HP bricks ProBook laptops with bad BIOS delivered via automatic updates — many users face black screen after Windows pushes new firmware ( www.tomshardware.com )

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.

solsangraal ,

i rarely victim-blame, but if you're buying HP anything, then yea...

nifty , (edited )
@nifty@lemmy.world avatar

At one point they didn’t suck so much, but everything has been infected with enshittification

MisterFrog ,
@MisterFrog@lemmy.world avatar

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.

Tuuli ,

I had Windows push a bios update on my HP omen desktop. It completed the update but wouldn't get back up after restart. The fans went crazy for a moment and then it was dead. Luckily I had warranty left. They replaced processor and motherboard. Good job HP/Microsoft.

Ballistic_86 ,

HP is the one responsible here, Windows is just the delivery service HP uses to deliver their updates.

I’m all for hating on Microsoft, but you don’t blame the UPS driver for delivering a bomb to your house.

egeres ,
@egeres@lemmy.world avatar

What would be the solution? Re-solder some chip from the motherboard?

sag , (edited )
@sag@lemm.ee avatar

Thanks for Update HP But I use Linux :)

Kbobabob ,

And presumably not an HP motherboard, so this doesn't really apply to you.

dumbass , (edited )
@dumbass@leminal.space avatar

HP:

https://media1.tenor.com/images/5651bfc7c7aa0e23468cc0a0e65c4f04/tenor.gif?itemid=17367995

Just one extra free bit of advertising for Linux.

Kbobabob ,

What does a motherboard BIOS have to do with Windows other than that was how the update was delivered? I swear Lemmy loves to shoehorn Linux into any article that even mentions Windows.

bane_killgrind ,

If they were running Linux the HP update utility would not be running.

CileTheSane ,
@CileTheSane@lemmy.ca avatar

What does a motherboard BIOS have to do with Windows other than that was how the update was delivered?

So what does this have to do with Windows and Linux other than the fact that Linux wouldn't have a mandatory unskippable update?

Weslee ,

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

adarza ,

we've had clients have their dell systems bricked from bios updates. it's not just hp.

at least dell (reluctantly) offered free repairs, even out of warranty, on those models at the time. 'repair' being motherboard swap plus shipping both ways if not covered by an onsite warranty plan.

i still have one of those 'repaired' systems here. user gave it to us years after it got fixed. it just sat, unused, once they got it back as they bought a new one due to the lengthy turnaround they were quoted.

unphazed ,

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.

andros_rex ,

I read this as talking about BadBIOS at first - did that ever turn out to be real, or was it just paranoia?

EmperorHenry ,
@EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

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

Takios ,
@Takios@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

I remember warning labels on BIOS updates that basically said that if nothing is broken, don't do the update because the risk of bricking the device did not outweigh any potential benefits. That vendors are now pushing mandatory BIOS updates through Windows Update is terrifying.

vithigar ,

When I heard that BIOS updates were going out automatically via Windows update I had just assumed the devices in question must be using an A/B update scheme to prevent the risk of accidentally bricking the system, because obviously they should.

Absolutely insane that's not the case.

far_university1990 ,

Why can even touch bios from system? That sound like horrible attack vector. If can infect bios, no reformat or reinstall will remove virus.

Aux ,

You're not touching BIOS from the system. The software just downloads a cryptographically singed binary and reboots into BIOS. Then BIOS checks if the file is ok and proceeds to flash itself.

Vilian , (edited )

attack vetor if the person has physical access to your device, or the bios connect to the internet, at that point fuck it

far_university1990 ,

No meant like if can infect system, could touch bios and infect, so make virus stay forever.

Which sound horrible.

Also Intel ME can connect to internet and is below BIOS. Agree, fuck it.

barsoap ,

They really, really, should be doing A/B systems. Or just have an absolutely minimum loader that can load from EPROM/flash or USB so when the system storage gets messed up, you can still launch the updater from USB. That bios loader doesn't need to know more than how to talk to storage and shovel bytes to the CPU, maybe blink a LED, it's simple enough to be able to be actual ROM, never needing to be updated.

Wait, no: SD cards can talk SPI... it's not going to be fast but it's only a few megs anyway. The EPROM or Flash you're using probably speaks SPI, already. You could literally make a system which can load the BIOS from SD card for the cost of a card cage and maybe a jumper. You could have gigabytes of bios storage for three bucks by using off the shelf cheap SD cards, forget A/B storage you could do the whole bloody alphabet and people could replace the thing easily.

nickwitha_k ,

Here's some extra fun: there's a decent chance that you only need a cable with JST or DuPont connectors. I've seen a fair number of laptop motherboards with unused SPI headers/connectors just hanging out. My understanding being that they're for possible accessories or, literally for flashing/debugging the bios.

spaghettiwestern , (edited )

HP laptops are garbage. This is the hinge of my HP X360 laptop after 6 months of occasional use: https://i.imgur.com/LhZWBIt.jpg

Omega_Jimes ,

They're very inconsistent. I've had an x360 since 2020 and, aside from the hinge being weak, it's still going. I'm also pretty careless with my equipment. My wife uses it now.

But then, I've seen more than one like yours that has seemed to evaporate like a cheap t-shirt.

spaghettiwestern ,

HP has known the hinges are defective since they introduced them. There are so many people having problems a class action suit was filed about it.

Iloveyurianime ,

Hp means Hinge problem as every single one of their laptops have some problem with their hinges

terminhell ,

Check the torq of the hinge screws. They tend to come loose over time and can rock a little. This can cause the plastic to break that holds the female standoffs that it attaches too.

michael_palmer ,

I have an HP 530 from 2007, and its hinges are fine. I upgraded it to 2 GB of RAM (I have core2duo model) and installed Linux Mint. I use it at work to open the corporate web portal and watch youtube, which is only possible with a modern web browser.

baatliwala ,

Damn that laptop is unhinged

andros_rex ,

They don’t play well with Linux. Occasionally my HP laptop will turn back on SecureBoot with no warning. There’s also like a full minute of delay between opening the thing and keyboard strokes registering. (Iirc, HP is so Linux hostile it’s not really supported by Arch)

spaghettiwestern ,

Must depend on the model. I've been running Mint on that (repaired) X360 for years without significant problems outside crappy Realtek wireless module issues.

Anti_Iridium ,

Mine will start immediately after shutting down. I have never found a solution other than holding the power button

terminhell ,

If it's not a touchscreen, it's fairly easy to repair. Still shouldn't have broke in the first place, but it's just the back panel cover.

I've repaired hundreds of laptops across multiple vendors on all kinds of damage, fwiw.

Aux ,

Touchscreens are also easy to repair, they just have two more wires in the ribbon, that's all.

terminhell ,

Depends on the model. Some are more involved than others.

Aux ,

Yeah, agree. But it doesn't have to be that way. Some companies are just lazy, sadly.

axo ,

That problem has every consumer laptop.
Lenovos Ideapads and Thinkbooks do the same. As well as the Asus, Acer, etc notebooks from the cheaper end.

I do those hinge repairs from time to time for customers and its rarely a thinkpad, elitebooks, probook, etc.

fury ,

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.

cmnybo ,

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.

far_university1990 ,

Gigabyte?

adarza , (edited )

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.

cmnybo ,

It's an Asrock board.

axo ,

HP notebooks can do that too though

dorumon ,
@dorumon@lemmy.world avatar

My motherboard legit does this. Though it's probably more so it's an industrial one with like 8 SATA ports than anything else.

Aux ,

Plenty of motherboards do that and plenty of laptops. It's just HP sucks big time, not only their printers. Fuck HP.

DudeDudenson ,

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

TCB13 ,
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

User error, should've got an EliteBook instead of that cheaper thing. :P

Jackcooper ,

At a business we had an hp laptop for 6 months before it bricked. We sent in for warranty, they sent it back saying we broke it in a noncovered way

It was a workstation on a table top that never had any food etc near us. Even with appeals they will not fix it. My IT guy is now aware we do not do business with them.

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