Safely Update the HP Omen 15 BIOS

[JustNat]

Good day!

So i'm maintaining my laptop after a year and so and now I've reached the BIOS part. Now my BIOS has a version of F.09 dated last 2016 and searching for BIOS updates there is a F.46 Rev.A dated March 2018. GIven that amount of time, is it safe to update my BIOS? I really liked the messages they give like improved battery and improved security but I don't want to introduce uneccesary problems to my laptop. Any advice? Should I go with the latest, go with a specific BIOS version, or just don't update the BIOS at all?

Thanks!

[DavidPK · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I don't normally recommend updating the bios just because there's a later version, however in this case, you probably should, as the latest bios version - F.46 Rev.A - will patch against the Spectre vulnerability.  You can check the current status of your machine regarding Meltdown/Spectre using a utility such as the example below - your notebook should already be protected against Meltdown, but will still show a vulnerability to Spectre.

https://www.grc.com/inspectre.htm

Before updating the bios, I would recommend updaing to the latest UEFI Diagnostics package on the following link.

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp85001-85500/sp85413.exe

Once this has been installed, download and run the F.46 Rev.A bios package from the link below.

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp85501-86000/sp85678.exe

Once the bios update has extracted and prepared the system, you will be prompted to restart the system and the bios flash will occur on reboot without the need for any further interaction.  It is important not to interrupt the bios flash in any way - the machine may well appear to be doing nothing for upto a few minutes at a time, but just let it complete.

When the bios flash has completed, the notebook will boot into Windows as normal.

Regards,

DP-K

[JustNat]

Hi! And thank you for replying to my concern.

Now I got a very tiny problem. Before I got to read your reply, I looked around and yes I saw about the Spectre and Meltdown issue and I thought that updating the OS was enough. I then found out that I really need to update the BIOS and I just quickly went and updated the BIOS.

I got no issues so far but now reading your reply, you suggested I install first sp85413.exe. But I already did the second step. What should I do or is it just ok not to do it?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

You're welcome

It's completely up to you as to whether you wish to update the uefi software using sp85413 - I just suggested installing this first as the bios flash is executed in this environment, however I don't believe it's ever a requirement.

Good to hear your machine is now fully protected.

All the best,

DP-K

[JustNat]

Hi!

Well let's just say I'm lazy or I don't want to break anything further, but since it's not a requirement, I'll just leave it be for now.

Thank you for the help! And have a great day ahead!