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I have a Dell XPS 9370 that dual-boots between Linux and Windows. It currently runs firmware version 1.19.0; the Dell Update application on Windows downloads and attempts to install version 1.20.0 -- however, the system always boots back into version 1.19.0 after this attempt.

I've tried downloading the .rcv file ("recovery") for firmware 1.20.0 to a partition the UEFI firmware can access, and pointed the firmware update tool available from the boot menu at both the .rcv and .exe versions of the BIOS Update image; this tool recognizes both files as BIOS updates, but when attempting to apply either one the system immediately reboots and then is back in firmware 1.19.0.

What troubleshooting steps are available to better understand this issue? How can it be addressed?

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  • My own machines (Lenovo) have Windows BIOS (UEFI) installers and also OS neutral USB / DVD installers. Did you try the latter?
    – anon
    Commented Aug 3, 2022 at 23:57
  • The only installers I see available for download are the .exe and .rcv ones. Last time I checked Dell's update tooling for Linux they weren't listing the 1.20.0 firmware yet, but it might be worth giving that another look.
    – Charles Duffy
    Commented Aug 4, 2022 at 0:07
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    Does the BIOS have a self update function? I don't know how many offer this, but the most recent Latitude's I'm supporting have an option in the boot menu (F12 on boot) that will download the update and install it directly.
    – music2myear
    Commented Aug 4, 2022 at 0:49
  • Did you try the exe version of the bios update? You never said.
    – Moab
    Commented Aug 4, 2022 at 15:43
  • Yes, I did try the exe version, both executing it from Windows and from the firmware's update tool; in both cases it appeared to start normally, but then rebooted back into the old BIOS release.
    – Charles Duffy
    Commented Aug 4, 2022 at 15:47

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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This appears to have been caused by TPM ownership being set to encrypt the Linux partition.

In fwupdmgr get-devices:

└─TPM 2.0:
      Device ID:          a3487e128cf1413519bce8e9a1ab3f5981e61458
      Summary:            UEFI ESRT device
      Current version:    7.2.0.1
      Vendor:             Dell Inc. (PCI:0x1028)
      Update State:       Success
      Update Error:       Updating disabled due to TPM ownership
      GUIDs:              cb8da68d-cd80-5f5b-8fef-038383adbb83 ← 07e6-2.0
                          ff71992e-52f7-5eea-94ef-883e56e034c6 ← system-tpm
                          7d65b10b-bb24-552d-ade5-590b3b278188 ← DELL-TPM-2.0-NTC-NPCT
                          6f5ddd3a-8339-5b2a-b9a6-cf3b92f6c86d ← DELL-TPM-2.0-NTC-NPCT75x
                          fe462d4a-e48f-5069-9172-47330fc5e838 ← DELL-TPM-2.0-NTC-NPCT75xrls
      Device Flags:       • Internal device
                          • System requires external power source

Even though BitLocker was disabled on the Windows side of the laptop, changes that might prevent secrets from being unsealed won't take place with the TPM being user-owned.

Resetting the TPM and using the Linux fwupd daemon worked to allow an update

This tooling was as-documented at https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd

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