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Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

blog.quindorian.org

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Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#21

Post by vladvasiliu »

alias_neo wrote: post #19
fareesh wrote: post #15

Is there any significant benefit of updating firmware? Intuitively it seems like the risk/reward is very skewed towards not doing it. I've never really updated the firmware on any component other than routers or motherboard/bios.

As a software engineer myself, I would say yes, but I'm biased. I know no code is released perfect. Then for something high performance like an NVM.e SSD, you could potentially gain a lot of performance, or lose it, depending on the manufacturer's goals for stability vs speed. After a couple of decades of updating firmware on things whenever possible (including my car which had me leave the engine running sitting in…

> After a couple of decades of updating firmware on things whenever possible, I'm yet to have a real issue.

I used to be in the same boat, up until a few weeks ago when I updated the BIOS on my new work laptop. It's been a shitshow ever since: it takes around one minute to POST, the webcam isn't detected anymore, it doesn't go to sleep.

And the best part? "Because this update contains security features, it cannot be rolled back".

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edit to name and shame: HP EliteBook 845 G8

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#22

Post by tinus_hn »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #20
snvzz wrote: post #3

This is some insanity that shouldn't be needed, when fwupd[0] exists. Samsung is to blame for this. [0]: https://fwupd.org/

There is also driver delivery though Windows Update, but they dont seem to be using that properly either

Probably can’t resist the temptation to package their firmware in an always active 500mb .NET bloatware balloon that continuously phones home with ‘analytics’ and ‘telemetry’.

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#23

Post by naoqj »

fareesh wrote: post #15

Is there any significant benefit of updating firmware? Intuitively it seems like the risk/reward is very skewed towards not doing it. I've never really updated the firmware on any component other than routers or motherboard/bios.

Firmware bugs can shorten the lifespan or lower the speed of a drive. On the other hand, bugs can be introduced in new versions, and reverting to an old version is not always easy to do.

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#24

Post by dvratil »

Reminds me when about ten years ago, working in an all-Linux company there was an issue with some Lenovo docking stations. I don't recall anymore what the issue was exactly, just that something wouldn't work properly when you plugged in a laptop with Linux. The problem was solved by a firmware upgrade, but upgrading the docking station firmware was possible only from Windows. So there was this one poor person in IT who had to install Windows on a spare laptop and then everyone would bring their docking station to them to upgrade the firmware...

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#25

Post by londons_explore »

alias_neo wrote: post #19
fareesh wrote: post #15

Is there any significant benefit of updating firmware? Intuitively it seems like the risk/reward is very skewed towards not doing it. I've never really updated the firmware on any component other than routers or motherboard/bios.

As a software engineer myself, I would say yes, but I'm biased. I know no code is released perfect. Then for something high performance like an NVM.e SSD, you could potentially gain a lot of performance, or lose it, depending on the manufacturer's goals for stability vs speed. After a couple of decades of updating firmware on things whenever possible (including my car which had me leave the engine running sitting in…

Firmware updates often push new "business opportunities" for the manufacturer... Eg. HP printers that suddenly start forcing you to buy new cartridges after an automatic firmware update, since they realise that by forcing you to buy new cartridges before they're really empty, you'll buy more.

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#26

Post by nixcraft »

snvzz wrote: post #3

This is some insanity that shouldn't be needed, when fwupd[0] exists. Samsung is to blame for this. [0]: https://fwupd.org/

I agree. It is easy these days provided that your device is supported. I updated my ThinkPad nvme SSD (my model is from 2018) using the fwupdmgr command[0], which fetches supported firmware data from LVFS[1]. It improved temperature control for sure. So I would say it was worth it. But, as always, keep verified backups, just in case. [0]: https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/upgrade-update-samsung-ssd-fir... [1]: https://lvfs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#27

Post by londons_explore »

ajb wrote: post #2

" If it’s your boot drive, no luck there and you can try flashing while it’s mounted." Err no, that's when you boot from USB stick. Or do it from initramfs. Or anything, other than modifying the firmware of a drive you are running from.

You ought to be able to flash the firmware on a mounted drive.

Anyone sane implementing the firmware flashing algorithm will either:

1. Just reject all IO requests from the point of the firmware update onwards. The system will see the drive disappear, but since you are using a journaling filesystem, it will be like you just pulled the power, and no data corruption will happen.

2. Complete all IO requests before the update, then update, then continue requests as before.

3. Save the firmware update, but only apply it at next powerup of the drive.

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#28

Post by throwra620 »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #21
alias_neo wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a software engineer myself, I would say yes, but I'm biased. I know no code is released perfect. Then for something high performance like an NVM.e SSD, you could potentially gain a lot of performance, or lose it, depending on the manufacturer's goals for stability vs speed. After a couple of decades of updating firmware on things whenever possible (including my car which had me leave the engine running sitting in…

> After a couple of decades of updating firmware on things whenever possible, I'm yet to have a real issue. I used to be in the same boat, up until a few weeks ago when I updated the BIOS on my new work laptop. It's been a shitshow ever since: it takes around one minute to POST, the webcam isn't detected anymore, it doesn't go to sleep. And the best part? "Because this update contains security features, it cannot be…

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Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#29

Post by 2ion »

fareesh wrote: post #15

Is there any significant benefit of updating firmware? Intuitively it seems like the risk/reward is very skewed towards not doing it. I've never really updated the firmware on any component other than routers or motherboard/bios.

Haven't seen any useful changelogs from major vendors short of the event of fixing a known very bad bug.

In any case, I treat this as a high risk operation; no HDD/SSD firmware flashing without making sure the backup is working...

Re: Update Firmware of Samsung SSDs in Linux

#30

Post by b112 »

fareesh wrote: post #15

Is there any significant benefit of updating firmware? Intuitively it seems like the risk/reward is very skewed towards not doing it. I've never really updated the firmware on any component other than routers or motherboard/bios.

Hard drive, and SSD firmwares have had massive issues in the past, including ones causing major filesystem corruption and data loss.

There was even once a bug which, after X hours of SMART recorded usage, would cause the SSD to lockup every hour thereafter: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/oh18a/attention_c...

SSD firmware issues can be very serious.

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