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Updating firmware using fwupd

This document describes the process of installing firmware updates from LVFS using fwupd.

Warning: this documentation is temporarily depreciated. Since the use of open EC firmware, we can no longer offer fwupd/LVFS support. Currently, updating is only possible by following the firmware update guide.

Installing fwupd

Using binary packages

Only .deb packages are provided. The procudure was verified on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, but is should also apply to other Debian-based dsitributions. If you are using different distribution, you might need to build from source.

  1. Download and extract the fwupd archive:

    wget --content-disposition \
     https://cloud.3mdeb.com/index.php/s/mZyN4NgR8SngJ4j/download \
     https://cloud.3mdeb.com/index.php/s/Z765y233CdJGKy2/download \
     https://cloud.3mdeb.com/index.php/s/KkNaL6dbWs2ei3E/download
unzip fwupd-novacustom-v1.2.0.zip

  2. This is an example how to verify the binaries (in this case fwupd-novacustom-v1.2.0.zip):

    gpg --fetch-keys https://raw.githubusercontent.com/3mdeb/3mdeb-secpack/master/keys/master-key/3mdeb-master-key.asc
gpg --fetch-keys https://raw.githubusercontent.com/3mdeb/3mdeb-secpack/oss_master_key/open-source-software/3mdeb-open-source-software-master-key.asc
gpg --fetch-keys https://raw.githubusercontent.com/3mdeb/3mdeb-secpack/master/customer-keys/novacustom/novacustom-open-source-firmware-release-1.x-key.asc

sha256sum -c fwupd-novacustom-v1.2.0.zip.sha256
gpg -v --verify fwupd-novacustom-v1.2.0.zip.sha256.sig fwupd-novacustom-v1.2.0.zip.sha256

  3. flashrom packages are located inside flashrom-1.2-2-3mdeb.zip:

    unzip flashrom-1.2-2-3mdeb.zip
sudo apt install ./flashrom_1.2-2_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./libflashrom1_1.2-2_amd64.deb

  4. fwupd packages are located inside fwupd-2.0.0.0-3mdeb.zip:

    unzip fwupd-2.0.0.0-3mdeb.zip
sudo apt install ./fwupd_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./fwupd-doc_2.0.0_all.deb \
                   ./fwupd-tests_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./gir1.2-fwupd-2.0_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./gir1.2-fwupdplugin-1.0_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./gir1.2-gusb-1.0_0.3.5-1_amd64.deb \
                   ./libfwupd2_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./libfwupd-dev_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./libfwupdplugin4_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./libfwupdplugin-dev_2.0.0_amd64.deb \
                   ./libgusb2_0.3.5-1_amd64.deb \
                   ./libgusb-dev_0.3.5-1_amd64.deb

Building from source

There is no need to do any of these steps unless you can't use the packages provided in the previous step You might need to adjust the package manager commands and package names to your distribution.

Flashrom

  1. Install build dependencies:

    sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential pciutils libpci-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev \
    cmake meson pkg-config libftdi1-dev debhelper git wget python3-markdown \
    gcab

  2. Obtain source code:

    git clone https://github.com/Dasharo/flashrom.git -b v1.2.0.1
cd flashrom

  3. Build and install flashrom:

    meson build
ninja -C build
sudo ninja -C build install

fwupd

  1. Obtain source code:

    git clone https://github.com/Dasharo/fwupd.git -b v1.7.3.3
cd fwupd

  2. Install build dependencies:

    ./contrib/setup

  3. Build and install fwupd:

    sudo depmod
meson build -Ddocs=none -Dplugin_flashrom=true
ninja -C build
sudo ninja -C build install

Updating firmware from LVFS

  1. Disable Secure Boot. To do this you can follow steps described in Secure Boot test.

  2. Refresh the fwupd database:

    sudo fwupdmgr refresh

Updating lvfs
Downloading…             [***************************************]
Downloading…             [***************************************]
Successfully downloaded new metadata: 1 local device supported

  3. Use the following command to update firmware with fwupd - example for NV41MZ:

    Note: You may be asked which device to update. If you see a prompt, select NV4XMB,ME,MZ

    sudo fwupdmgr update

Selected device: NV4XMB,ME,MZ
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Update NV4XMB,ME,MZ to 0.5.0?                                                ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ This release adds the following features:                                    ║
║                                                                              ║
║ • vboot Verified Boot                                                        ║
║ • TPM Measured Boot                                                          ║
║ • Custom fan curve                                                           ║
║ • Microcode for Tiger Lake stepping 0x2                                      ║
║                                                                              ║
║ This release changes the following features:                                 ║
║                                                                              ║
║ • Disabled unused DPTF device                                                ║
║                                                                              ║
║ NV4XMB,ME,MZ and all connected devices may not be usable while updating.     ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Perform operation? [Y|n]:
Downloading…             [***************************************]
Downloading…             [***************************************]
Decompressing…           [***************************************]
Decompressing…           [***************************************]
Authenticating…          [***************************************]
Authenticating…          [***************************************]
Restarting device…       [***************************************]
Writing…                 [***************************************]
Decompressing…           [***************************************]
Writing…                 [***************************************]
Verifying…               [***************************************]
Writing…                 [***************************************]
Restarting device…       [***************************************]
Waiting…                 [***************************************]
Successfully installed firmware

An update requires the system to shutdown to complete. Shutdown now? [y|N]:

  4. Shut down the computer when prompted, or manually later on.

  5. Power on the laptop again.

  6. Log in and run the following command to verify results:

    sudo fwupdmgr get-results

Choose a device:
0.  Cancel
1.  4bde70ba4e39b28f9eab1628f9dd6e6244c03027 (11th Gen Intel Core™ i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz)
2.  5792b48846ce271fab11c4a545f7a3df0d36e00a (Display controller)
3.  073c01931cb0e9889bbfb2ea4a4c2fc558805fc6 (Display controller)
4.  dbee8bd3b1ae0316ad143336155651eedb495a0e (NV4XMB,ME,MZ)
5.  71b677ca0f1bc2c5b804fa1d59e52064ce589293 (SSD 980 PRO 1TB)
6.  c6a80ac3a22083423992a3cb15018989f37834d6 (TPM)
7.  eefcbd318bd31fc1eba6358e628b3f9dceb87206 (USB4 host controller)

  7. Select NV4XMB,ME,MZ when prompted, and the results will be displayed:

    NV4XMB,ME,MZ:
  Device ID:            dbee8bd3b1ae0316ad143336155651eedb495a0e
  Previous version:     0.5.0
  Update State:         Success
  Last modified:        2022-01-13 11:09
  GUID:                 230c8b18-8d9b-53ec-838b-6cfc0383493a
  Device Flags:         • Internal device
                        • Updatable
                        • System requires external power source
                        • Needs shutdown after installation
                        • Cryptographic hash verification is available