No upgrade actually occurs for System Firmware 0.0.3.4 to 0.0.3.8

[Harmelodic]

Device Information

System Model or SKU

• Framework Laptop 13 (13th Gen Intel® Core™)

BIOS VERSION

03.04

DIY Edition information

Memory: DDR4-3200 - 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) (Unknown Manufacturer and SKU)
Storage: WD_BLACK™ SN770 NVMe™- M.2 2280 - 500GB

Port/Peripheral information

If you are experiencing an issue with a peripheral or an expansion card/port please fill out the following information: ...

Not applicable.

Standalone Operation

Are you running your mainboard as a standalone device. Is standalone mode enabled in the BIOS?

• Yes
• No

Describe the bug

I can see in the Ubuntu Software app, and when using fwupdmgr that I am running System Firmware 0.0.3.4 and need to upgrade to 0.0.3.8.

I've triggered the upgrade multiple times (both from the Ubuntu Software app and from fwupdmgr) and the same thing always happens:

• I am asked if I want to update to 0.0.3.8 (Yes)
• It downloads an update.
• It asks to reboot for this update (Yes)
• It reboots.
• I log in and find I'm still running 0.0.3.4.

Steps To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. fwupdmgr refresh --force
2. LVFS updates, downloads new metadata and uploads report.
3. fwupdmgr update
4. "Upgrade System Firmware from 0.0.3.4 to 0.0.3.8? ... Perform operation [Y|n]"
5. Y + Enter
6. "Downloading... Successfully installed firmware. Restart now? [y|N]"
7. y + Enter
8. Let reboot.
9. Log in
10. Open Terminal
11. fwupdmgr get-devices
12. See that "System Firmware" is still Current version: 0.0.3.4

Expected behavior

The upgrade from 0.0.3.4 to 0.0.3.8 to actually work.

Screenshots

After reboot, I receive a notification:

Clicking notification and seeing Fingerprint is up to date:

Ubuntu Software shows 0.0.3.8 available:

Operating System (please complete the following information):

• OS/Distribution: Ubuntu
• Version: 25.04
• Linux Kernel Version: 6.14.0-29-generic

Additional context

After attempting the update, rebooting and logging in, I also often get a notification from Ubuntu Software saying:

Software Update Installed
An important OS update has been installed.

Clicking "Review" on this notification opens Ubuntu Software and shows a pop-up window titled "Installed Updates" which shows:

Fingerprint Sensor Upgrade Device Update
✅ Installed
Device cannot be used during update.

Closing this window shows I still have a Device Firmware update available from 0.0.3.4 to 0.0.3.8.

[quinchou77]

Could you check the ESP partition size if it is enough?

[Harmelodic]

Could you check the ESP partition size if it is enough?

Partition mounted at /boot/efi has size 1.05 GiB and has 8.32 MiB used. Plenty of space! 👍

[Harmelodic]

Got a email that a new firmware update came out: 0.0.3.9.

As per the guide, I ran the following:

fwupdmgr refresh --force
fwupdmgr get-updates
fwupdmgr update

I got prompted that the new update was going to install and needed restarting. After restarting, I'm still running 0.0.3.4... so, still the same behaviour.

[JohnAZoidberg]

What's your version of fwupd?

fwupdmgr --version

Nothing at all happening is usually due to a problem with fwupd.
Is it feasible that you can try it with a different/newer installation, maybe Fedora?

What does fwupdmgr get-history say?

[Harmelodic]

What's your version of fwupd?

~ $ fwupdmgr --version
compile   info.libusb                   1.0.27
compile   org.freedesktop.fwupd         2.0.7
compile   com.hughsie.libxmlb           0.3.22
compile   com.hughsie.libjcat           0.2.0
runtime   org.freedesktop.fwupd-efi     1.7
runtime   com.hughsie.libjcat           0.2.0
runtime   com.hughsie.libxmlb           0.3.22
runtime   org.kernel                    6.14.0-32-generic
runtime   org.freedesktop.fwupd         2.0.7

Nothing at all happening is usually due to a problem with fwupd. Is it feasible that you can try it with a different/newer installation, maybe Fedora?

I'd really rather not re-install my distro, or try a different one - that's gonna quite the time sink and quite impactful on me as a customer. Let's treat this as a possible last resort for now (especially since we don't know that it'll work).

What does fwupdmgr get-history say?

This command output quite a lot of info, some of which contained IDs that I'm not 100% comfortable with sharing on the public internet, so here's a shortened version with bits that I think are relevant:

Framework Laptop (13th Gen Intel Core)
|
├─Fingerprint Sensor:
│ |   ...
│ |   Update State:       Success
│ |   ...
├─UEFI dbx:
│ │   ...
│ │   Previous version:   20241101
│ │   Update State:       Failed
│ │   Update Error:       failed to run update on reboot: expected 20250507 and got (null)
│ │   Last modified:      2025-06-23
│ │   ...
│ └─(null) Update:
│       New version:      20250507
│       ...
└─System Firmware:
  │   ...
  │   Previous version:   0.0.3.4
  │   Update State:       Failed
  │   Update Error:       failed to run update on reboot: expected 0.0.3.9 and got 0.0.3.4
  │   ...
  └─Laptop 13 Intel 13th Gen Core System Update:
        New version:      0.0.3.9
        Remote ID:        lvfs
        Release ID:       123826
        ...

[JohnAZoidberg]

I'd really rather not re-install my distro, or try a different on

I understand

Would you mind to use the EFI Shell updater?
https://knowledgebase.frame.work/framework-laptop-13-bios-and-driver-releases-amd-ryzen-7040-series-r1rXGVL16

It uses the same EFI capsule as LVFS under the hood but avoids any issues related to the OS or bootloader configuration.

[Harmelodic]

Would you mind to use the EFI Shell updater? https://knowledgebase.frame.work/framework-laptop-13-bios-and-driver-releases-amd-ryzen-7040-series-r1rXGVL16

It uses the same EFI capsule as LVFS under the hood but avoids any issues related to the OS or bootloader configuration.

Not sure why you linked the Ryzen guide, when I'm running an Intel 13th Gen, but anyway, I'll assume that was just a misread/mislink 😅

I followed the Intel guide: https://knowledgebase.frame.work/en_us/framework-laptop-bios-and-driver-releases-13th-gen-intel-core-BkQBvKWr3

First time it seemed like some updates failed and was searching for an adapter. I took this to mean connecting the USB-C power cable, so I plugged it in and some other updates happened succesfully. At the end of the first time, it still seemed to be running 0.0.3.4.

Tried a second time with the USB-C power cable connected the whole time it was doing all the updates (and it was a bunch of updates), and now:

~ $ sudo dmidecode 
# dmidecode 3.6
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.4 present.
55 structures occupying 4158 bytes.
...
BIOS Information
	Vendor: INSYDE Corp.
	Version: 03.09

and

~ $ fwupdmgr update
Devices with the latest available firmware version:
 • Fingerprint Sensor
 • System Firmware
Devices with no available firmware updates: 
...

So, it seemed like that worked! It looks like I'm running 03.09 / 0.0.3.9 now 🎉

It's a shame LVFS didn't work... 🤔

[universalhandle]

I'm experiencing what appears to be the same/a similar issue, upgrading from 03.08 to 03.09. I've got the 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1340P, and I'm running Ubuntu 25.04 (6.14.0-33-generic).

I have attempted the upgrade via the commands provided for doing so via LVFS. I let my battery run down to below 80%, reconnected the power, then ran:

$ fwupdmgr refresh --force
Updating lvfs
Downloading…             [*****************                      ]
Successfully downloaded new metadata: Updates have been published for 2 of 8 local devices

$ fwupdmgr get-updates
Devices with no available firmware updates: 
 • SBAT
 • UEFI Device Firmware
 • UEFI Device Firmware
 • UEFI Device Firmware
 • UEFI dbx
 • WD BLACK SN850X 1000GB
Devices with the latest available firmware version:
 • Fingerprint Sensor
 • System Firmware
No updates available

$ fwupdmgr update
Devices with the latest available firmware version:
 • Fingerprint Sensor
 • System Firmware
Devices with no available firmware updates: 
 • SBAT
 • UEFI Device Firmware
 • UEFI Device Firmware
 • UEFI Device Firmware
 • UEFI dbx
 • WD BLACK SN850X 1000GB

Unlike the OP, I don't see any messaging about updates having been installed or prompts to reboot.

Since there was an earlier question about ESP, here's abridged output from df -h:

Filesystem                         Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
efivarfs                           268K  203K   61K  78% /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
/dev/nvme0n1p1                     1.1G  6.3M  1.1G   1% /boot/efi

And here's the fwupdmgr version.

$ fwupdmgr --version
compile   info.libusb                   1.0.27
compile   com.hughsie.libxmlb           0.3.22
compile   com.hughsie.libjcat           0.2.0
compile   org.freedesktop.fwupd         2.0.7
runtime   org.freedesktop.fwupd-efi     1.7
runtime   com.hughsie.libxmlb           0.3.22
runtime   com.hughsie.libjcat           0.2.0
runtime   org.kernel                    6.14.0-33-generic
runtime   org.freedesktop.fwupd         2.0.7

Running fwupdmgr get-history, I don't get any failed states like the OP, but I thought this entry was interesting:

$ fwupdmgr get-history
Framework Laptop (13th Gen Intel Core)
│...
└─System Firmware:
  │   Device ID:          redacted
  │   Previous version:   0.0.3.3
  │   Update State:       Success
  │   Last modified:      2025-06-27
  │   GUID:               redacted
  │   Device Flags:       • Internal device
  │                       • Updatable
  │                       • System requires external power source
  │                       • Supported on remote server
  │                       • Needs a reboot after installation
  │                       • Reported to remote server
  │                       • Cryptographic hash verification is available
  │                       • Device is usable for the duration of the update
  │ 
  └─Laptop 13 Intel 13th Gen Core System Update:
        New version:      0.0.3.8
        Remote ID:        lvfs
        Release ID:       114909
        Summary:          Framework Laptop System Firmware for Intel 13th Gen Core Mainboards
        License:          Proprietary
        Size:             36.1 MB
        Created:          2025-05-29
        Urgency:          High
          Tested:         2025-09-17
          Distribution:   fedora 42 (workstation)
          Old version:    0.0.3.7
          Version[fwupd]: 2.0.16
          Tested:         2025-06-03
          Distribution:   fedora 41 (workstation)
          Old version:    0.0.3.7
          Version[fwupd]: 1.9.30
        Vendor:           Framework
        Duration:         2 minutes
        Description:      
        ...

The "fedora" in the distributions is curious, as I'm running Ubuntu, but I don't know that it actually means anything.

I'm willing to try the alternate method that worked for the OP, but perhaps there's value in poking and prodding the system in its "broken" state to learn more about what's not working? @JohnAZoidberg, please let me know if there's additional information I can provide that might be useful to the Framework project. Like the OP, it's not really feasible for me to reinstall my operating system, but if I suppose I could boot into another distro off USB and try it from there... whatever's helpful in improving the product 🤷‍♂️

[JohnAZoidberg]

@universalhandle you've got a different issue.

If fwupdmgr get-updates says no update available then that's what it means. It cannot find a matching update and won't try to run an update.

Device ID and GUID is nothing specific to your unit. It's the same across all insurances of the same hardware.

The "fedora" in the distributions is curious

That's the distributions we have tested it on. You see it says Tested

I just checked version 3.0.9. it's not in stable yet, it's in the testing repository. You don't have that enabled. Your refresh command doesn't fetch it.
So please run:

fwupdmgr enable-remote lvfs-testing
fwupdmgr refresh --force

@quinchou77
Our forum post says stable already. Did we forget to move it in lvfs?
https://community.frame.work/t/framework-laptop-13-13th-gen-intel-core-bios-3-09-release-stable/74869

[universalhandle]

Thanks, @JohnAZoidberg. Another email went out today strongly recommending the upgrade to the latest BIOS. The published instructions still don't work. (I know you provided instructions for accessing the testing repo, but I figure either a lot of people won't get their upgrades or you'll get a lot of support requests until 3.0.9 is moved into stable.)

[JohnAZoidberg]

@universalhandle
Please try again, see #113

[universalhandle]

Thanks. This issue is closed as far as I'm concerned. Looks like the OP's issue was resolved, too. It seems I don't have permission to close it myself, however.