Ionico BIOS Update

[Cenksenci]

Hello guys. I have been watching @Macco26 's reviews and as far as we know he got new BIOS update for his Ionico 17' and it is very impressing to see the differences is huge between new and old one! (I think he can confirm that he got helped from Italian PCS forums) The point is, as a costumer of PCS, it is our right to demand new BIOS because why do we have to use it with restricted feature such as MUX issue? Can not blamen PCS because it is TongFang's problem but PCS is the one who can fix this currently. I sent an email to PCS to have the new BIOS but they ignored me, it's been more than a week since i sent the email. When will be told us to get new BIOS is available? And will they tell us how to do it properly? Or they will just upload to our download page? I have seen the new BIOS is shared on italian pcs forum page (link below) can someone confirm that the way he explained how to do the flash bios step by step is reliable?

The link from Italian Forum:

Nuovi laptop in particolare Ionico 15"

La cartella BIOS ha il nome del modello Tongfang non preoccuparti è la GM..etc. Nella USB devi avere 2 cartelle: EFI e quella GM.. fine Nel tuo BIOS prima devi mettere SECURE BOOT = Disabled in Security sennò non si avvia la chiavetta (poi alla fine di tutto se vuoi lo riattivi) Lascia la...

www.pcspecialist.it

Thank you folks!

 

[Deleted member 17413]

A week isnt a long wait with emails right now, and you are free to update your BIOS, but it will invalidate yoru warranty.

The reason why its written into the warranty is due to the core nature of BIOS, and that you get supplied with one thats known to work and be stable, introducing a new BIOS can cause the whole thing to fall apart.

PCS will want to check any BIOS update and ensure everything is fine, then it will likely be given the green light to update customer versions.
The PCS forums are NOT PCS run, unless you get the BIOS copy and instructions to update direct from PCS you risk your warranty.
I would not suggest updating your BIOS via links provided over the forums.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hello guys. I have been watching @Macco26 's reviews and as far as we know he got new BIOS update for his Ionico 17' and it is very impressing to see the differences is huge between new and old one! (I think he can confirm that he got helped from Italian PCS forums) The point is, as a costumer of PCS, it is our right to demand new BIOS because why do we have to use it with restricted feature such as MUX issue? Can not blamen PCS because it is TongFang's problem but PCS is the one who can fix this currently. I sent an email to PCS to have the new BIOS but they ignored me, it's been more than a week since i sent the email. When will be told us to get new BIOS is available? And will they tell us how to do it properly? Or they will just upload to our download page? I have seen the new BIOS is shared on italian pcs forum page (link below) can someone confirm that the way he explained how to do the flash bios step by step is reliable?

The link from Italian Forum:

Nuovi laptop in particolare Ionico 15"

La cartella BIOS ha il nome del modello Tongfang non preoccuparti è la GM..etc. Nella USB devi avere 2 cartelle: EFI e quella GM.. fine Nel tuo BIOS prima devi mettere SECURE BOOT = Disabled in Security sennò non si avvia la chiavetta (poi alla fine di tutto se vuoi lo riattivi) Lascia la...

www.pcspecialist.it

Thank you folks!

PCS haven't ignored you, they just haven't got to your email yet.

You shouldn't email as you'll be waiting for a long time, it's much quicker to call. Or if you email then you just have to be patient and wait for them to get back to you.

The italian forum is just guys from PCS who speak italian, they're not based in Italy, it's exactly the same people.

Applying any BIOS update is done by PCS directions, they won't upload it publically without guiding you through upgrading it. It's not like a standard BIOS update so if you don't do it properly, you'll brick the machine plus you'll invalidate your warranty.

None of these questions do any good in the forum, you need to speak with PCS directly. They have european numbers that you can call, there's no excuse not to phone them and speak with them yourself.

I have removed those links from the Italian forum. The person who posted those links is breaking forum rules in the first place if it's a legitimate BIOS, and if it isn't, they have no right posting it in the first place.

 

[Cenksenci]

Thanks for advices guys!

 

[Macco26]

I can say 2 things which arose from the YT comments from my videos:
- new delivered Ionicos are coming with new BIOS 1.09, so seems PCS is endorsing this BIOS for everyone from now on, and that's good.
- I've heard two cases of people with the right BIOS (be the 1.04 or 1.09, however with MUX enabled) and enabling dGPU only mode in Ionico and.. it acting very badly. Like screen flashing then turning blank upon Windows loading.

From another System Integrator on YT I've heard that Tongfang this year decided to speed up the serve to the market of their Intel RTX 30 laptops (whose Ionico is part of) by cheping out on Quality controls on the MUX. On the Elimina pro they aren't even mounting it to avoid extra cost of compoenents (whose price skyrocketed due to covid, shortages, etc.). This means they did not control very deeply the MUX function in the fab.
This might explain why they preferred, initially, to hide that function in BIOS 1.07, in the hope nobody would discover it. It was not the case now, as any future Ionico will ship with 1.09, we know.
What does this mean? Upon flashing your BIOS and turning on dGPU only, there is a (slim?) chance you have problems. I hadn't, but I am not a sample. So, first, you should do this with in mind the chance to have an HDMI cable and monitor around to show Windows and revert the flag in the Control Center. Or memorize the key presses to enter the BIOS and reset to defaults first (as also BIOS might be blank). After doing so, you can start with the RMA process, I guess.
I don't know the % of this happening, but AFAIK already 2 people showed to me saying this flashing and turning black screen happening. On Ionicos.

If that continues to be the case I'm not really sure if PCS & Tongfang are willing to keep the 1.09 BIOS for everyone, unless they already improved the quality control of the MUX from March production and on, since they know that's a feature now to be properly implemented and offering the warranty for.

EDIT: they are start appearing also here in the forum..

 

[barlew]

I can say 2 things which arose from the YT comments from my videos:
- new delivered Ionicos are coming with new BIOS 1.09, so seems PCS is endorsing this BIOS for everyone from now on, and that's good.
- I've heard two cases of people with the right BIOS (be the 1.04 or 1.09, however with MUX enabled) and enabling dGPU only mode in Ionico and.. it acting very badly. Like screen flashing then turning blank upon Windows loading.

From another System Integrator on YT I've heard that Tongfang this year decided to speed up the serve to the market of their Intel RTX 30 laptops (whose Ionico is part of) by cheping out on Quality controls on the MUX. On the Elimina pro they aren't even mounting it to avoid extra cost of compoenents (whose price skyrocketed due to covid, shortages, etc.). This means they did not control very deeply the MUX function in the fab.
This might explain why they preferred, initially, to hide that function in BIOS 1.07, in the hope nobody would discover it. It was not the case now, as any future Ionico will ship with 1.09, we know.
What does this mean? Upon flashing your BIOS and turning on dGPU only, there is a (slim?) chance you have problems. I hadn't, but I am not a sample. So, first, you should do this with in mind the chance to have an HDMI cable and monitor around to show Windows and revert the flag in the Control Center. Or memorize the key presses to enter the BIOS and reset to defaults first (as also BIOS might be blank). After doing so, you can start with the RMA process, I guess.
I don't know the % of this happening, but AFAIK already 2 people showed to me saying this flashing and turning black screen happening. On Ionicos.

If that continues to be the case I'm not really sure if PCS & Tongfang are willing to keep the 1.09 BIOS for everyone, unless they already improved the quality control of the MUX from March production and on, since they know that's a feature now to be properly implemented and offering the warranty for.

EDIT: they are start appearing also here in the forum..

To be fair Tong Fangs quality control was somewhat lacking prior to COVID this is certainly not a new problem.

 

[Macco26]

eheh, this MUXgate for Ionico appears te me as like as teh Battery-gate of Vypers.

But at least this is not 100% of their production on this state (as mine is fine). But I can't even tell how many could be.

 

[barlew]

eheh, this MUXgate for Ionico appears te me as like as teh Battery-gate of Vypers.

But at least this is not 100% of their production on this state (as mine is fine). But I can't even tell how many could be.

Well it could be that a couple of people have been unlucky and recieved laptops with unfortunate faults.

It does concern me though when taking into account Tong Fangs recent history of poor quality products!

Time will of course tell.

I'm waiting for the first post about the letters rubbing off the keys. It should be any day now lol.

 

[Macco26]

I did receive official statement of this lowering QC on MUX installations from a representartive of another System Integrator of Tongfang, the comment is public on a video (not mine) on YouTube, replying to a comment of mine.
I think TF got pressured to provide lots and lots of demanded RTX 30 laptops in few weeks, after their annoucement, and that was their decision: hide bad QC where people generally does not look to much.

About the keys, I was surprised by the quality of the keyboard of Ionico so far. The faulty ones, last year, were more resembling the Elimina Pro IIRC. However we'll see about that in due course.
My 5 year old Clevo had a D key not very responsive 2 times during its life (once replaced at my expenses). Perfectly printed, sure, but not very amazing membrane underneath either, from my experience.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I wouldn’t touch TongFang given their build quality history. They look good from a specs perspective, but inherent failures happen very quickly, screens, gpu failures, keyboard failures being the main culprits.

 

[Cenksenci]

Well, i should probably continue with MSHybrid function, it works fine so far, can't complain. But deep inside, it kills me to not have dGPU only option. Imagine like you have a Ferrari, you spent lots of money on, but only 3 gears you can able to use because full performance is restricted by manifacturer. *Sigh*
Anyway, sorry to disturb you, and thanks for advices

 

[Macco26]

I wouldn’t touch TongFang given their build quality history. They look good from a specs perspective, but inherent failures happen very quickly, screens, gpu failures, keyboard failures being the main culprits.

Knocks on wood.

 

[barlew]

Well, i should probably continue with MSHybrid function, it works fine so far, can't complain. But deep inside, it kills me to not have dGPU only option. Imagine like you have a Ferrari, you spent lots of money on, but only 3 gears you can able to use because full performance is restricted by manifacturer. *Sigh*
Anyway, sorry to disturb you, and thanks for advices

Honestly considering the amount of money we are talking about here if you are not happy with the product and its lack of MUX (although I am sure they will provide you the same service with the BIOS which was provided to @Macco26) I really would be having a frank conversation with PCS.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Honestly considering the amount of money we are talking about here if you are not happy with the product and its lack of MUX (although I am sure they will provide you the same service with the BIOS which was provided to @Macco26) I really would be having a frank conversation with PCS.

Absolutely, don't settle for anything other than perfection. If anything isn't the way it should be, get it addressed.

But don't email, delays are too long, phone.

 

[Cenksenci]

Hello guys. It's been more than 6 months but still me and like me other people haven't received the latest BIOS version of Tongfang/Ionico.
I've tried to contact that I couldn't count them with PCS many times but neither by email nor phone call center can't say certain thing about that. About 3 months ago, they said "We are still waiting to check the new BIOS is still good enough for the Ionico" but no one gives an update us. Some people I have known already risked it and downloaded it from other non-official PCS forums (such as Italian PCS forum) and as far as we know works fine on them and still we are waiting. How long do we have to wait to get latest BIOS as we supposed to get as a costumer? I don't want to be look-like a "Karen" who yells and screams about "We demand it because we paid for it!" but at least I am expecting to hear anything about the new BIOS. Thank you!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hello guys. It's been more than 6 months but still me and like me other people haven't received the latest BIOS version of Tongfang/Ionico.
I've tried to contact that I couldn't count them with PCS many times but neither by email nor phone call center can't say certain thing about that. About 3 months ago, they said "We are still waiting to check the new BIOS is still good enough for the Ionico" but no one gives an update us. Some people I have known already risked it and downloaded it from other non-official PCS forums (such as Italian PCS forum) and as far as we know works fine on them and still we are waiting. How long do we have to wait to get latest BIOS as we supposed to get as a costumer? I don't want to be look-like a "Karen" who yells and screams about "We demand it because we paid for it!" but at least I am expecting to hear anything about the new BIOS. Thank you!

Firstly, have you got a link to where it's being hosted on the Italian forum?

Secondly. Why do you want the BIOS? What is it that you're hoping it will fix? PCS won't update the BIOS unless there's a good reason to.

 

[ubuysa]

Well, i should probably continue with MSHybrid function, it works fine so far, can't complain. But deep inside, it kills me to not have dGPU only option. Imagine like you have a Ferrari, you spent lots of money on, but only 3 gears you can able to use because full performance is restricted by manifacturer. *Sigh*
Anyway, sorry to disturb you, and thanks for advices

If the hybrid function works fine then is there in fact a problem? Will having a dGPU only option bring anything that you actually need (rather than just bugging you because it's not there)? I fully understand the desire to have every feature working that the laptop hardware is physically capable of delivering, but what matters is whether you actually need those 'missing' features?

When you say "I should probably continue with MSHybrid function, it works fine so far, can't complain" my impression is that the laptop is doing everything you need it to do. A BIOS update to activate a feature that you probably don't need might well introduce other issues that really do hurt you - especially if the BIOS has been updated in a rush by TongFang.

To kind of extend your Ferrari example, before we left the UK I had a Fiat Coupe Turbo 20-valve. The rev limiter on it cut in at 7500rpm and it was max speed limited to 155mph. In sixth gear at only 2500rpm I'd be doing 100mph. That made sixth gear pointless in the UK, I used to call it 'my illegal gear'. It kind of sounds as though your dGPU only option is a bit like sixth gear on that Fiat Coupe, you want it because it's possible but you'll likely never use it.

 

[Cenksenci]

@ubuysa Well I gotta say you made my day, good sir! That Fiat example over my Ferrari theory, couldn't be explained more better 😁
I'm not wanting the latest BIOS only for the activating dGPU option, the new BIOS gives us the opportunity to install the latest Control Center which is updated and much more stable than the old one. And gives more options to be set. Could be not relative to the BIOS but I should mention; I can't use my laptop properly without activating ThrottleStop, to avoid the overheat problem. Which is something wrong here; you can tell me because you guys know the best. I shouldn't be need 3rd party application to use my laptop properly, right? Maybe it could be thermal paste problam aswell as BIOS problem. You can skip that if you already know it's not BIOS problem, sorry for that.

@SpyderTracks I can't find it but I remember I've seen that post linked here the PCS forum couple months ago, @Macco26 can confirm, saw one of his posts/comments. And as far as I know PCS's been sending the Ionico laptops with the latest BIOS by the beginning of April, so why they installed the latest BIOS on the laptops after April orders if we don't need the new one? There has to be a good reason. And I want to know why.

PCS won't update the BIOS unless there's a good reason to.

Anyway I should probably let it go and use my laptop like the way I got. Thanks for helping guys, have a good day you all!

 

[SpyderTracks]

@ubuysa Well I gotta say you made my day, good sir! That Fiat example over my Ferrari theory, couldn't be explained more better 😁
I'm not wanting the latest BIOS only for the activating dGPU option, the new BIOS gives us the opportunity to install the latest Control Center which is updated and much more stable than the old one. And gives more options to be set. Could be not relative to the BIOS but I should mention; I can't use my laptop properly without activating ThrottleStop, to avoid the overheat problem. Which is something wrong here; you can tell me because you guys know the best. I shouldn't be need 3rd party application to use my laptop properly, right? Maybe it could be thermal paste problam aswell as BIOS problem. You can skip that if you already know it's not BIOS problem, sorry for that.

@SpyderTracks I can't find it but I remember I've seen that post linked here the PCS forum couple months ago, @Macco26 can confirm, saw one of his posts/comments. And as far as I know PCS's been sending the Ionico laptops with the latest BIOS by the beginning of April, so why they installed the latest BIOS on the laptops after April orders if we don't need the new one? There has to be a good reason. And I want to know why.


Anyway I should probably let it go and use my laptop like the way I got. Thanks for helping guys, have a good day you all!

If it's overheating, the very first thing you need to do is a repaste. Only once you know rhe Thermal Paste is properly applied and windows is configured correctly can you troubleshoot further.

A BIOS is not at all like software, you don't need to keep it up to date, you only update it if there's something g that's not working correctly because the risk if installation goes wrong is full failure with no possibility to recover, so it's updated as a last resort. Those that tell you a BIOS update is the easy and they've been doing it on their devices with every BIOS update has never updated a custom laptop, it's a very different process.

 

[Cenksenci]

If it's overheating, the very first thing you need to do is a repaste. Only once you know rhe Thermal Paste is properly applied and windows is configured correctly can you troubleshoot further.

A BIOS is not at all like software, you don't need to keep it up to date, you only update it if there's something g that's not working correctly because the risk if installation goes wrong is full failure with no possibility to recover, so it's updated as a last resort. Those that tell you a BIOS update is the easy and they've been doing it on their devices with every BIOS update has never updated a custom laptop, it's a very different process.

You are right. I should do repaste as soon as possible. Is there any good video tutorial about how to do repaste properly? I know there are tons of videos on youtube but this Tongfang / PCS chasis never tried it before, so maybe if I could find any video from you guys would be grateful. Thanks!