Latest BIOS version installed after 1vyrain jailbreak = BIOS locked further down to future modifications

[kymodoke]

In my case on a T430 my original bios version was G1ET69WW (2.05) from 2012-09-12.
And after jailbreak with 1vyrain I've got G1ETC2WW (2.82) from 2019-08-07.

That means :

• not possible to run 1vyrain again after that jailbreak : "No Valid BIOS detected. Please downgrade to supported BIOS. Exiting"
• and so, not possible to restore original rom backup with 1vyrain -> so the menu 4 item "Flash a backup BIOS if it exists" is a bit useless in that case...
• no EC patch (Battery unlock/7-rows keyboard swap) will be possible after 1vyrain jailbreak

If I just want to revert back my original backup rom, I must go through the process of a BIOS downgrade process... to be able to run 1vyrain again.

Would it be feasible to change the menu item like:

1. Flash Modified Lenovo BIOS (recommended but will prevent further patching ability)
2. Flash Modified Lenovo BIOS (latest vulnerable BIOS for patching)
   ...
   That menu 2 item would install the modified version of one of these bios version: https://github.com/gch1p/thinkpad-bios-software-flashing-guide#bios-versions ?
   Just to let the choice to end users...

[digmorepaka]

If you want to modify your EC, you can do so while on the old IVprep version(https://github.com/n4ru/1vyrain/#installing). If you want to flash a modified Lenovo firmware that allows modified EC flash you can run the patcher script on your desired version and then providing a custom url(https://github.com/n4ru/1vyrain/#custom-bios-images) to flash.

[kymodoke]

Thanks, I'll dig a bit more into that next week. I've just tried 1vyrain as-is on a spare T430, but for my daily driver I'll probably choose another BIOS version rather than the latest one. And so I'll use the patcher tool https://github.com/n4ru/1vyrain/tree/master/tools/patcher

[n4ru]

Be careful... the WLAN patch is different for the latest versions, and the patcher may fail on WLAN EFI modules in the older BIOSes. This has resulted in "soft-bricking" during testing, where the BIOS locks up when a WLAN card was inserted, but is fixable by removing it and flashing a working version. I can add some flags to the patcher to exclude the WLAN patch. The tool is meant to be used on the latest BIOSes, but I should probably be more clear about that.

[n4ru]

Looked into it, and it's unlikely to work as a drop in since there have been too many other BIOS changes since the exploit was patched.

Leaving it in also poses a security risk since any root program could also rewrite your BIOS. Probably best to just downgrade when you need a flash, it's fairly easy as is.

[kymodoke]

@n4ru OK thanks for having clarified this :)