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.
I thought UEFI had replaced BIOS a number of years ago. Or are we just keeping the name BIOS because everyone knows it?
The latter. It has been BIOS for so long that it is ubiquitous now.
My wife’s Elitebook was also bricked by the most recent forced BIOS update.
after Windows pushes new firmware
If a Linux distro pushed bad HP firmware, people would be blaming the Linux distro. Why does Microsoft get a free pass?
They don’t get the blame, but they definitely will earn a conspiracy charge. They didn’t commit the crime but they drove the van.
Some Linux distros probably did push the bad HP firmware. Vendors push updates via fwupd.
I think it’s HP that pushed the update though. So I’m guessing that it’s their driver that they broke not windows in general.
It’s not really Microsoft’s fault, they’re just delivering what HP releases via the firmware update channel.
I mean, Microsoft are a bag of dicks, but not on this one.
On the offhand chance that someone with a bricked HP laptop stumbles here looking for what to do,
- I’d recommend on removing the M.2 SSD (gumslice-shaped PCB that contains your data) to protect your data
- this can be found by googling your laptop’s serial number and looking for the manual, after downloading the PDF file you’ll be able to open it with Firefox
- you’ll typically need a philipshead screwdriver to access and remove the laptop’s case and remove the SSD
I’m assuming the users might be coming from Windows
Assuming BitLocker wasnt enabled and if so you backed up your key. Otherwise your data is gone.
I’d strongly recommend against that at this point since it will be useless without your Bitlocker key form the laptop’s TPM.
yeeesh is this with Windows 10 and/or 11?still not a fan of Windows
edit:
just remembered this is Windows 11, unfortunately I know some people that got forced to use it with most modern laptopsSince probably 99% of Windows PCs don’t run Bitlocker, I think your recommendation is a bit overblown.
Even if it isn’t “bitlocker” branded, most Windows PCs ship with “BitLocker” enabled. The distinction between Windows Home disk encryption and “BitLocker” is that BitLocker additionally allows external management of the key material, while Home only supports the TPM and your microsoft account for the key/recovery codes.
most Windows PCs ship with “BitLocker” enabled
No, they simply do not. Microsoft branded hardware, sure. But I’ve never seen a Dell or an HP with Bitlocker enabled from the factory, and at this point I’ve put my hands on thousands of them.
I can tell you every factory preload of windows on a Lenovo I have seen for the past few years has disk encryption on by default (windows home, so not “bitlocker”, but it’s the same thing with respect to being tied to TPM.
When did you last check the statistic you just pulled from your ass? Bitlocker is on by default on all machines that support it, which is all pc’s and laptops being sold the past few years.
The only exception used to be when you bypass oobe to create a local user account, which also isn’t supported anymore.
- I’d recommend on removing the M.2 SSD (gumslice-shaped PCB that contains your data) to protect your data
HP expanding their bad practices from printers to PCs now?
Microsoft should also be to blame here. Sending BIOS updates via automatic windows updates should not be a thing.
The alternative is that BIOS updates simply never get applied.
Which is better than bricking a machine
Not sure when the sentiment changed, but it used to be heavily recommended against updating the bios on any computer unless there was a specific feature or fix your computer needed.
Sentiment changed when the “BIOS” became a component for enforcing security architecture via “SecureBoot” and also Bitlocker sealed to PCRs only does so much if the BIOS code is vulnerable. Now they really badly want a “trusted” chain from some root of trust until the OS bootloader takes over. Problem is that the developers have historically enjoyed being in a trusted, single user context for decades and so the firmware has been full of holes when actually pushed.
I swear when it comes to forced updates of any kind it seems like this kind of outcome is always inevitable. There will at some point always be a bad update.
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.
The idea of forced automatic BIOS update is dumb. BIOS only should initialize its required components and fuck off afterwards.
seems like it should be an opt-in setting in BIOS;
- HP might want to learn from the other OEM vendors what to do for BIOS/UEFI configuration
There is no BIOS anymore. It’s all UEFI now, which is massively fatter and more complex. Being fat and complex, they have plenty of security vulnerabilities that need to be patched.
Is it just for ProBooks?..I think something similar is plaguing my Pavilion Gaming as well.
Presumably any model using the same motherboard/chip set, running that OS, I would think. Not my area of expertise.
After the first 4 words of the title I was assuming it was intentional - Glad it doesn’t seem to be, but HP’s reputation is just that bad.
Why anyone buys HP shit these days is beyond me. So many better options.
What are your suggestions? The only reasonable choice I’ve found is the Framework. I’d prefer if I had more than a single choice.
I don’t buy enough laptops to answer that. My last purchase was an Asus which I’m happy with, but after their recent scandal with scamming customers on warranties I don’t think I’ll be buying from them again. But HP has such a terrible track record with laptops, printers, and just the way they operate in general for consumer stuff, that I would never consider purchasing consumer devices from them.
I work at in a place that has 1000s of these piece of shit probooks. There is so much marketing about environmentalism yet these laptops are e-waste after 4 years if they even last that long. No one repairs any thing.
I tried to disable the atom cores on the £2000 laptop recently.
It took me about 10 mins not finding it in the BIOS, to discover that HP just doesn’t have an option for it.I have a no HP policy because of their printers and a no Samsung policy because of their TVs.
I love you
I also have a no Samsung policy, because of their refrigerators.
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.
I am not all that big on conspiracies, but this is HP, which is famous for screwing people over for as much money as possible and bricking perfectly usable technology, so if it turns out this was intentional, I won’t even be a little shocked.
I’d go Hanlon’s Razor on this, because I’ve seen some stunning stupidity. It’s not all evil when some of it is just plain dumb, because of incomplete testing and oversight, because they cut costs to save money, so the CEO gets a bonus, and ohhhhhhhh I see it now.
It’s evil.
I wish we could get a dump of executive emails.
Are we sure it is the BIOS? Perhaps these people have run out of magenta subpixels or their printer ink subscription has lapsed.
Heh. Same HP. Though? I forget which company got what in the divorce. I think this one is the “code built by revolving-door sweatshops and who has budget to validate it” and not the “standing over the corpse of Print and hoping lock-in will keep customers” one. The two sides may sound the same but I’m sure there are differences.
(Keeping score at home? A drunk sailor with a fist full of hundies still can’t buy anything off that horrendous website, so some things haven’t changed in the divorce)
If you don’t use HP and you don’t use windows you won’t have the problem. You should be boycotting HP as a part of BDS anyway. https://bdsmovement.net/boycott-hp
“But I already bought an HP.” If you had adopted BDS much earlier like you should have you wouldn’t have these problems.
I wish HP made good products so I could not buy it to boycott them. But I already don’t buy their crap.
The article doesn’t say/clarify. Was it some crap HP software that performs driver updates, and it decided to force a bios flash? Or was it windows update itself?
If it was windows itself, holy crap, that’s a serious over reach on Microsoft’s part. Like “this is insanity windows needs to be removed” bad.
It was most likely HP, through Windows Update (which handles device-specific driver etc. updates that OEMs are in control of). Microsoft doesn’t concern itself with pushing BIOS updates to some random 4-year old HP model
