The Unnecessary BIOS Updates
In Ubuntu, the fwupd (Firmware Update Daemon) is a background service designed to allow your operating system to safely update the low-level firmware on your hardware, such as your motherboard BIOS, UEFI, or peripheral firmware (like a Dell dock or Logitech mouse), directly from the Linux vendor firmware service (LVFS).
While this is a fantastic feature for desktop users who want an easy, GUI-based way to keep their hardware patched against vulnerabilities, it is completely unnecessary in many server environments. If you are running Ubuntu on a virtual machine (VM) in the cloud (where there is no physical hardware to update), or if your corporate IT policy strictly mandates that BIOS updates must be handled manually via a USB drive, the fwupd service is simply wasting RAM and periodically making unnecessary network calls to check for updates.
How to Disable the Fwupd Service
You can turn off the firmware update daemon using systemctl.
- Open your Ubuntu Terminal (or connect via SSH).
- First, stop the service if it is currently running:
sudo systemctl stop fwupd.service- Next, disable the service so it does not attempt to start automatically on your next boot:
sudo systemctl disable fwupd.service- Because
fwupdis often triggered by other services or graphical tools (like GNOME Software) attempting to query hardware, you should mask the service to ensure nothing can accidentally wake it up:
sudo systemctl mask fwupd.serviceYour Ubuntu system will no longer attempt to scan your hardware for firmware patches, freeing up resources and ensuring that all low-level BIOS management remains entirely under your manual control.