Check BIOS Version in Ubuntu Linux – Command

BIOS is a firmware interface between a computer’s hardware and the operating system and like any software, it can be updated.

Knowing the BIOS version can tell you if you have the most up-to-date version of the BIOS or it has to be updated.

This note shows how to check the BIOS version in Ubuntu Linux from the command-line, though these commands should work for the other Linux systems as well.

Cool Tip: How to create a swap file in Linux! Read more →

Check BIOS Version in Linux

In Linux, to get the complete information about the computer’s BIOS from the command-line, use the dmidecode command:

$ sudo dmidecode -t bios -q
---
BIOS Information
	Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
	Version: UX31A.219
	Release Date: 06/14/2013
	Address: 0xF0000
	Runtime Size: 64 kB
	ROM Size: 6144 kB
	Characteristics:
		PCI is supported
		BIOS is upgradeable
		BIOS shadowing is allowed
		Boot from CD is supported
		Selectable boot is supported
		BIOS ROM is socketed
		EDD is supported
		5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
		3.5"/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
		3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
		Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
		8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
		Serial services are supported (int 14h)
		Printer services are supported (int 17h)
		ACPI is supported
		USB legacy is supported
		Smart battery is supported
		BIOS boot specification is supported
		Targeted content distribution is supported
		UEFI is supported
	BIOS Revision: 4.6

BIOS Language Information
	Language Description Format: Long
	Installable Languages: 1
		en|US|iso8859-1
	Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

To check the BIOS version only, you can run the dmidecode command as follows:

$ sudo dmidecode -s bios-version
---
UX31A.219