HP Laptop BIOS Update Turns Devices into Bricks
TapTechNews June 10 news, on May 26, a HP laptop user posted on the official support forum that his HP ProBook 455G7 laptop couldn't start normally after receiving a mandatory BIOS update, and the device directly bricked. Then, other users successively followed up under the same post, reflecting the same problem.
According to TapTechNews, usually, the BIOS update of a personal computer requires manual operation, and various warnings will pop up during the update process, such as ensuring sufficient battery power and a stable operating environment when updating, and avoiding interference from background programs, etc. The BIOS is considered one of the most sensitive core components in a computer system, and improper update is very likely to cause the system to crash, or even the situation like in this event that it can't start.
Tom'sHardware said that because of this, the mandatory automatic update of the BIOS has caused so much controversy. Even if the update itself doesn't bring destructive consequences, it is still unacceptable. Users should have the right to manual update and be able to make preparations for the system in advance to avoid such problems. Some users pointed out that this automatic update is too radical and will even force to start when the laptop has extremely low battery power, which undoubtedly aggravates the severity of the problem.
As of press time, HP has not yet made an official response to this event. What is more worrying is that since the BIOS of this mandatory update is for laptop models released in 2020, it means that many devices that have exceeded the warranty period are also affected. Previously, users only needed to send it for repair to solve such problems for free. Forum users reported that so far none of the existing solutions provided by HP could fix the problem, and only professional ROM programming tools may have a chance to repair this problem.
Tom'sHardware said that HP's BIOS update event is undoubtedly a serious negative PR incident. The risk of BIOS update should have attracted sufficient attention. Mandatorily pushing an update firmware with loopholes is undoubtedly a short-sighted practice, which eventually leads to bricking of some users' products. It is worth noting that a small number of desktop users also reported similar problems, but for now, the HP ProBook 455G7 series laptops are the most affected.