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How To Update Drive Firmware

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Tyler Erickson edited this page Feb 11, 2026 · 1 revision

How To Update Drive Firmware

Need to update your drive's firmware? This guide walks you through the firmware update process safely using openSeaChest, from checking compatibility to verifying the update was successful.

Firmware updates can resolve compatibility issues, improve performance, or fix bugs - but they require careful preparation to avoid issues.

⚠️ Critical Safety Information

WARNING: Firmware updates are high-risk operations that can permanently damage your drive if done incorrectly.

Before You Begin:

  • ✅ BACK UP ALL DATA - Firmware updates can cause data loss if interrupted
  • ✅ Ensure stable power - Use AC power (laptops), UPS recommended, never rely on battery alone
  • ✅ Use correct firmware - Only use manufacturer-authorized firmware for your exact drive model
  • ✅ Direct connection preferred - SATA/SAS/NVMe direct connection strongly recommended (avoid USB, see RAID guidance below)
  • ✅ Verify drive health - Don't update failing drives (check SMART status first)
  • ❌ DO NOT interrupt power during update - Power loss can make the drive become unresponsive and unusable
  • ❌ DO NOT force reboot/shutdown during update - Let the process complete

If you're uncertain about any step, contact Seagate support before proceeding.

When to Update Firmware

Good reasons to update:

  • Manufacturer recommends update for your specific use case
  • Part of scheduled maintenance in enterprise environment
  • Update resolves compatibility issues with your system configuration
  • Manufacturer advises the update for your deployment

Note: Firmware updates generally resolve various firmware bugs and improve compatibility over time. However, firmware updates will not fix existing drive health problems that are currently occurring.

NOT recommended:

  • "Just because a newer version exists" - if drive works fine, updates may be unnecessary
  • During critical operations or tight deadlines
  • Over USB connection (compatibility issues common)

Principle: "If it's not broken, carefully consider whether you need to fix it." Firmware updates carry risk - ensure the benefit outweighs it.

Step 1: Preparation and Verification (15 minutes)

Check Current Firmware Version

Scan for drives:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware --scan

Get detailed drive info:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> -i

Note the:

  • Model number (e.g., ST2000DM008)
  • Current firmware revision (e.g., CC26)
  • Serial number (for your records)

Verify Drive Health

Before updating firmware, ensure drive is healthy:

# Check SMART status
sudo ./openSeaChest_SMART -d <handle> --smartCheck

# Run short diagnostic
sudo ./openSeaChest_Basics -d <handle> --shortDST --poll

Do NOT update firmware if:

  • SMART status is FAILED
  • Drive has many reallocated sectors
  • DST shows mechanical/electrical failures

Fix health issues first or replace the drive.

Check Firmware Download Support

Verify your drive supports firmware updates and see available modes:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --showFWDLSupport

This displays:

  • Supported download modes (Full, Segmented, Deferred)
  • Whether activation requires power cycle
  • Available firmware slots (NVMe drives)
  • Segment size requirements

Example output:

Firmware Download Support Information:
  Download Support: Full, Segmented, Deferred
  Deferred Power Cycle Required: No
  Segmented Download: Supported
  Deferred Download: Supported
  Activation Without Reset: Supported

Obtain Correct Firmware File

  1. Identify correct firmware:

    • Visit manufacturer's website (e.g., Seagate downloads)
    • For Seagate drives: Find the "Firmware Downloads" box in the bottom right
    • Enter your drive's serial number (a valid Seagate serial number is required)
    • Download firmware file for your model

  2. Verify you have the right file:

    • Seagate firmware files typically use .lod extension, but may be any binary file compatible with your drive
    • Filename usually includes model and version information
    • Ensure the firmware file matches your exact drive model

⚠️ Customer Unique Firmware Warning

IMPORTANT: Some drives use customer unique firmware as part of secure supply chain agreements between manufacturers and enterprise customers.

If your drive has customer unique firmware:

  • Cannot Switch Firmware Types: You CANNOT switch between customer unique firmware and standard firmware (in either direction)

    • Attempting this violates secure supply chain security policies
    • May render your drive unusable or void warranty

  • Updates Only From Original Supplier: Firmware updates must come from the customer/OEM who sold you the drive, NOT from the drive manufacturer directly

    • Example: If you bought a drive in a Dell server, firmware updates come from Dell, not Seagate

  • Warranty Through Original Supplier: Warranty claims and support are handled by your original supplier, not the drive manufacturer

How to Identify Customer Unique Firmware:

  • Drive was purchased as part of an OEM system (Dell, HP, IBM, etc.)
  • Firmware version has non-standard naming or prefixes
  • Drive model number has OEM-specific suffix
  • Manufacturer's website does not list firmware for your exact model/serial number

When in doubt: Contact your original equipment supplier for firmware updates rather than using manufacturer-downloaded firmware.

Other Manufacturers: Other drive vendors may have similar customer unique firmware programs with their own restrictions. Always check with your supplier before updating firmware on OEM drives.

For more details on customer unique firmware limitations, see Customer Unique Firmware Limitations in the limitations documentation.

Step 2: Perform Firmware Update (5-20 minutes)

Recommended Method: Auto Mode

The simplest and safest method - openSeaChest automatically selects the best update mode for your drive and platform:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW /path/to/firmware.bin

What happens:

  1. Tool analyzes drive capabilities and platform
  2. Selects optimal download mode (usually deferred+activate on modern systems)
  3. Downloads firmware to drive
  4. Activates new firmware
  5. Reports if power cycle is required

Monitor the output carefully:

  • Progress updates will be displayed
  • Do not interrupt the process
  • Note any messages about power cycle requirements

Alternative: Conservative Two-Step Method

For maximum control, download firmware without immediate activation:

Step 1: Download (deferred mode):

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW /path/to/firmware.bin --downloadMode deferred

Step 2: Activate when ready:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --activateFW

This approach lets you:

  • Download during business hours
  • Activate during maintenance window
  • Prepare for required power cycle

Update Mode Comparison

Mode When to Use Activation Notes
Auto (default) Most situations Automatic Recommended - tool picks best method
Deferred + Activate Modern systems (Win10+) Automatic after download Safest for compatibility
Deferred Need control over timing Manual (--activateFW) Good for maintenance windows
Segmented Older systems, compatibility Immediate after download Most compatible
Full/Immediate Legacy compatibility Immediate after download Activates immediately

Windows 8.1 and earlier: Manually specify --downloadMode deferred on the command line. Using auto mode may trigger a blue screen during activation, though the system will be fine after reboot from this blue screen and firmware will be updated. Firmware can be activated by shutting down the PC and powering it back up when using deferred update mode.

Step 3: Reboot (If Required)

Some firmware updates may require a reboot to refresh system files that cache the firmware revision.

When is Reboot Required?

You may see a message like:

Firmware download successful. Power cycle required to activate new firmware.

Common scenarios:

  • NVMe drives on Windows (especially with Intel NVMe driver)
  • Certain platform-specific passthrough limitations
  • Operating system has cached old firmware revision

Note: Power cycles are not required from the drive's perspective - the firmware is already active. Rebooting refreshes system files that may have cached the old firmware revision from boot time.

How to Reboot

For desktop systems:

  1. Use your operating system's shutdown/power-off option
  2. Wait for complete shutdown
  3. Power the system back on

For laptops:

  1. Use your operating system's shutdown/power-off option
  2. Wait for complete shutdown
  3. Power the system back on

For servers/enterprise:

  • Follow your organization's maintenance procedures
  • Schedule during maintenance window
  • Use proper shutdown procedures for RAID/SAN configurations

Recommendations:

  • Warm reboots are acceptable in most situations
  • Do NOT use sleep or hibernate - these may not properly refresh cached information
  • Only certain situations require power cycling to activate firmware

Step 4: Verify Update Success (5 minutes)

After update (and power cycle if required), verify the new firmware is active.

Check Firmware Version

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> -i

Verify:

  • Firmware revision matches the target version
  • Drive is recognized correctly
  • No error messages

Validate Drive Functionality

# Check device info
sudo ./openSeaChest_Basics -d <handle> --deviceInfo

# Verify SMART status
sudo ./openSeaChest_SMART -d <handle> --smartCheck

# Optional: Run short DST to verify functionality
sudo ./openSeaChest_Basics -d <handle> --shortDST --poll

Expected results:

  • ✅ Drive recognized with new firmware version
  • ✅ SMART check passes
  • ✅ DST completes successfully
  • ✅ Drive responds normally to commands

Document the Update

Record for your maintenance log:

  • Drive serial number
  • Previous firmware version
  • New firmware version
  • Date/time of update
  • Any issues encountered
  • Power cycle required (yes/no)

Advanced Scenarios

Updating NVMe Drives with Multiple Firmware Slots

Some NVMe drives support multiple firmware slots, allowing you to keep backup firmware.

Important: If new firmware that is not backward compatible with existing firmware is downloaded (even to a new slot), it may not be possible to switch back to the old firmware. This restriction is drive vendor-specific and no tool can determine these limitations in advance.

Check available slots:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --showFWDLSupport

Download to specific slot:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW firmware.bin --firmwareSlot 2

Activate specific slot:

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --activateFW --firmwareSlot 2

Switch to existing firmware in another slot (without download):

sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --switchFW --firmwareSlot 1

This is useful for:

  • Testing new firmware while keeping known-good version
  • Rolling back to previous version
  • Maintaining production vs test firmware

Batch Updates (Enterprise)

Update multiple drives matching criteria:

# Update all drives of specific model with specific current firmware
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware --scan \
  --modelMatch "ST2000DM008" \
  --fwMatch "CC26" \
  --downloadFW ST2000DM008_CC27.bin

# Update all Seagate drives (skip non-Seagate)
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware --scan --onlySeagate \
  --downloadFW firmware.bin

# Skip drives already at target version
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware --scan \
  --modelMatch "ST2000" \
  --newFwMatch "CC27" \
  --downloadFW firmware.bin

Best practices for batch updates:

  1. Test on single drive first in non-production environment
  2. Update in small batches (monitor for issues)
  3. Document each batch (which drives, when, results)
  4. Schedule during maintenance windows
  5. Have rollback plan (if firmware has multi-slot support)

Custom Segment Size

Some situations may benefit from adjusting segment size:

# Use 64KB segments (128 blocks of 512B)
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> \
  --downloadFW firmware.bin \
  --fwdlSegmentSize 128

When to adjust:

  • Compatibility issues with default size
  • Controller/bridge has specific requirements (see --showFWDLSupport output)
  • Following manufacturer's specific instructions

Typical values:

  • 64 (32KB) - smaller, more compatible
  • 128 (64KB) - default for many operations
  • 256 (128KB) - larger, may be faster but less compatible

Platform-Specific Considerations

Windows

Windows 10 and later:

  • Auto mode uses native Windows firmware download API when available
  • Generally excellent compatibility with deferred+activate mode
  • NVMe firmware updates often require power cycle

Windows 8.1 and earlier:

  • Use deferred mode for best compatibility when supported by drive firmware
  • May need power cycle for activation
  • If using segmented mode or activateFW prepare for a blue screen of death and reboot.

All Windows versions:

  • Run Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator
  • Ensure drive is not in use (close applications accessing drive)
  • Disable disk checking/optimization during update

Linux

General:

  • All update modes work well
  • Requires sudo or root privileges

Unmounting before update (optional):

Note: Generally unmounting is not required as the drive flushes all cached data to disk during the update to prevent problems and data loss. Unmounting is optional.

# Optional: Find mount points
lsblk

# Optional: Unmount partitions if desired
sudo umount /dev/sdX1
sudo umount /dev/sdX2

# Then perform firmware update
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d /dev/sgX --downloadFW firmware.bin

FreeBSD and Other BSDs

FreeBSD:

  • Full support via CAM (Common Access Method)
  • Use device paths like /dev/da0 or /dev/pass0

OpenBSD/NetBSD:

  • Limited to 28-bit ATA commands only
  • Some firmware operations may not be supported
  • Test with --showFWDLSupport first

RAID Controllers

Recommended approach:

  • RAID vendors generally have tools to support their controllers with firmware update capabilities
  • Use vendor tools when available - changes to devices within a RAID may affect RAID integrity when the controller isn't expecting changes
  • Alternative: Offline the RAID first, then perform updates with openSeaChest
  • openSeaChest can still be used, but be aware of potential RAID integrity impacts

USB and FireWire Attached Drives

⚠️ WARNING: Firmware updates over USB are NOT recommended.

Issues with USB:

  • Many USB bridge chips don't support firmware download commands
  • Passthrough often incomplete or unreliable
  • Update may fail during the activation phase
  • Recovery difficult if update fails

If you must update USB-attached drive:

  1. Test USB compatibility first:

    sudo ./openSeaChest_PassthroughTest -d <handle>

  2. Strongly prefer direct SATA connection:

    • Remove drive from USB enclosure
    • Connect via internal SATA port
    • Perform update with direct connection
    • Return to enclosure after verification

  3. Only proceed via USB if:

    • Direct connection is impossible
    • PassthroughTest shows full compatibility
    • You accept the risk of potential drive bricking
    • You have backup of all data

Troubleshooting

"Firmware Download not supported"

Possible causes:

  • Drive doesn't support firmware updates
  • Internal hardware/controllers/components are not compatible with the firmware file
  • Drive is in a security mode that does not allow firmware updates (vendor-specific restrictions)
  • USB bridge doesn't pass through commands
  • RAID controller filtering commands
  • Insufficient permissions

Solutions:

  1. Check --showFWDLSupport output for drive capabilities
  2. Verify you have the correct firmware file for your exact drive model and configuration
  3. For USB drives: Test with openSeaChest_PassthroughTest or use direct SATA connection
  4. For RAID: Use RAID vendor tools or offline the RAID first
  5. Ensure running with administrator/root privileges

"Power cycle is required" - What to do?

This is normal and expected.

  1. Note the message - firmware is already active, but system files need refresh
  2. Perform reboot (see Step 3 above)
  3. After reboot, verify firmware version changed
  4. If version didn't change after reboot, contact support

Update Fails Midway Through

If update fails during download:

Note: Incomplete downloads will never trigger activation on Seagate drives, so there is no risk during the download phase. You can safely retry.

  1. DO NOT remove power
  2. Check if drive still responds: 
    sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> -i
  3. Retry the update: 
    sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW firmware.bin

Drive Not Recognized After Update

Contact Seagate support immediately:

Before contacting support, you can try:

  1. Reboot the system
  2. Check BIOS/UEFI - is drive visible there?
  3. Try different SATA port or cable
  4. Boot from different OS (live USB) to check drive detection

Permission Denied Errors

Linux/BSD:

# Ensure using sudo
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW firmware.bin

# Check if you are in correct group (optional, sudo preferred)
groups

Windows:

  • Right-click Command Prompt or PowerShell
  • Select "Run as Administrator"
  • Retry command

Recovery and Worst-Case Scenarios

If Drive Becomes Unresponsive After Update

Contact Seagate support:

Provide:

  • Drive model and serial number
  • Firmware you attempted to install
  • Current state (not detected, etc.)
  • Steps you've already tried

If Wrong Firmware Was Applied

If you accidentally used firmware for wrong model:

Note: Modern Seagate drives (approximately 2016 and later) guard against accepting incompatible firmware. Older drives may have accepted incorrect firmware.

Contact Seagate support immediately:

Prevention:

  • Always verify model number matches firmware file
  • Seagate firmware files are model-specific

Data Recovery After Failed Update

If firmware update failed and data is inaccessible:

  1. Contact Seagate support to see what options are available
  2. Stop attempting fixes if data is critical
  3. Consider professional data recovery service for critical data
  4. DO NOT:
    • Repeatedly try firmware updates
    • Initialize/format the drive
    • Use disk repair tools on critical data

Best Practices Summary

Before Update:

  • ✅ Back up all data
  • ✅ Use correct firmware file for exact model
  • ✅ Check --showFWDLSupport for drive capabilities
  • ✅ Ensure stable power (AC power, UPS recommended)
  • ✅ Schedule during low-usage time or maintenance window
  • ✅ Test on single drive before batch updates

During Update:

  • ✅ Monitor update progress
  • ✅ Do not interrupt power or process
  • ✅ Note any messages about reboot requirements
  • ❌ Do not use system for other tasks during update
  • ❌ Do not close terminal/command window

After Update:

  • ✅ Reboot if required to refresh system files
  • ✅ Verify new firmware version active
  • ✅ Document update in maintenance log
  • ✅ Monitor drive for any unusual behavior

General:

  • ✅ Use auto/deferred+activate mode for best compatibility
  • ✅ Prefer direct SATA/SAS/NVMe connections (avoid USB)
  • ✅ Keep firmware files organized and labeled
  • ✅ Maintain backup firmware versions if using multi-slot NVMe (be aware of backward compatibility restrictions)
  • ❌ Avoid updating during critical operations

Quick Reference Command Summary

# 1. Scan for drives
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware --scan

# 2. Check current firmware version
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> -i

# 3. Check firmware download support
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --showFWDLSupport

# 4. Verify drive health before update
sudo ./openSeaChest_SMART -d <handle> --smartCheck

# 5. Perform firmware update (recommended method)
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW /path/to/firmware.bin

# 6. Alternative: Two-step deferred method
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW firmware.bin --downloadMode deferred
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --activateFW

# 7. NVMe: Download to specific slot
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --downloadFW firmware.bin --firmwareSlot 2

# 8. NVMe: Switch to existing firmware slot
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> --switchFW --firmwareSlot 1

# 9. Batch update with filtering
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware --scan --modelMatch "ST2000" --fwMatch "CC26" \
  --downloadFW firmware.bin

# 10. Verify after update
sudo ./openSeaChest_Firmware -d <handle> -i
sudo ./openSeaChest_SMART -d <handle> --smartCheck
sudo ./openSeaChest_Basics -d <handle> --shortDST --poll

Related Pages

Need Help?

For issues running openSeaChest firmware updates:

When reporting firmware update issues, include:

  • Drive model and current firmware version
  • Target firmware version
  • Operating system and version
  • openSeaChest version (--version)
  • Output from --showFWDLSupport
  • Verbose output from update attempt (-v 3 added to your command)
  • Exact error message or behavior

For drive issues, warranty, firmware files, or product support:

Contact Seagate support to see what Seagate's support can do to help you:

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