I've just installed Kubuntu 24.04.3 LTS on my new HP Elitebook 645 G9, getting rid of Windows right away. While using it at my university, I've been experiencing frequent Wi-Fi dropouts that only happen on the university's eduroam network, not at home. A friend who knows Linux suggested that there might be a bug in my BIOS causing this issue. I tried to update the BIOS by following an online guide, but the HP UEFI didn't recognize the .bin file. Instead, I ended up connecting an ethernet cable and successfully updated it through the network. Now I'm wondering if that resolves any underlying issues, but I'd like more advice on this matter. Do you think the BIOS might still be a problem, or should I consider switching distributions?
3 Answers
There can definitely be bugs in BIOS, but it's hard to say they're linked to your Wi-Fi issues without more information. Since the dropout happens only at your office, it might be more about the local network conditions rather than your laptop's firmware.
It's usually pretty straightforward to get the laptop to see the BIOS update file. Make sure your USB drive is formatted to FAT32 and that you’ve properly extracted the BIOS file from any zip archive. Sometimes it helps to have just the update file at the root of the drive for the UEFI to recognize it.
If you’re still having recognition issues with the BIOS update file, just drop that file into the root directory of your USB drive. That can sometimes solve detection problems with UEFI.
I tried that approach too, but it still didn’t work for me. I've ultimately got the update working through the ethernet connection.
I actually did that, but the UEFI still didn’t recognize it. Thankfully, I managed to update it by using an ethernet cable.