{"id":729420,"date":"2026-05-25T05:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T02:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/hp-pushed-a-critical-bios-update-through-windows-update-it-bricked-its-most-expensive-laptops\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T05:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T02:40:15","slug":"hp-pushed-a-critical-bios-update-through-windows-update-it-bricked-its-most-expensive-laptops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/hp-pushed-a-critical-bios-update-through-windows-update-it-bricked-its-most-expensive-laptops\/","title":{"rendered":"HP pushed a critical BIOS update through Windows Update. It bricked its most expensive laptops."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f7c55837c1\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f7c55837c1\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/hp-pushed-a-critical-bios-update-through-windows-update-it-bricked-its-most-expensive-laptops\/#TLDR\" >TL;DR<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<div class=\"postContent-tldr\">\n<h4 class=\"postContent-offsetTitle\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TLDR\"><\/span>TL;DR<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><em>HP\u2019s auto-installed BIOS update is bricking ZBook Ultra and EliteBook X laptops. Reverting requires a specific HP USB-C dongle.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>HP customers are reporting <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/personal-tech\/2026\/05\/24\/hp-investigating-bios-updates-that-leave-premium-laptop-users-in-boot-loop-limbo\/5244769\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">that BIOS updates pushed through Windows Update are rendering premium laptops unbootable.<\/a> The affected devices include the ZBook Ultra G1a, a mobile workstation that costs upwards of \u00a34,000, and the EliteBook X G1a. The updates were flagged as critical, meaning they were <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lied automatically with no user intervention required.<\/p>\n<p>Complaints have been accumulating across HP forums and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reddit<\/a> for several months. Symptoms include devices freezing during boot, spikes in fan noise, and Blue Screens of Death. The broken BIOS versions for the ZBook Ultra G1a are 01.04.03 and 01.04.05. For the EliteBook X G1a, the problematic versions are 01.03.11 and 01.05.00.<\/p>\n<p>Once the update has completed, reverting is difficult. Users have reported some success using network BIOS downgrade functionality, but only with an HP USB-C to Ethernet dongle. The BIOS does allow users to prevent the operating system from initiating updates, but that setting is only useful before the update has been applied.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The \ud83d\udc9c of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is not HP\u2019s first BIOS bricking incident. In 2024, a similar update left some ProBook laptops irretrievably bricked. Customers faced hardware repair bills for damage caused by the manufacturer\u2019s own firmware. The pattern suggests a systemic quality assurance problem with HP\u2019s firmware update pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>HP told The Register: \u201c<em>HP is aware of purported BIOS issues and is looking into the matter.<\/em>\u201d The company suggested affected users contact support. The word \u201c<em>purported<\/em>\u201d is doing considerable work in that statement given the volume of documented complaints.<\/p>\n<p>The timing is notable. Microsoft is simultaneously working to improve Windows Update reliability and applying greater scrutiny to third-party drivers distributed through the service. Windows Update is also used for BIOS and firmware updates from OEMs like HP. The same channel designed to keep systems secure is now the channel through which HP is bricking them.<\/p>\n<p>HP recently disclosed that memory\u2019s contribution to PC costs has doubled to 35%. The company is already raising laptop prices to absorb surging DDR5 costs. Customers paying premium prices for workstation-class hardware are now also absorbing the risk of manufacturer-pushed firmware that can turn their device into an expensive paperweight.<\/p>\n<p>On 20 May, Richard Hughes of the Linux Vendor Firmware Service project announced that HP was joining Lenovo and Dell as a premier sponsor. LVFS is an open-source firmware updating solution designed to improve the reliability and security of firmware distribution. The juxtaposition of sponsoring an open-source firmware quality initiative while simultaneously shipping BIOS updates that brick premium hardware is difficult to overlook.<\/p>\n<p>The core issue is the auto-installation of critical firmware through Windows Update. Users had no opportunity to evaluate or delay the patch. A BIOS update is not a browser security fix. It modifies the lowest-level software on the machine. If it fails, the device does not boot. Treating it with the same auto-install urgency as a Windows security patch is a design decision that HP, and Microsoft, need to reconsider.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/hp-bios-update-bricking-premium-laptops-zbook-elitebook\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TL;DR HP\u2019s auto-installed BIOS update is bricking ZBook Ultra and EliteBook X laptops. Reverting requires a specific HP USB-C dongle. HP customers are reporting that BIOS updates pushed through Windows Update are rendering premium laptops unbootable. The affected devices include the ZBook Ultra G1a, a mobile workstation that costs upwards of \u00a34,000, and the EliteBook&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":729421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/05\/hp-bios-update-bricking-premium-laptops-zbook-elitebook.avif","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-729420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}