[PLUGIN] Raspberry Pi EEPROM Firmware Updater

[nerd]

Dear Volumionauts,

I’m pleased to announce a new plugin for managing Raspberry Pi EEPROM bootloader firmware directly from the Volumio interface.

Requirements:

• Volumio 4.x or newer (Bookworm-based)
• Supported Raspberry Pi hardware (see below)

What It Does:

This plugin allows you to update or downgrade your Raspberry Pi’s bootloader firmware without leaving Volumio. The bootloader is stored in EEPROM (non-volatile memory) and controls the initial boot process before the operating system loads.

Supported Hardware:

• Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
• Raspberry Pi 400
• Raspberry Pi 5
• Raspberry Pi 500 and 500+
• Compute Module 4 and 5

Key Features:

• Switch between firmware release channels (default/stable and latest)
• Automatic detection of available updates
• Safe downgrade support with confirmation checkbox
• View current bootloader version and available versions
• Automatic system reboot after firmware staging
• Multi-language support (10 languages)

How to Use:

1. Install the plugin from the Volumio plugin store
2. Navigate to Settings > System > EEPROM Firmware Updater
3. Select your preferred firmware channel
4. Update or downgrade as needed

Screenshots:

Upgrade Available:

Downgrade with Safety Confirmation:

Important Notes:

• This plugin requires Volumio 4.x (Bookworm) or newer
• Always ensure stable power during firmware updates
• The system will automatically reboot after staging the update
• Downgrading requires explicit confirmation due to potential risks
• For advanced manual procedures, refer to the official Raspberry Pi documentation

Installation:

The plugin is available in the Volumio plugin repository.

Feedback Welcome:

Please test and report any issues or suggestions. This is the initial release and your feedback will help improve it.

Technical Details:

• Uses official rpi-eeprom-update tool
• Supports both upgrade and downgrade operations
• Preserves bootloader configuration during updates
• Validates hardware compatibility on startup

Thank you @balbuze for feedback and testing.

Kind Regards,

[Wheaten]

Looking good, great addition. Thanks !!!

And it did it’s job:

[ClaesM]

Hi!

That’s really fantastic news, something I’ve been waiting for for a long time. I will test it as soon as the plugin is available in plugin store!

Thank You!

Regards / C

[balbuze]

the plugin is now available in the store as beta in System_tools
Thank you @nerd !!!

[tweed77]

Raspberry Pi 5 - 2 GB - Volumio 4.062.

[ClaesM]

Hello!

This is really a brilliant plugin. It makes maintaining my Raspberry Pi:s much easier. It’s nice not to have to mess around with SD cards. It works very good!
Thanks a lot for this one!

Both images after firmware update!

Best regards / C

[ClaesM]

Hi @nerd !

I don’t know if this is the right place to place this suggestion.
Is it possible to include Boot Order like you described here Guide Boot Order
Maybe not in this plugin but in Volumio System settings or in a new plugin?

Best Regards / C

[nerd]

Hey @ClaesM,

Great to hear you are finding the EEPROM Firmware Updater plugin useful, and thanks for the kind feedback. Your suggestion about integrating Boot Order control and much more is already being Published here.

It will eventually allow you to inspect and adjust the Raspberry Pi boot configuration directly from Volumio, without external tools. The plugin is not ready yet, but it will be published for testing once the core logic and safety checks are complete.

Kind Regards,

[RedEyeNinja]

Updated both Pi4 and 5. Thanks!

[ClaesM]

Hello again!

That’s really good news.I hope it becomes a reality. I think it would simplify and improve user experience in Volumio.

Regards / C

[Darmur]

Today I had the very same problem with the plugin, fresh Volumio Bookworm install on SD (v4.062), I got the error message when trying to update the EEPROM of a RPi5

Of course I did not change the password

[nerd]

Dear Volumionauts,

I’ve pushed an important update to the Raspberry Pi EEPROM Firmware Updater plugin:

What’s New:

• Fixed the “EEPROM Update Failed” error that some users experienced
• Added full support for Compute Module 4 (requires 3 reboots for update)
• Improved handling for unsupported hardware (shows clear message instead of errors)
• Simplified the UI to show only relevant version information

What’s Fixed:

• Plugin now correctly handles the rpi-eeprom-update command’s exit codes
• Sudo permissions are properly configured during installation
• Package updates ensure you have the latest firmware files

For CM4 Users:

The plugin now handles CM4’s special requirements automatically. When you update, the system will reboot three times - this is normal and required for CM4.

Installation:

The update will be available in the plugin repository shortly. Existing users can update through the plugin manager.

Thanks to everyone who reported issues and helped with testing!

Kind Regards,

[ClaesM]

Hi!

I clicked on the link in your post about rpi eeprom config

There was nothing there. I guess you removed it?
Regards /C

[nerd]

Hey @ClaesM,

I have moved this work to private for now. Community members started PM me with problems after installing not beta ready plugin, causing problems with their Pi.

Kind Regards,

[ClaesM]

Ok!

Thanks, good to know. I hope it will be available again when/if you find some time to work on it.

Best Regards / C

[Darmur]

yesterday I prepared a SD-card with Volumio 4 v4.062, to test this plugin on different RPI devices.
this SD-card was used yesterday on a RPI5 and a CM4, very helpful to report some issues to @nerd

Today I plugged the SD-card on a RPi4 that it’s not used since long time (several months), I uninstalled the version 1.0.0 of this plugin and then installed the version 1.0.1 with a reboot in between.

To my surprise, the “currently installed version” was reported as up-to-date, but this is not possible since this RPi4 was not used since very long time, and the latest update is from 27th August 2025

I tried to select the “default” channel and the plugin proposed a downgrade, I executed it (no errors) and after the reboot the recognized version was still the most recent from 27th August 2025

here the log after a reboot and loading the plugin, later on I will check what version in on this RPi4 with RaspiOS and post the result

http://logs.volumio.org/volumio/S8vumWN.html

[Darmur]

That’s very weird, the bootloader has been updated to the latest version from 27th August, but I never triggered that.

The only bootloader change I triggered from the plugin was to downgrade to the “default channel” version

Is it possible that somehow the update was done behind the scenes, having used this SD-card with other devices yesterday?

[Darmur]

After downgrading the bootloader with RaspiOS trixie to the version from 8th May 2025, the plugin recognizes a new update available from the “latest” channel

I updated the bootloader with the plugin and after the reboot I got the version from 27th Aug 2025 installed