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Created May 7, 2026 22:47
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HP ZBook Ultra G1a / EliteBook X G1a BIOS issues
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hp-g1a-bios-issues.md

HP ZBook Ultra G1a / EliteBook X G1a — Complete BIOS & Hardware Issues

(Compiled from HP forums, Reddit, Level1Techs — May 7, 2026)

🔴 ISSUE 1: Boot Freeze (Critical)

The bug: Starting with BIOS 01.03.11 (EliteBook) / 01.04.03–01.04.05 (ZBook), the laptop freezes at the HP logo/spinning circle during boot. Circle stops spinning, nothing happens. Some units boot on second attempt, others are completely bricked.

Root cause: Audio hardware initialization timeout during POST. Per HP insider bootfail_cause: it's a "silicon lottery" — slightly faster hardware expects faster response times, and the BIOS timeout is too tight for some units. Explains why some machines are affected and others aren't.

HP force-pushed the broken BIOS as a "Critical" update via Windows Update — automatically, without consent. Multiple users report machines bricked overnight.

Affected Models

Model Broken BIOS Working Fallback Fix
EliteBook X G1a 01.03.11, 01.05.00 01.02.05 01.05.01 (sp170213) ✅
ZBook Ultra G1a 01.04.03, 01.04.05 01.03.11 Pending — fix not yet merged

Workarounds

  1. Network BIOS downgrade — Enter BIOS → Update via Network → downgrade step-by-step (01.04.05 → 01.04.03 → 01.03.11). Requires HP USB-C to Ethernet dongle — other brands may not be recognized by BIOS. WiFi option doesn't work.
  2. CMOS drain + Win+V — Hold power button 30 sec (fans ramp up twice), then hold Win+V during boot ~15 sec. Temporary workaround to get into Windows.
  3. Lock BIOS version — After downgrading, disable "Let OS update the BIOS" in BIOS settings.
  4. USB media downgrade — sp165722.exe (01.03.02) available on HP FTP, but 01.03.02 causes kernel crashes for some. 01.03.11 is the "gold" fallback but only via network.
  5. Secure Boot corruption — Some users found Windows CA certs unchecked after the freeze. Re-enabling got them booting.
  6. BIOS 01.05.01 — Fixes EliteBook. Available at ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp170001-170500/sp170213.exe. Minor audio crackling on boot reported by some.

Linux BIOS Update Method (No Windows Needed)

  • Run Windows .exe in Wine to extract firmware files
  • Copy to /boot/efi/EFI/HP/DEVFW/firmware.bin
  • Reboot → enter BIOS → "Update System Firmware" → select local media
  • First attempt after EFI partition change may hang (fans at full speed) — power off/on, retry

🟠 ISSUE 2: Fan Spikes / Constant On-Off Cycling

Original bug (BIOS 01.03.00+): Fans spike to 100% RPM for a few seconds then stop, even on idle.

Partial fix (BIOS 01.04.03+): Fans no longer hit 100%, but now constant on/off cycling at low RPM — off → low rpm → off → low rpm, many times per minute. Motor clicks audible each time. Worsens fan longevity.

BIOS workaround: Set fan curve to 10/15 in BIOS to keep fans always-on at low speed. On AC, there's an explicit "always on" option. No equivalent option on battery.

C-State hypothesis (Level1Techs): HP's BIOS triggers fans when CPU exits deep C-states (C2/C3). Disabling C2/C3 with cpupower idle-set reduces spin-ups but increases power consumption.

YouTube background hack: Playing a YouTube video in Firefox in the background (even muted) keeps fans stable — power goes from 3W to 4W but the fan on/off loop doesn't trigger.

🟠 ISSUE 3: AiMT BIOS Setting Bricks the Laptop

In BIOS 1.04.03, enabling the AiMT setting causes a hard brick. Unknown what it does. Recovery: hold power 20 sec until caps lock blinks, boot, spam F10 to enter BIOS and disable it.

🟡 ISSUE 4: Third-Party Chargers / Dock Disconnects

Third-party chargers keep disconnecting and losing power at random times. HP Ultra G6 dock had similar issues — partially resolved in newer BIOS. One user confirmed updating the G6 dock firmware resolved their power delivery issues.

🟡 ISSUE 5: BSODs (Separate from Boot Freeze)

Daily BSODs with different error codes each time, starting from day 1. Affects 128GB models primarily. HP pulled a February BIOS that was supposed to fix this, then re-released it. Some users had to return units entirely.

🟡 ISSUE 6: QC / Hardware Defects

  • Right fan bearing defect — noticeable grinding/clicking noise from right fan on some units, present from first boot. Replacement fans out of stock.
  • Terrible assembly and QC — multiple users returned units for physical defects
  • Biased toward Hynix RAM — Every user who reported the boot freeze also had Hynix RAM (not Samsung). May correlate with the "silicon lottery."

🟢 Power & Thermal Data

  • APU idle: ~3W, total system idle ~10W (screen + 128GB RAM consume their share)
  • CPU max: 70W sustained, brief 80W bursts, drops to 55W after extended load
  • GPU max: 110-120W in high performance mode (echo high > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level)
  • Battery life: ~7-8 hours light work, ~5% battery per hour at minimal use
  • External monitors (3x 1440p + internal): 7-15W average
  • Vapour chamber cooling keeps palmrest cool; good thermal management overall
  • PTM7950 thermal pad swap yields 8-10°C improvement (confirmed by multiple Level1Techs users)

🔵 Linux-Specific Notes

  • amd_iommu=off breaks deep sleep on kernels 6.18.18+
  • AC wakeup trigger causes immediate wake — fix: echo disabled > /sys/devices/platform/ACPI0003:00/power_supply/AC/power/wakeup
  • System freezes for 1-2 sec on battery with kernel 6.19 (fixed in 6.19.8)
  • Fans spinning during sleep (20-30% battery drain overnight) — fixed in kernel 6.19.8
  • GNOME/Wayland stutters in video playback on Debian stable — KDE and Xorg work fine
  • Long BIOS POST times fixed by draining battery to 0% (full charge/discharge cycle)
  • Webcam driver patches progressing: amd_capture renamed to amd_isp4_capture (github.com/jtsiros/amd-isp4-camera)

💀 HP's Response

  • Forum threads marked "Solved" prematurely
  • Support offers: "reinstall Windows," "send it in"
  • 2-month depot repair to replace motherboards — for a firmware issue HP caused
  • HP deleted original bug report threads from their forum
  • Quietly removed "Critical" tag from broken BIOS, quietly made older versions available
  • No official fix for ZBook yet — only EliteBook got 01.05.01
  • Users filing BBB complaints, contacting Tom's Hardware/The Register
  • HP has a documented multi-year pattern: 2021 Victus F.10, 2023 TG01 Desktop, 2024 ProBook/EliteBook 01.17, 2025 EliteBook, 2026 ZBook — all identical bricking via firmware update
  • 2024 ProBook incident only resolved after Tom's Hardware and The Register coverage

Sources

  1. HP Forum: URGENT ZBook Ultra G1a BIOS 01.04.05 causing boot freeze
  2. Reddit: ZBook Ultra G1a first-attempt boot freeze
  3. Reddit: ZBook Ultra G1a fan spike issue
  4. HP Forum: EliteBook X G1a BIOS upgrade stuck circle boot
  5. Level1Techs: Arch SecureBoot Guide for Ryzen AI Max (HP G1a)
@tylerebowers

tylerebowers commented Jun 2, 2026

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Also a good idea to disable usb device charging while off in bios. When on it keeps the 5v subsystem on causing 20% battery drop overnight. Mine was on be default I think.

@joy4eg

joy4eg commented Jun 15, 2026

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Cool guide! Just a minor note:

Run Windows .exe in Wine to extract firmware files

You may run 7z x to extract the firmware files from the .exe binary. No need to run it or install wine.

@morvy

morvy commented Jul 8, 2026

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I've had the Zbook Ultra G1a 395 with 64GB since 2026-01-30, so it's been 6 months. After the first RC of kernel 6.19, I stopped having hardware issues. I installed CachyOS following a Level1Techs tutorial (linked here) to enable Secure Boot, DKMS, and signing on updates.

Current issues:

  1. I had to patch the Wi-Fi firmware to report the correct power (20W instead of 3W in max power mode). Everything works fine up to kernel 7.1.3, but with the 7.2 RC kernel, my Wi-Fi adapter doesn’t show up at all. Without the patch, it works but loses signal frequently. This is linux/mediatek related issue, not HP.

  2. For some unknown reason, or since this laptop was originally the “Ubuntu” version, the Pluton security was disabled by default. This caused many TPM-related issues and prevented the laptop from entering deep sleep, resulting in about 7-11W power consumption during sleep. After adding some boot flags, I optimized this down to 3W (measured with a USB-C power meter). Finally, after weeks of debugging, I enabled Pluton, reducing sleep power consumption to 0-1W.

  3. The laptop is not compatible with Thunderbolt 4 displays. I use a Dell U4025QW (140W PD), which disconnects randomly—sometimes stable for 2 hours, then disconnecting 4 times within 10 seconds. The journal logs indicate DP resync issues. I’ve tried disabling all power-saving features and Thunderbolt 4 in BIOS, but nothing helps. Dell blames HP; HP blames Dell. I borrowed a Dell TB4 dock: it doesn’t disconnect entirely (USB devices and ethernet remain stable), but HDMI and DisplayPort both disconnect randomly in the same way. This is very frustrating. At work, I use an older Dell U4320Q with 65W PD and DP-alt mode only, which works perfectly fine without external power (the laptop rarely uses more than 55W under normal workloads).

Lastly, I'd add that the actual power consumption from the cable is about 9–13W with the lid closed and not sleeping. With the display on at 40% brightness, I measured between 15–22W. Even light work pushes it to 35W, but I rarely exceed 55W on average. Depending on the adapter, it can go up to 133W, but that's very rare.

@tylerebowers

tylerebowers commented Jul 8, 2026 •
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3. The laptop is not compatible with Thunderbolt 4 displays. I use a Dell U4025QW (140W PD), which disconnects randomly—sometimes stable for 2 hours, then disconnecting 4 times within 10 seconds. The journal logs indicate DP resync issues. I’ve tried disabling all power-saving features and Thunderbolt 4 in BIOS, but nothing helps. Dell blames HP; HP blames Dell. I borrowed a Dell TB4 dock: it doesn’t disconnect entirely (USB devices and ethernet remain stable), but HDMI and DisplayPort both disconnect randomly in the same way. This is very frustrating. At work, I use an older Dell U4320Q with 65W PD and DP-alt mode only, which works perfectly fine without external power (the laptop rarely uses more than 55W under normal workloads).

You need to use a more powerful dock that has enough budget for the laptop too. E.g. I have a HP Thunderbolt 4 Ultra G6 280w dock that works perfectly, I think the 180w version works too.

BTW if you are still on linux, I have some specific setup that I have done for my machine on another gist.

@morvy

morvy commented Jul 8, 2026

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The laptop uses a 140W PD charger. The Dell display supports 140W PD and can deliver 140W because my other laptop, a Lenovo Yoga, which also supports 140W PD, works perfectly fine. Lenovo isn't Dell, so this is somewhat surprising, but it shouldn't be—if every manufacturer followed the PD 3.1 specification, it would be compatible. The TB4 dock supports only 96W for non-Dell systems, but that's not the issue. Even with the original adapter connected, nothing changes. If it were a power issue, why does the 65W non-TB4 display work perfectly fine on the balanced power plan?

I started a thread about it on freedesktop.org but that's probably dead and I have no more relevant info or successful ending so ...

[22:32:28] usb 5-1: USB disconnect, device number 10
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4: USB disconnect, device number 11
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4.1: USB disconnect, device number 12
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4.1.1: USB disconnect, device number 15
[22:32:28] thunderbolt 0-0:2.1: retimer disconnected
[22:32:28] amdgpu 0000:c3:00.0: amdgpu: [drm] DMUB HPD IRQ callback: link_index=6
[22:32:28] thunderbolt 0-2:1.1: retimer disconnected
[22:32:28] thunderbolt 0-2: device disconnected
[22:32:28] pcieport 0000:01:00.0: Unable to change power state from D0 to D3hot, device inaccessible
[22:32:28] usb 6-1: USB disconnect, device number 7
[22:32:28] usb 6-1.4: USB disconnect, device number 8
[22:32:28] usb 6-1.4.1: USB disconnect, device number 9
[22:32:28] usb 6-1.4.2: USB disconnect, device number 10
[22:32:28] r8152-cfgselector 6-1.4.3: USB disconnect, device number 11
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4.1.3: USB disconnect, device number 16
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4.1.4: USB disconnect, device number 17
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4.1.5: USB disconnect, device number 18
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4.2: USB disconnect, device number 13
[22:32:28] usb 5-1.4.2.4: USB disconnect, device number 14
[22:32:32] thunderbolt 0-2: new device found, vendor=0xd4 device=0xc041
[22:32:32] thunderbolt 0-2: Dell U4025QW
[22:32:32] thunderbolt 0-0:2.1: new retimer found, vendor=0x1da0 device=0x8835
[22:32:33] thunderbolt 0-2:1.1: new retimer found, vendor=0x1da0 device=0x8835
[22:32:33] amdgpu 0000:c3:00.0: amdgpu: [drm] DMUB HPD IRQ callback: link_index=6
[22:32:33] pcieport 0000:00:01.1:   bridge window [mem 0xbc000000-0xd3ffffff]

Asus Z13 doesn't have this issue with U3225QE, which is also TB4 and the same Strix Halo base..

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