Flashing your BIOS, also known as System Setup, is an essential step to improve computer performance, increase stability, and enhance security. To update your BIOS, you need to temporarily suspend BitLocker, if you use it for encryption.
To do this, use the Windows Start button to access Settings from the taskbar. Then click on the Privacy and Security option, followed by Device Encryption, and BitLocker Drive Encryption. In the new window, click on Turn off BitLocker, and confirm the action by clicking on the Turn off BitLocker button. To turn it back on, repeat these steps.
Make sure your laptop is connected to a reliable power source because the BIOS installation requires it. Once these first two steps are completed, you can move on to the BIOS update process.
First, go to Dell.com/support and click on the link shown to be taken directly to the site. Then, identify your system by using either the automated option with Support Assist or enter the service tag manually. Go to Drivers and Downloads in the Manually Find a Specific Driver section. Expand Find Drivers, then select the proper operating system installed on your computer. Next, for the Category field, select BIOS. A list of results will be generated, so expand the latest release date version to see the version details.
Check the BIOS version on your system by clicking the Windows Start button in the taskbar and typing msinfo32. Look for the line item BIOS version date and compare it with the one from the Dell website results in the BIOS results section of the support page.
Click on older versions if you have a BIOS version that is more than two versions behind the latest available. It is highly recommended to update the BIOS versions gradually without skipping or jumping over any versions to prevent possible compatibility issues. Select each of the versions pending to download and run them from the computer one by one, going in order from the oldest to the newest. Each installation should be done individually, and keep in mind that the system will restart each time as part of the process.
If you have just the previous BIOS version, simply go ahead with the latest one. Click download, and the setup file will be saved on your computer. Using File Explorer, browse to the location where the downloaded file was saved and double-click the downloaded BIOS setup file and confirm the action. Click Update, wait for the firmware data to load, and follow any on-screen instructions. In some cases, the computer will restart automatically; otherwise, click the restart button.
If after each system restart, you encounter the device encryption where BitLocker becomes enabled, you will need to suspend BitLocker before doing the next BIOS installation. Just go back and follow the process outlined in step one of this guide.
Finally, to maximize your laptop’s battery life using Windows 11, check out our video tutorial on how to improve laptop battery life by clicking the link shown. If you still need further assistance or have any questions, contact us through social media at Dell Cares on Twitter. You can also check out the Dell Community forum.