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This tip is about the how to Update Firmware on Ubuntu and Linux Distributions. So read this free guide, How to Update Firmware on Ubuntu and Linux Distributions step by step. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.
How to Update Firmware on Ubuntu and Linux Distributions – Guide
The software can be installed in a variety of methods on Linux. To launch programs in containers, we can create our own executables or use App Image. However, many Linux distributions have a package management system at their core, which is apt for Debian-based systems such as the Raspberry Pi and Ubuntu. Apt, or Advanced Packaging Tool, is a command-line tool for installing, categorizing, and removing programs and their dependencies from software repositories. Apt is the brains behind Debian systems, and the principles learned can be used for everything from the $35 Raspberry Pi to multi-million supercomputers. Apt can be accessed using Terminal, and we can even administer computers remotely using a remote connection like SSH. While using a command-line tool can be intimidating, we’ve outlined the most frequent commands needed to maintain your site. up updated with the latest software.
Do you know how to update your Ubuntu system for all software. You may wonder about firmware update on Ubuntu. As well as software, Ubuntu also provides firmware updates for all supported hardware through various channels. Some firmware updates come from the manufacturer, such as Intel, while others come from the community. This is what I saw with my Dell XPS laptops. Typically, the default software center in Ubuntu and other Linux distributions handles updating your system’s firmware. But if you encounter errors with it, you can use fwupd command line tool to update your system firmware. I will show both methods to you in this tutorial.
Updating Firmware on Ubuntu and Other Linux via Software Center
If you are using a laptop, keep it on AC power, otherwise some firmware updates will refuse to install. Open the Software Center app on your distribution and go to the Updates tab. You can see software and firmware updates listed here. Firmware updates are in the ‘Device Firmware’ section. You just need to click Update button ahead of available firmware updates. It takes some time to install firmware updates and you may see errors like ‘unable to update’ or ‘device cannot be used’ or something similar. Unable to update “Thunderbolt NVM for Xps Notebook 9360”: unable to detect device after update: timed out while waiting for device
Please don’t panic just yet. I noticed that despite the error message, the firmware is up to date. Now the important thing to know is that firmware updates are installed when you restart your Linux system. You will see messages about firmware updates on the power screen. If there is more than one firmware update, they will be installed one by one. Once completed, your system should shut down. You can turn it back on later and enjoy your systems with the latest firmware.
Updating firmware in Ubuntu via command line
The software center in Ubuntu is able to update the firmware. But in situations where it fails for some reasons, you can use fwupd command line tool. fwupd is an open source daemon that handles firmware updates on Linux based systems. It is created by GNOME developer Richard Hughes. Dell developers also contributed to the development of this open source tool. Basically, it uses LVFS, Linux Vendor Firmware Service. Hardware vendors upload redistributable firmware to the LVFS website, and thanks to fwupd, you can update these firmwares from within the operating system itself. fwupd is supported by major Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora.
Make sure your system supports LVFS
Since LVFS depends on hardware vendors, it’s a good idea to check if your system manufacturer supports this. feature or not. Find out your system model, then go to this webpage and see if it is listed.
Using fwupd to update firmware
Normally, fwupd should already be installed on your Linux system. If not, install it using your distribution’s package manager. Open a terminal and update your system first (commands applicable for Debian and Ubuntu based distributions).
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
After that, you can use the following commands one by one to start the daemon, update the list of available firmware updates, and install firmware updates.
sudo service fwupd start
Once the daemon is running, check for available firmware updates.
sudo fwupdmgr update
The output should look like this.
Fetching metadata https://cdn.fwupd.org/downloads/firmware.xml.gzFetching signature https://cdn.fwupd.org/downloads/firmware.xml.gz.asc
After that, run the firmware update.
sudo fwupdmgr update
The output of the firmware update might look like this.
Final note
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