Intel says it has identified a problem with its firmware update that was causing Intel processors to become unpredictable. Intel is now telling customers to discontinue Intel processor firmware updates until they release and fixed update soon.

Root Cause of Reboot Issue Identified; Updated Guidance for Customers and Partners

By Navin Shenoy

As we start the week, I want to provide an update on the reboot issues we reported Jan. 11. We have now identified the root cause for Broadwell and Haswell platforms, and made good progress in developing a solution to address it. Over the weekend, we began rolling out an early version of the updated solution to industry partners for testing, and we will make a final release available once that testing has been completed.

Based on this, we are updating our guidance for customers and partners:

• We recommend that OEMs, cloud service providers, system manufacturers, software vendors and end users stop deployment of current versions, as they may introduce higher than expected reboots and other unpredictable system behavior. For the full list of platforms, see the Intel.com Security Center site.
• We ask that our industry partners focus efforts on testing early versions of the updated solution so we can accelerate its release. We expect to share more details on timing later this week.
• We continue to urge all customers to vigilantly maintain security best practice and for consumers to keep systems up-to-date.

I apologize for any disruption this change in guidance may cause. The security of our products is critical for Intel, our customers and partners, and for me, personally. I assure you we are working around the clock to ensure we are addressing these issues.

I will keep you updated as we learn more and thank you for your patience.

Navin Shenoy is executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group at Intel Corporation.

Source: Root Cause of Reboot Issue Identified; Updated Guidance for Customers and Partners

Note – Intel processor firmware updates are generally provided to end users (people like us) by the manufacturer of our computer or system motherboard. Many of us have probably not seen this firmware update yet. The Intel firmware updates are separate from operating system updates that have been created for Android, Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.