How to reset bios on HP Envy 16 h1901ng to remove administrator password

[skafau]

I bought a new HP Envy 16 2 months ago which started asking me for an administrator password before entering the bios after an error 2 weeks ago. I did not set up a bios password.

What happened in detail:

2 weeks ago, the notebook got stuck on a black screen after booting. After a few tries and after letting it stay at the black screen for 1 or 2 minutes, it showed me an error stating that the bios had been reset. I don't remember the exact wording but I remember that it also showed the ID "Bios 500" alongside the message.

After that, the notebook started to boot correctly again and Windows is fully functional but some of my bios settings had been reset at this incident and I can't enter the bios anymore as it asks for an administrator password which I never set. Before that error, I was able to access the bios without any password.

I already contacted HP support. After trying a few things (install latest bios & drivers + a complete fresh installation of Windows) they told me that they can't help me with this and HP is not responsible for this issue but that it is some kind of Windows thing (which makes no sense). They told me that they can only offer me to replace the entire mainboard at my (!) expense even though the notebook is under full warranty (2 months old...).

I'm pretty sure that this is not legal, however, before bringing a lawyer into this, I wanted to ask here if there is some way for me to "hard reset" the bios e.g. by removing some CMOS battery etc.

I'm rather comfortable opening up the notebook and tinker with the hardware as long as there's no risk to harm the warranty (i.e. no soldering etc.).

Thanks for the help!

[WAWood]

I don't know about the legal environment in Australia, but I do know about it here -- and bringing any kind of product liability suit to trial costs on an average of $35,000 - $40,000 dollars! That't right -- TENS of thousands of dollars.  And even if you win, all HP has to do is replace the laptop and they get to do it with a USED one -- if they want.  As you can see, threatening legal action here makes no sense.

As to the HP policy, the BIOS password is embedded into the firmware of the motherboard, not contained in the BIOS chip. So replacing the chip, or shorting out the CMOS, does nothing to remove the password.  Instead, you have to replace the motherboard with one that does not have a BIOS password in the firmware.  That is why they have this policy. It is a Technical issue, not a Legal issue.

[skafau]

That is ridiculous. I'm being locked out of my bios because of some SW, HW or FW bug and I should pay 500 USD for the repair. I just realized that this admin password also prevents me from entering the boot menu which means that I can't even boot from an USB stick...

This is like buying a car with full access to the engine compartment (an unlocked hood) which is "automatically" locked 2 months later.

If I were being sarcastic I would say that HP is holding my laptop hostage and demands ransom 😉.

Even if I'd be willing to pay those 500 $, who's telling me that this won't happen again in x months?

Also I can't believe that there's no backdoor or master password which would allow HP to unlock the bios without replacing the whole mainboard. Even if there is non such master password, a firmware can usually be flashed. Again, without replacing the whole mainboard.

However, those are obviously just assumptions of mine 🤷‍.

Nonetheless, thanks for your answer! I realize that you're voluntarily answering questions in a forum and I really appreciate your answer, especially the technical part about the password being embedded in the firmware which I didn't know before!

FYI, I'm from Austria, not Australia and I don't know about the usual costs of such trials but I'll surely talk to some lawyer or consumer advocate ("Konsumentenschutz" in Austria) and see what they think.

[WAWood]

Sorry, I misread your country of origin -- but if you're serious about legal action, then by all means, talk to an attorney.

Here in the US, it costs about $500 per HOUR to speak to a lawyer, so folks only do that if they are really serious about legal action.

In the UK, they have a new product liability law that allows consumers to use that to force companies to repair or replace faulty equipment such that after some number of repairs, the company is obligated to replace it -- for free.

You might have some similar statute there in Austria.