Fwupd 1.9.11 Released With Support For New Algoltek & Luxshare USB Devices

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Fwupd 1.9.11 Released With Support For New Algoltek & Luxshare USB Devices

Last month LVFS/Fwupd celebrated serving more than 100 million firmware updates to Linux users while today Fwupd 1.9.11 has shipped as the latest update to this open-source firmware updating solution...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/fwupd-1.9.11-Released

[bash2bash]

When are they going to add updates for normal hardware that normal people use?

Just run fwupd on 10 desktop systems and it couldn't find a single device to update. Nothing for Samsung, MSI, Realtek, ASUS, Gigabyte, etc. I also have several 8-year old DELL laptops, again it couldn't find anything to update.

Then I read the announcement again.. adds support for algoltek and luxshare... are they supporting the most obscure hardware vendors? what is going on?

[uid313]

When are they going to add updates for normal hardware that normal people use?

Just run fwupd on 10 desktop systems and it couldn't find a single device to update. Nothing for Samsung, MSI, Realtek, ASUS, Gigabyte, etc. I also have several 8-year old DELL laptops, again it couldn't find anything to update.

Then I read the announcement again.. adds support for algoltek and luxshare... are they supporting the most obscure hardware vendors? what is going on?

It is not fwupd that supports those, it is the manufacturers that support fwupd (LVFS).
Unfortunately many big companies does not publish their firmware to LVFS.

[slalomsk8er]

When are they going to add updates for normal hardware that normal people use?

Just run fwupd on 10 desktop systems and it couldn't find a single device to update. Nothing for Samsung, MSI, Realtek, ASUS, Gigabyte, etc. I also have several 8-year old DELL laptops, again it couldn't find anything to update.

Then I read the announcement again.. adds support for algoltek and luxshare... are they supporting the most obscure hardware vendors? what is going on?

Maybe it's the other way around and these "obscure" hardware vendors support fwupd

[jonkoops]

It is not fwupd that supports those, it is the manufacturers that support fwupd (LVFS).
Unfortunately many big companies does not publish their firmware to LVFS.

I kind of wish I could load a 3rd party repository for firmware updates. The files used to do the updates are just slightly modified archives that are also used on Windows. So it would be rather trivial to scrape the site of a manufacturer, apply some patches, and then use that to perform the update.

[hughsie]

> When are they going to add updates for normal hardware that normal people use?

By numbers, the largest group of people are using Linux computers are at work, so the Dell Precision, XPS, Lenovo PCs and ThinkPads. There are a few models for vendors like ASUS, Acer and Gigabyte (where whey want to see a thin/server SKU board to a big customer that demands LVFS support) and there are updates for SSDs from vendors like Samsung/Micron/etc with specific Lenovo/Dell SKUs -- but it's really up to the vendors to care about Linux users. Which means, buying hardware that advertises fwupd/LVFS support and not giving money to companies that literally don't care about Linux users.

Notably, most of the same vendors that don't care about LVFS-provided updates are also the same ones with a terrible firmware security track record, so make your choices accordingly. We can't legally ship updates without the vendor uploading them to us and giving us permission to distribute. Buy stuff listed here https://fwupd.org/lvfs/devices/ and you'll be helping a lot.

[hughsie]

> I kind of wish I could load a 3rd party repository for firmware updates

Sure! See https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd/blob/...nly-trusted.md -- I know at least two companies doing this internally, but the archives in general can't be shared to the internet due to licencing and more importantly ITAR reasons.

[jonkoops]

> I kind of wish I could load a 3rd party repository for firmware updates

Sure! See https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd/blob/...nly-trusted.md -- I know at least two companies doing this internally, but the archives in general can't be shared to the internet due to licencing and more importantly ITAR reasons.

ITAR only applies to the U.S. right? I have no problem breaking their laws as an EU citizen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[hughsie]

> ITAR only applies to the U.S. right? I have no problem breaking their laws as an EU citizen

Anyone thinking about this might want to get some actual legal advice first...

[Old Grouch]

> ITAR only applies to the U.S. right? I have no problem breaking their laws as an EU citizen

Anyone thinking about this might want to get some actual legal advice first...

There's also the Wassenaar Arrangement, which shouldn't be ignored if you are resident in or a citizen of the participating countries, which includes all (except one) EU countries.