[Bug 2094834] [NEW] [FFe] Bump eeprom to support memory timings update in 16GB Pi 5

Launchpad Bug Tracker 2094834 at bugs.launchpad.net
Tue Mar 18 14:06:54 UTC 2025


You have been subscribed to a public bug by Dave Jones (waveform):

[ Impact ]

The current version of rpi-eeprom in Ubuntu cannot be used to flash the
boot EEPROM on the D0 models of the Pi 5. While it won't automatically
attempt to do so (because the version shipped on such boards is later
than ours), if anyone attempts to recover their boot EEPROM on this
board using Ubuntu they will appear to brick the board (it can be
recovered using a rescue SD card, but this is still far from ideal /
obvious).

[ Test Plan ]

WARNING:
This test plan should only be carried out by those comfortable recovering from flashing a bad rom. The purpose of this test plan is to uncover boot issues. If you are uncomfortable following the bootloader recovery process [1], please do not attempt the test plan.

[1]: https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-
pi.html#eeprom-boot-flow

NOTE:
The test plan may require adjustment of the BOOT_ORDER value stored in the EEPROM configuration, via rpi-eeprom-config. Testers are strongly advised to leave 0x1 (SD card) somewhere in the modified boot order while testing, to allow for easier recovery in the event of issues.

To cover the upgrade path and boot operation on all relevant models, the
following test plan is proposed for all proposed $series:

* Flash the Ubuntu Server for Raspberry Pi pre-installed image for the relevant series to $media
* Boot the card and wait for cloud-init to complete
* Login
* sudo apt update
* sudo apt install -t $series-proposed rpi-eeprom
* sudo rpi-eeprom-update
* This will report the current bootloader version installed on the board's EEPROM and the latest available
* If EEPROM is out of date: sudo rpi-eeprom-update -a
* If EEPROM is not out of date, force the update:
  - For Pi/CM 5: sudo rpi-eeprom-update /lib/firmware/raspberrypi/bootloader-2712/default/pieeprom-2025-01-13.bin
* sudo reboot
* Ensure subsequent boot completes successfully

Repeat this procedure (including freshly flashed image) for the
following models:

* Pi 5 2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB (ensure both C1 and D0 steppings are tested)
* CM5

Repeat this procedure for the following boot $media:

* SD card (where applicable)
* USB-attached SSD (all models)
* NVMe (Pi 5 only)

[ Regression Potential ]

Bumping rpi-eeprom is always potentially risky, given it's flashed to
the board's EEPROM with all the attendant risks running the gamut all
the way up to "bricked boards". In mitigation, the version being
proposed has been used in (the much larger installed base of) RaspiOS
for over a month, and the test plan attempts to cover all affected
boards, with relevant boot media.

With regard to the affected models: this boot firmware is only used on
Pi models from the 4 onwards (including the compute module variants).
However, in the intended version there is only a new bootloader for the
2712 (Pi 5 variants), hence the Pi 4 (and CM4) can be safely excluded
from testing.

[ Original Description ]

Per commit https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-
eeprom/commit/62292b43ad163f49efb4a76e3c2df557bd0df537 in the upstream
repo, rpi-eeprom introduces new timings to improve performance on the
16GB Pi 5 model.

** Affects: rpi-eeprom (Ubuntu)
     Importance: High
     Assignee: Dave Jones (waveform)
         Status: Confirmed

** Affects: rpi-eeprom (Ubuntu Noble)
     Importance: Medium
     Assignee: Dave Jones (waveform)
         Status: Confirmed

** Affects: rpi-eeprom (Ubuntu Oracular)
     Importance: Medium
     Assignee: Dave Jones (waveform)
         Status: Confirmed


** Tags: foundations-todo
-- 
[FFe] Bump eeprom to support memory timings update in 16GB Pi 5
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2094834
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