HP Responds to BIOS Update Issue
6/11/2024 update: After reaching out to HP about this issue, we’ve received an official response from the company, included below. The original article continues after the brief statement from HP.
HP is aware of a potential issue with a recently released BIOS update that could impact the HP ProBook x360 435 G7, HP ProBook 445 G7, HP ProBook 455 G7, HP EliteBook 835 G7, HP EliteBook 845 G7, and HP EliteBook 855 G7. We’re continuing to investigate the issue and work closely with impacted customers. Customers who may have experienced this issue should contact HP Support.
On May 26, a user on HP’s support forums reported that a forced, automatic BIOS update had bricked their HP ProBook 455 G7 into an unusable state. Subsequently, other users have joined the thread to sound off about experiencing the same issue. For laptops originally released in 2020, this issue has also bricked hardware outside of the warranty window, when previously users could simply send in the laptop for a free repair. Forum users reporting on the issue claim that no help from HP seems to work, only specialist ROM programming hardware seems to have the potential to fix the issue, so far.
Overall, this isn’t a very good look for HP, particularly its BIOS update practices. The fragility of BIOS software should have tipped off the powers at be at HP about the lack of foresight in this release model, and now we’re seeing it in full force with forced, bugged BIOS updates that kill laptops. A few users also seem to be reporting similar issues with some HP desktops, but HP ProBook 455 G7 laptops seem to be by far the most impacted.
Hopefully, HP will take action to right their wrongs here, soon. Your paying customers deserve better than to get forced updates that break the hardware they paid you for, 2020 laptop or not. This kind of practice certainly won’t bring them back to you whenever they decide it’s time to buy a new Ultrabook or pro laptop, particularly considering the professional branding and focus.
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