Accessing the BIOS / UEFI on a Linux system can vary depending on your setup. Here are three methods to help you get there:
Note
- When executing these commands from an SSH session, precede them with sudo for administrative privileges.
- If you’re running these commands directly from a terminal within the desktop environment, you don’t need to use sudo.
Method 1: Using systemD
This method works on Linux distros that use systemD, such as Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and mainstream Arch-based distros like Manjaro and EndeavourOS. To verify your Linux distro uses systemD, follow these steps:
Verify systemD:
- Open your terminal and type:
ps --no-headers -o comm 1
- Press Enter. If it returns systemd, you're good to go.
Reboot to Firmware Setup:
- In the terminal, type:
systemctl reboot --firmware-setup
- Press Enter to boot into BIOS or UEFI firmware settings.
Method 2: From the GRUB Bootloader
You can also access the BIOS or UEFI firmware settings from the GRUB bootloader screen:
GRUB Menu:
- When your system is booting, access the GRUB menu.
Select UEFI Firmware Settings:
- Choose UEFI Firmware Settings from the GRUB menu instead of your Linux distro and press Enter.
Method 3: Using the GRUB Command Line
If you don’t see the UEFI Firmware Settings in the GRUB menu, you can use the GRUB command-line interface:
Access GRUB Command Line:
- Press Esc in the GRUB menu to access the GRUB command-line interface (also known as GRUB shell).
Enter Firmware Setup Command:
- Type:
fwsetup
- Press Enter to boot into BIOS or UEFI firmware settings.
These methods should help you access the BIOS / UEFI on your Linux system with ease.
NOTE:
- This will only work on UEFI Systems,
- so to check that go to the Terminal and type:
[ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo UEFI || echo BIOS
NOTE:
- You might need to use sudo if you get permission denied. So type:
sudo systemctl reboot --firmware-setup
- or you can switch to the root user, then use the command. So type:
su -