos.
Previously, the battery would be held at the target state of charge, so if a large power draw happened for a short time, such as when the CPU turbos, the battery would drain slightly and then charge again.
Introduced in this version, the battery will not start to charge until the battery has dropped 5% below the charge limit.

As an example, if the user sets the battery charge limit to 80%, the battery will maintain a state of charge between 80% and 75%. And will not charge up to 80% until it has discharged to 75% while the system is on.
If this is activated while the battery state of charge is above the limit, the battery will discharge without drawing power from the adapter until the upper limit is reached.

Downloads

Windows

Download Link SHA256
Framework_Laptop_13_Intel_Core_Ultra_Series1_BIOS_3.05.exe BDB8784ED09A5881454FC6AEE8C510AF231561F09BC8E8EBF1400B6BFF68C557

Instructions for Windows Installer:

  1. Run the .exe.
  2. Click yes to reboot.
  3. Wait for the firmware progress bar to complete, and then the system will reboot.
  4. If you are updating a system in standalone mode, please pay careful attention to the standalone update process below.

Please note that you must update with a charger attached.

Please note that the windows update does not support updating retimer firmware. There is not a functional impact to port functionality if you do not choose to update your retimer firmware.

Windows retimer updates

Please note that retimer updates only need to be done one time. So this is only necessary to do one time. This is optional.

Download Link SHA256
Framework_Laptop_13_Intel_Core_Ultra_Series1_Retimer_port01_624.exe 91B91554E0C5CBD3778DFB1DC355D88B15FBF10BCD0A5BF38D73DF859375691D
Framework_Laptop_13_Intel_Core_Ultra_Series1_Retimer_port23_624.exe D1D9F084B65B33AABDA15CB11E754A9987539E315424CF832B47E2D014DB625A

There are 2 retimers on the system. Please follow the instructions to do twice with different executable files.

Retimer update instructions.

  1. Update the BIOS first.
  2. Boot into Windows after BIOS update.
  3. Run the .exe and wait for the firmware update tool to stage the update.

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  1. After initialization, the system will restart and update the retimer firmware.
  2. Repeat step 3 after rebooting to update the second set of retimers.

Please note that you must update with a charger attached.

Linux/LVFS

Please note that for this platform LVFS supports the updated CSME firmware.

Updating via LVFS is available in the testing channel during the beta period.

You can enable updates from testing by running

fwupdmgr enable-remote lvfs-testing

Please note that you must update with a charger attached, then run:

fwupdmgr refresh --force

then

fwupdmgr get-updates

then

fwupdmgr update

Please note that you must update with a charger attached.

LVFS may not update if the battery is 100% charged. LVFS uses the battery status to determine if it is safe to apply updates. However if our battery is at 100% and the charger is off, we set the battery charging status to false. In this case you can discharge your battery a few percent, then plug in AC again and run fwupdmgr update.

Linux/Other/UEFI Shell update

Download Link SHA256
Framework_Laptop_13_Intel_Core_Ultra_Series1_BIOS_3.05_EFI.zip BE7B30927B1F941EADB59BC1A753891D45A9024E0A743F36CE16285889FF9D3A

Note that if you use the EFI shell update with Windows, you should suspend Bitlocker if enabled before updating using the EFI updater.

Instructions for EFI shell update:

  1. Extract contents of zip folder to a FAT32 formatted USB drive. Cleanly unmount the drive before physically removing it, otherwise the BIOS update may not function correctly.
  2. Attach a charger to your device while updating.
  3. Boot your system while pressing F12 and boot from the thumb drive.
  4. Let startup.nsh run automatically.
  5. Follow the instructions to install the update.

If doing a standalone update, the display output will not work during the retimer update. Please note that retimer updates take 2 minutes to complete. So please wait at least 5 minutes before attempting to power off or reset the device.

Updating a Mainboard outside of a laptop

This release supports standalone updates without a battery attached. After rebooting, please follow the onscreen instructions to update your BIOS when in standalone mode, which will require moving the power source between both sides of the Mainboard to allow PD firmware to update correctly.

Please note that the power and display output must be connected to the same side during standalone updates. Failure to do this may result in no display output during the update process.

We recommend the following update flow for standalone updates:

Part 1

Ensure that standalone operation is enabled in the bios advanced setup menu.

Display connected to upper left port.
Power connected to the lower left port.
Run the updater from EFI/Windows updater.

After rebooting into the updater the update will commence:

The updater will update the BIOS and EC.

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The Updater will update the PD controller that is not connected to the power source.

You will see one PD controller will fail the update with the X, and “Update Complete!!!” is displayed, but the bios will restart.

Part 2

At this screen, the bios update will stop. You must disconnect the display and power source, and move them to the other side.
The display should be connected to the top right.
Power should be connected to the bottom right.

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Press the power button, and the second PD update will complete.

If the PD version is the latest, you will see all updates with the V, and “Update Complete!!!” is displayed.

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Security Fixes

CVE Note Score (CVSS Version 3.x)
CVE-2024-49200 A potential DXE memory corruption vulnerability 7.2

Enhancements

  1. Updated CSME 18.0.15.2518 Corporate.
  2. Updated the RtkUsbUndiDxe driver.
  3. Added Dual Display support for pre-boot (BIOS/POST)
  4. Added automatic battery lifetime extender if the system is attached to AC for several days.

Fixes

  1. Fixed camera image artifacts appearing under strong light.
  2. Fixed standalone detection activating under the wrong conditions.
  3. Fixed incorrect external monitor resolution when flashing BIOS in standalone mode.
  4. Fixed non-functional fan turn-off hysteresis.
  5. Fixed power-on via AC attach not working in standalone mode when no RTC battery is installed.
  6. Fixed the battery extender setting overriding the battery charge limit on boot.
  7. Fixed battery charging limit being reset by the battery extender reset timer.

Component Versions

This BIOS update is a bundle of updates to multiple embedded components in the system.

Not all of them use the same version number.

BIOS 3.05 Updated
Intel CSME 18.0.15.2518 Updated
MCU 0x1E Same
GOP 22.0.1041 Same
EC ec_305_a322cd2 Updated
PD 0.0.0A Same

Reporting Issues

To report issues we have created a public issue tracker on github. GitHub · Where software is built

We hope that this is a better way to track issues with community involvement moving forward as we have found it difficult to both gather relevant information about issues people are reporting on the forums, and track the issues through their lifecycle in a transparent way.

If you do experience an issue with the update that is related to your system firmware, please post as complete a description as you can, including relevant system information, and external peripherals. Please note that we do not currently have a SLA for responding to issues on github, but we will be reviewing them through the bios release process, and will review them for future updates as well.

If you have an issue regarding hardware, broken devices, returns, etc, this is not the place, please contact Framework Support. Framework | Support

Known Issues

  1. If external ports are disabled in the BIOS, they can still function if the wifi/bluetooth device is disabled/enabled.
  2. No display output during the retimer update.
2

Hi, just here to report that the update went smooth. I’m using Fedora 42 KDE and just followed the instructions. FW 13 Core Ulra 5 125H, 32GB.

3

Update successful by fwupd on Fedora 42

4

This is kind of confusing. Would you please clarify the reason to update the Retimer FW?

5

This is due to it being an Intel signed Thunderbolt certified firmware.

2 Likes
6

The BIOS update worked fine with no issues so far, However when I did both retimer updates; Windows couldn’t properly restart itself (I waited 10 minutes) and I had to do a HARD power off each time.
Both time the retimer updates was sent to the BIOS and got updated after I manually booted the computer.

7

Smooth update on Arch. =)

8

Semi nitpicking here. Which is it? Need or optional?

…and then:

That section, IMO, could be re-written with better clarity.

e.g. Retimer Update is an optional step. If you decide to update the retimer, download the following two executable files, then execute each file once.

There’s also no information on why one would / wouldn’t update the retimer. i.e. If it’s optional, say why it’s optional such that the end-user can make an informed decision.