Upgrading device firmware on Manjaro

manjaro 26 / published / guide #24 / ≈ 2 min read

Firmware is the software baked into a piece of hardware — your UEFI/BIOS, SSD controller, Wi-Fi card, docking station. Vendors push updates over time, usually to fix bugs or close security holes. On Manjaro you can apply most of them without leaving Linux.

The tool is fwupd, the same one used everywhere else on Linux. It talks to LVFS (the Linux Vendor Firmware Service), where Dell, Lenovo, HP and others publish signed updates.

Step 1: Install

sudo pacman -S fwupd

If you want a graphical interface, install one of:

sudo pacman -S gnome-firmware     # works on KDE, Cinnamon, Xfce too despite the name
sudo pacman -S plasma-discover    # KDE's software centre includes firmware

gnome-firmware is the cleanest dedicated GUI; despite the name, nothing about it requires GNOME.

Step 2: Refresh the catalogue

sudo fwupdmgr refresh

Pulls the latest firmware list from LVFS. Like a pacman -Sy, but for firmware.

Step 3: See what fwupd thinks of your hardware

fwupdmgr get-devices

Each entry shows model name, current firmware version, and a flag for "updatable." If the flag is missing, the vendor hasn't enrolled that model in LVFS.

Step 4: Check + apply

fwupdmgr get-updates
sudo fwupdmgr update

If updates are available, fwupd shows what they are, downloads them, and applies. For UEFI/BIOS updates it stages the image as an EFI variable and reboots — the actual flash happens early in the next boot, before your OS loads. Peripherals (SSDs, Wi-Fi cards, dockings) usually update in-place.

Plug your laptop in. Power loss during a firmware flash can brick the device — and not in the recoverable sense.

Through the GUI

Open Firmware Updates (the gnome-firmware app). It auto-refreshes and shows every device with a green checkmark or an "Update" button. Same operation, fewer flags to remember.

When fwupd doesn't see your hardware

Not every vendor publishes to LVFS. Rough breakdown:

  • Well supported — Dell, Lenovo (ThinkPad), HP, Star Labs, System76, Framework, many Logitech peripherals
  • Partial — ASUS, Acer, MSI; some models work, others don't
  • Not supported — most custom desktop motherboards (use the vendor's BIOS-flash utility from a USB stick)

Check your model at fwupd.org/lvfs/devices.

"Firmware" means two different things on Manjaro

Don't confuse fwupd with the linux-firmware package. They cover different things:

  • linux-firmware — binary blobs the kernel loads at boot (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPU). Updated via pacman -Syu.
  • fwupd — firmware that lives inside a device's controller, persistently flashed to its own memory. Updated via fwupdmgr update.

Both deserve regular attention. pacman -Syu covers the first; fwupdmgr update covers the second.

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