Libreboot 26.10 “Ominous Olive” was released on October 15. Libreboot is a free firmware distribution based on coreboot that replaces the proprietary BIOS or UEFI on supported machines, and this release changes how it boots.

UEFI by default

The default payload on x86 is now EDK2, a UEFI implementation based on MrChromebox’s fork, replacing the previous U-Boot-based setup. With UEFI, Libreboot machines can boot virtually any modern operating system, including Windows, through the same path as off-the-shelf PCs. Our BIOS vs UEFI explainer covers what that means.

The project warns of major design changes that can affect existing installations:

• EFI GRUB and CSM SeaBIOS replace the coreboot payload versions of GRUB and SeaBIOS
• Bare-metal SeaBIOS and GRUB payloads are deprecated

Read the release notes and back up your current ROM before reflashing a working machine.

New hardware

• Dell OptiPlex 5050 SFF and OptiPlex 3040 Micro
• ThinkPad X280 and X270
• Supermicro X11SSH-F
• 233 Intel and AMD Chromebooks, through the MrChromebox-derived code, though few have been tested on real hardware

Libreboot targets older, well-documented hardware, often ThinkPads and business desktops. If you just want current firmware on a normal PC, fwupd is the place to start.