Allow optional EEPROM firmware updates on Raspberry Pi 4 systems booting from USB/NVMe

[herdan75]

Proposal

Many Home Assistant OS users run Raspberry Pi 4 systems that boot directly from USB SSDs or NVMe adapters (for example Argon ONE M.2).

Currently Home Assistant correctly detects that a newer Raspberry Pi EEPROM firmware is available, but blocks the update with:

• blocked_reason: unsupported_boot_device
• update_available: true
• update_blocked: true

While this is understandable from a safety perspective, the Raspberry Pi firmware itself fully supports updating the EEPROM on these systems using the official Raspberry Pi bootloader update process.

Current Situation

Home Assistant already knows:

• the current EEPROM version
• the latest available EEPROM version
• whether an update is available

However, users who boot from USB/NVMe must currently:

• prepare a separate SD card
• use Raspberry Pi Imager on another computer
• boot from that SD card
• perform the EEPROM update manually
• reboot again into Home Assistant

The update itself works perfectly and does not require reinstalling Home Assistant or removing the USB/NVMe drive.

In my case, updating the EEPROM using the official Raspberry Pi USB Boot image worked without any issues.

Before:
current_version: "2023-01-11"
latest_version: "2026-05-17"
update_available: true

After the update:
current_version: "2026-05-17"
latest_version: "2026-05-17"
update_available: false

The system continued to boot normally from the existing NVMe SSD.

Suggested Improvement

Instead of permanently blocking firmware updates on Raspberry Pi 4 USB/NVMe systems, Home Assistant could provide an optional Expert Mode.

Example workflow:

• Detect Raspberry Pi 4
• Detect USB/NVMe boot device
• Display a clear warning
• Require explicit confirmation
• Perform the firmware update

For example:
Firmware update available
Your Raspberry Pi is currently booting from a USB/NVMe device.
Automatic EEPROM firmware updates are not officially supported for this boot configuration.
Updating the EEPROM is still possible, but should only be performed if you understand the risks.
[Cancel] [Update Firmware]

Even Better Solution

An even safer approach would be to integrate the official Raspberry Pi bootloader update workflow.

Home Assistant could automatically:

• download the official Raspberry Pi bootloader recovery image
• detect an inserted SD card
• write the recovery image to the SD card
• guide the user through the update process step by step

For example:
Step 1
Insert an empty SD card.
Step 2
Home Assistant prepares the official Raspberry Pi Bootloader Update SD card.
Step 3
Shutdown Home Assistant.
Step 4
Insert the SD card and power on the Raspberry Pi.
Step 5
Wait until the update completes.
Step 6
Remove the SD card and power the Raspberry Pi on again.
Step 7
Home Assistant verifies that the EEPROM update was successful.

This would use the official Raspberry Pi recovery mechanism while providing a much simpler user experience.

Why this would be useful

• Uses the official Raspberry Pi update mechanism
• No unofficial workarounds
• No need to manually search for firmware images
• Safer than community tutorials
• Greatly simplifies maintenance for Raspberry Pi 4 USB/NVMe users
• Keeps beginners protected by requiring explicit confirmation
• Allows advanced users to keep their EEPROM firmware up to date

Important

This proposal is not requesting automatic firmware updates for unsupported boot devices.

It only requests an optional, clearly marked expert feature that allows experienced users to update their Raspberry Pi EEPROM firmware using the official Raspberry Pi update process.

The current protection mechanism should remain the default behavior.