HP Thunderbolt Dock 120W G4 Firmware Update Failure and Recovery

[HotokeKuma]

After a failed docking station update I found this HP Thunderbolt Dock 120W G4 docking station (4J0A2AA) has a built in self healing feature if there is a malicious attack and/or firmware update failure. I was able to heal my docking station using the method below.

This is how I would describe what to do: "Disconnect all connected devices, disconnect the docking station from the laptop, unplug the power from the docking station for at least 5 seconds. Plug the power back in and wait until the LED status indicator on top of the dock stops flashing and goes dark. Restart laptop, login as admin, connect docking station to laptop, connect a peripheral to verify functionality; if working you should be good, if something doesn't work, repeat the steps. If it still doesn't work after several attempts contact support as the hardware may be damaged."

REFERENCES

From https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/setup-user-guides/hp-thunderbolt-dock-120w-g4/2101085529 

I found this information in the document, "HP Thunderbolt Dock G4 Features and Troubleshooting".

From https://kaas.hpcloud.hp.com/pdf-public/pdf_6747028_en-US-1.pdf 

I found the following text:

"'HP SURE START FOR DOCKS' HP Sure Start for Docks is a comprehensive firmware security and advanced firmware resilience solution to protect against firmware attacks and/or accidental corruption for the all critical docking station firmware. HP Sure Start for Docks can automatically detect, and recover from attacks or corruption without IT intervention and with little or no interruption to user productivity. Every time the Dock powers on, HP Sure Start for docks automatically validates the integrity of the firmware to help ensure that the dock is safeguarded from malicious attacks. In the case of an attack, the dock can self-heal using an isolated “golden copy” of the firmware in minutes. HP Sure Start for Dock docks are the only docking stations in the world that fully meets NIST 800-193 requirements."

And

"'HP Firmware Installer Deployment Reminder' HP Thunderbolt Dock G4 has an enhanced firmware recovery method that can prevent or recover the Firmware of getting corrupted (for more information See “HP Sure Start for Docks” section in this document). HP Thunderbolt Dock G4 also adds blinking pattern notifications to let user know when its firmware is getting updated: as the firmware gets uploaded to the dock then a slow blinking pattern visible on the power button of the dock will occur, as the firmware starts to get updated in the dock, then the blinking pattern will be faster. Blinking will stop once the upgrade is completed. However, most importantly, disconnection during a firmware update can cause damage to the dock. Care must be taken to ensure that a user does not undock a machine during the firmware installation."

And

"'TROUBLESHOOTING ISSUES:' ... To perform a hardware reset of your dock, do the following: 1. Undock the HP Thunderbolt Dock G4 from your notebook 2. Unplug the power cable from your dock 5 seconds."