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Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

Safe to update Firmware?

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firmware update
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  • R
    Retro Arcade Fan
    last edited by 24 Dec 2022, 16:19

    Hey everyone,

    I noticed there was an update available for my RP4 firmware, but as someone who's always worried about damaging their arcade, I wanted to ask if it's routinely safe to update the firmware? I backup my arcade monthly. So it's not detrimental if the image breaks. But the firmware is built into the RP4 directly, so I hesitate. Because if something goes wrong, I can't replace it due to the shortages.

    Again, me just worrying about my baby. I know I can update the firmware by itself. Is it generally safe to update the firmware when updates are available?

    As always, thank you for your support.

    A 1 Reply Last reply 25 Dec 2022, 20:15 Reply Quote 0
    • A
      Ashpool @Retro Arcade Fan
      last edited by 25 Dec 2022, 20:15

      @Retro-Arcade-Fan said in Safe to update Firmware?:

      But the firmware is built into the RP4 directly, so I hesitate.

      Sure of that? As the raspberry pi doc is saying this about the firmware:

      The kernel and firmware are installed as a Debian package, and so will also get updates when using the procedure above. These packages are updated infrequently and after extensive testing.
      

      It is the bootloader that is written to a prom and there seem to be a safeguard mechanism implemented (cited from here):

      At power on, the BCM2711 ROM looks for a file called recovery.bin in the root directory of the boot partition on the SD card. If a valid recovery.bin is found then the ROM executes this instead of the contents of the EEPROM. This mechanism ensures that the bootloader EEPROM can always be reset to a valid image with factory default settings.
      
      R 1 Reply Last reply 25 Dec 2022, 20:32 Reply Quote 0
      • R
        Retro Arcade Fan @Ashpool
        last edited by 25 Dec 2022, 20:32

        @Ashpool So you're saying it's safe to update whenever there's one available.

        A 1 Reply Last reply 25 Dec 2022, 20:52 Reply Quote 0
        • A
          Ashpool @Retro Arcade Fan
          last edited by 25 Dec 2022, 20:52

          @Retro-Arcade-Fan As long as it is done via

          > sudo apt update
          > sudo apt full-upgrade
          

          it should be safe (or at least safe as all write processes to the system storage device (sd card/hdd/sdd/etc.) are) and don't use rpi-update (IIRC some Blogs/Websides/SearchResults may tell you otherwise, but according to the official docs there is just one case an end-user may use that: You should not use rpi-update on any system unless recommended to do so by a Raspberry Pi engineer.)

          R 1 Reply Last reply 25 Dec 2022, 22:45 Reply Quote 1
          • R
            Retro Arcade Fan @Ashpool
            last edited by 25 Dec 2022, 22:45

            @Ashpool said in Safe to update Firmware?:

            sudo apt update
            sudo apt full-upgrade

            Does this update all of the emulators too? I can't remember what "update" did once but it updated all of my emulators and totally destroyed my build. ALL I want to update is the firmware at this point.

            A 1 Reply Last reply 25 Dec 2022, 23:24 Reply Quote 0
            • A
              Ashpool @Retro Arcade Fan
              last edited by Ashpool 25 Dec 2022, 23:24

              @Retro-Arcade-Fan It will upgrade all packages that are visible to the OS packet manager(s)[1], if that includes emulators they will also be updated - but that is a question best be answered by people with more insight/knowledge of the retropie-setup script.

              [At least on the Pi4 where I have RetroPie installed on top of the legacy Raspberry OS I haven't encountered anything like broken emulators after a full-upgrade, but i am only using a limited set of games/emulators on that machine]

              1: like apt, apt-get, aptitude ...

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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