Tinkerer
I have PHN16-71 laptop. I saw this optional update in windows update is it ok to install it?
I checked the version currently present in device manager its showing as older version even though I have installed latest (bios 1.18 version)
[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]
You can install these firmware/bios updates as they are really updates that Acer has anyway and if you have the last bios v1.18 for the PHN16-71 then this update will not install. I prefer only to install what bios/firmware that Acer officially has so you update these updates at "YOUR OWN RISK" as they have bricked peoples PCs, so be aware of this also!
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Just look at the back last 2 digits of the BIOS. The latest one is 18 which is newer than the Microsoft one.
Product Support - Predator PHN16-71 | Acer Canada
Acer is completely useless in their BIOS release notes (they are like less than 5 words), for the general non-technical public just assume that BIOS updates are security updates as many Meltdown/Spectre security vulnerabilities can only be fixed by BIOS updates.
You have i7-13700HX CPU which has a security vulnerability BIOS fix released by Intel in November 2023. Cross you fingers that this is going to be fixed somewhere between your September 2023 (13 BIOS) and the 18 BIOS. Microcode is Intel's portion of the BIOS.
Intel November 2023 Microcode Update - Red Hat Customer Portal
There are dozens and dozens of Meltdown/Spectre variants since 2018 and a lot of them requires BIOS updates to fix them. So if you don't know how to dig deep into Intel's security bulletins, just assume that the latest BIOS is a security fix. Even when I showed you that there is an Intel BIOS security fix, we still don't know if Acer included them between 15 BIOS and 18 BIOS as Acer's BIOS release notes are useless.
Therefore just update your acer BIOS.
Stop scaring people about BIOS updates, AT YOUR OWN RISK means something else in the modern world. Do you want to lose your money or your identity because you now do your banking and taxes online? That's a lot worse than merely bricking a computer.
