We are releasing a new beta version of the firmware that can be updated using an A/B method (only on Pi 5 devices running Trixie). This is a power loss safe way to update the firmware. It works by keeping two partition slots (A and B) in EEPROM so that an update can be written to the empty slot and only once complete, a single operation is used to switch which partition is used at boot.
Install
To try this, first select the beta repository and latest bootloader version:
Update packages and install the new utility:
Install AB capable firmware for the first time (this will use flashrom to preform the first update):
Enable AB Firmware (flashrom will no longer work to update the firmware with this enabled):
You can now use all the normal tools to interact with EEPROM in AB mode e.g.
Tryboot
Another feature of the AB firmware is that you can "try before you buy" meaning you can preform an update but not yet commit to it. By default you will continue to boot from the existing committed partition until you set a one shot tryboot flag which will cause the device to boot from the uncommitted partition on reboot.
To change the behavior of rpi-eeprom-config --edit so that it doesn't commit the update immediately:
Then you can tryboot bootloader config edits:
Secure Boot
This is BETA so we do not recommend using it in production! If you are using secure boot and need to sign the firmware binaries, you will need to build from source from this PR https://github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot/pull/363.
Install
To try this, first select the beta repository and latest bootloader version:
Code:
sudo raspi-config# 6 Advanced Options > A6 Beta Access > B1 Beta Software# 6 Advanced Options > A5 Bootloader Version > E1 LatestCode:
sudo apt updatesudo apt upgrade -ysudo apt install rpieepromab -ysudo rebootCode:
sudo rpi-eeprom-update -aCode:
sudo raspi-config# 6 Advanced Options > A15 AB Firmware > B1 Enablesudo rebootCode:
sudo rpi-eeprom-update -a # to update the firmwaresudo rpi-eeprom-config --edit # to edit the bootloader configAnother feature of the AB firmware is that you can "try before you buy" meaning you can preform an update but not yet commit to it. By default you will continue to boot from the existing committed partition until you set a one shot tryboot flag which will cause the device to boot from the uncommitted partition on reboot.
To change the behavior of rpi-eeprom-config --edit so that it doesn't commit the update immediately:
Code:
sudo nano /etc/default/rpi-eeprom-update# Add AB_EEPROM_FORCE_COMMIT=0Code:
sudo rpi-eeprom-config --edit# Make any changes you wantrpi-eeprom-ab tryboot 1sudo rebootrpi-eeprom-ab committed # should return 0 if it successfully booted with the new bootloader configrpi-eeprom-ab commit # to permanently boot from the new bootloader config, otherwise the next time you boot it will revert back to the previous versionThis is BETA so we do not recommend using it in production! If you are using secure boot and need to sign the firmware binaries, you will need to build from source from this PR https://github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot/pull/363.
Statistics: Posted by mathewb64 — Mon Feb 16, 2026 5:16 pm — Replies 1 — Views 94