Firmware

PureBoot says the GPG keyring is empty

If you were using Basic mode, it may have been disabled. To re-enable it:

  1. At the GPG keyring error, select Ignore error and continue to main menu

  2. Select Options > Change configuration settings > Enable PureBoot Basic Mode > Yes > OK

  3. Still in the configuration menu, select Save the current configuration to the running BIOS > Yes

  4. Wait for the flash to complete, then select OK to reboot

If you were using a Librem Key with PureBoot and you are sure this is not due to tampering, you can perform an OEM Factory Reset to create a new GPG key, or add a GPG key if you have a copy of the public key on a flash drive.

Wi-Fi / Bluetooth does not work

Intel Wi-Fi lockup

Occasionally Intel Wi-Fi cards are known to lock up. Often, a message like this will occur in dmesg:

iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Can find a correct rfid for crf id 0x5a2

Cold boot the system to resolve this:

  1. Turn off the Librem 11

  2. Unplug any AC adapter from the USB-C ports

  3. Wait 10 seconds for the EC to turn off

  4. Turn on the Librem 11 again

Device firmware not present

PureOS requires the device firmware provided by the PureOS blob jail for Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Check if the firmware is present in /run/firmware - from a terminal, ls /run/firmware should list firmware files. If the directory is empty, the blob jail is not present.

  • With SeaBIOS firmware (if you switched intentionally or by mistake), there won’t be any device firmware. SeaBIOS cannot provide the blob jail.

    • You can switch back to PureBoot with the update utility. Choose the ‘basic’ preconfiguration for PureBoot Basic.

    • If you want to use SeaBIOS, you can manually put the firmware files from the PureBoot repository) in /lib/firmware. Preserve the directory structure. i915/ contains graphics GuC firmware, intel/ contains Bluetooth parameter data, and iwlwifi-*.ucode is the Wi-Fi device firmware.

  • On PureBoot, the blob jail might be disabled.

    • From the PureBoot menu select Select Options > Change configuration settings, check if blob jail is enabled. If not, enable it and save the configuration changes.

  • Some third-party operating systems prevent the use of device firmware (GNU Guix System, GNU Trisquel)

    • These distributions patch the Linux kernel to prevent it from loading any firmware for Intel Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and many other devices, even if the firmware is present.

    • Using these distributions with Intel Wi-Fi or Bluetooth requires compiling a custom kernel or installing one from another distribution.