I’ve been using MrChromebox’s firmware script for a long while but have been seeing weird things the last time I tried.
I’m running EndeavourOS on a Pixelbook (Eve) and when I loadup the script using the instructions on the website I see this:
ChromeOS Device Firmware Utility Script [2024-03-21]
(c) Mr Chromebox <[email protected]>
*********************************************************
** Device: Google Pixelbook (EVE)
** Platform: Intel KabyLake
** Fw Type: Full ROM / UEFI
** Fw Ver: MrChromebox-4.22.2-5-g822782a1001 (02/13/2024)
** Update Available (02/23/2024)
** Fw WP: Disabled
*********************************************************
** [WP] 1) Install/Update UEFI (Full ROM) Firmware
** [WP] 2) Restore Stock Firmware
** [WP] D) Downgrade Touchpad Firmware
** C) Clear UEFI NVRAM
*********************************************************
Select a numeric menu option or
R to reboot P to poweroff Q to quit
So I go to update and it does the usual of downloading the firmware and updating BIOS.
There is no error – indeed when the script reloads the main menu it says there’s no update.
However, upon rebooting and the re-running the script (at which time I would expect there to be “no update”), it says I have the same update available and the BIOS is still the old version. Almost as if the update didn’t apply. What happened?
EDIT: Forgot to add that I also tried running the script on a Fedora live boot and same thing
I am having the same problem on an Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431 (EDGAR).
ChromeOS Device Firmware Utility Script [2024-03-21]
(c) Mr Chromebox <[email protected]>
*********************************************************
** Device: Acer Chromebook 14 (CB3-431) (EDGAR)
** Platform: Intel Braswell
** Fw Type: Full ROM / UEFI
** Fw Ver: MrChromebox-4.22.2-5-g822782a1001 (02/13/2024)
** Update Available (02/23/2024)
** Fw WP: Disabled
*********************************************************
** [WP] 1) Install/Update UEFI (Full ROM) Firmware
** [WP] 2) Restore Stock Firmware
** C) Clear UEFI NVRAM
*********************************************************
Select a numeric menu option or
R to reboot P to poweroff Q to quit
1
Install/Update UEFI Full ROM Firmware
IMPORTANT: flashing the firmware has the potential to brick your device,
requiring relatively inexpensive hardware and some technical knowledge to
recover.Not all boards can be tested prior to release, and even then slight
differences in hardware can lead to unforseen failures.
If you don't have the ability to recover from a bad flash, you're taking a risk.
You have been warned.
Do you wish to continue? [y/N] y
Downloading Full ROM firmware
(coreboot_edk2-edgar-mrchromebox_20240223.rom)
VPD extracted from current firmware
Disabling software write-protect and clearing the WP range
Installing Full ROM firmware (may take up to 90s)
Full ROM firmware successfully installed/updated.
IMPORTANT:
The first boot after flashing may take substantially
longer than subsequent boots -- up to 30s or more.
Be patient and eventually your device will boot :)
Press [Enter] to return to the main menu.
Following a reboot, it’s still running the old version.
This is on Debian 12. I’ve updated firmware from Linux before, on Fedora. I had to add a kernel parameter for it to work, but the firmware-util.sh script did throw an error and point me in the right direction. It’s not doing it this time and I can’t remember what the parameter was, to try it again.
You can ignore this ‘update’ since there is no update. Just wait for the next update and it wil disappear. It’s probably because he had some trouble with his website and he had to build the website back from scratch.
I asked MrChromebox himself by email, where this came from, and this was his answer:
The script doesn’t know the difference between the firmware build date and the last commit date, so when they differ it incorrectly shows update available. You’re on the latest version, don’t worry