System firmware absolutely will not update in Ubuntu

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

Which Linux distro are you using? Ubuntu
Which release version? 25.04
Which kernel are you using? 6.14.0-33-generic
Which BIOS version are you using? 0.0.3.5
Which Framework Laptop 13 model are you using? 12th Gen Intel® Core™

I’ve tried off and on for months using the GUI Firmware Updater and the CLI fwupdmgr using the instructions from this page Framework Laptop BIOS and Driver Releases (12th Gen Intel® Core™) . Both report success and a need to reboot. After reboot I’m still on 0.0.3.5 with an update available to 0.0.3.18. I’ve tried while on power through a USB hub with PD (my normal setup) and then again with the laptop only connected to the Framework power supply and nothing else. I never get an error message, but it also never does anything.

Is there a step I’m missing? Is there something I have to enable in the BIOS to allow the system to apply firmware updates from NVRAM?

2

SOLVED - leaving note here in case anybody has the same problem. I just wasn’t reading the documentation properly ( Framework Laptop BIOS and Driver Releases (12th Gen Intel® Core™) ) I didn’t realize that you can’t update BIOS through any Linux firmware updater if you have a 12th Gen Intel laptop. You must use the EFI USB method to update the system firmware, despite fwupdmgr instructions coming first.

1 Like