The fact that Battlefield 6 has proclaimed that Secure Boot would be mandatory sounded like a rather minor and harmless measure. “Just enable it,” they said. “It’s easy.” The YouTube video tutorials were leading to believe that a single button press in the BIOS was going to resolve all of it. However, in my case, and in the cases of hundreds of other players, that was just a single step that cost me my whole motherboard. My personal computer, which had been a gaming PC all this time, failed due to the game requiring an additional anti-cheat protection.And, frankly speaking, I think that EA must be in charge of that.
The reason why Secure Boot is the new frontier of the battle.
I can comprehend the decision of EA and DICE to compel Secure Boot. Online cheating destroys online games, and Battlefield is attempting to redeem itself with Battlefield 6. They desire a pure start, and PC cheating endangers that.
- So their solution?
- Make Secure Boot compulsory for all PC users, including beta testers.
- On paper, that sounds logical. However, in reality, they transferred the risk entirely to the hardware of the players.
My PC Was Good, And Now Battlefield 6 Got into the Chat.
I bought a ready-made system Gigabyte Aorus X299 Gaming 3 Pro system, before Secure Boot was usually turned on by default. It was not a high-quality rig, but one that suited my needs in work and gaming. No crashes, no problems, no sudden failures in work — everything works fine, and the content is created easily.
The PSU was an easy repair that had never failed previously for secure boot Battlefield 6.
Therefore, when Battlefield 6 informed me that I must have Secure Boot on, I did not consider anything. Why would I? Everything worked. My system was able to meet the requirements. And I believed that EA would direct players correctly.
Spoiler: They didn’t. My BIOS Adventure: TPM to Trouble. The First BIOS Change: TPM 2.0
This was not my first experience with the BIOS; several months before. I would not have been called an expert, but at least I had access to a video on YouTube and managed to do it. It wasn’t fun, but it was doable.
Attempting to Turn on Secure Boot: The Start of the End.
After the Battlefield 6 Beta was launched, I tried my system info, and Secure Boot was off. And I went back into the BIOS and began to wade through menus.
- But Secure Boot wasn’t there.
- Not under Boot.
- Not under Security.
- Not anywhere.
Through browsing on Reddit, I discovered that Gigabyte boards occasionally conceal the option of Secure Boot unless CSM is disabled. To do CSM, I disabled CSM… and the setting was available. Great.
- I enabled Secure Boot.
- Saved.
- Restarted.
- Still disabled.
- Weird.
I tried again — same thing. That is when I saw a pop-up message that said a Platform Key (PK). No tutorial showed this, and no videos matched the menus on my motherboard.
- Nevertheless, I took the option… and turned on the given Platform Key it desired.
- That decision killed my PC.
- The Blank Screen of Death:
- What transpired after I enabled the platform key?
- My PC rebooted
Black screen. No display. No error message. Nothing for secure boot battlefield 6.
I tried everything:
- Removed the CMOS battery
- Reset the CMOS pins
- Swapped cables
- Checked RAM
- Tried different monitors
Still nothing.
At length, I went to a repair shop. And the sentence fell me like a blow: Both PCIe x16 slots were dead. The motherboard was fried. The board that worked for all the years died due to my attempt to enable Secure Boot on Battlefield 6.
We can’t blame players for these reasons.
The only thing that surprised me the most was not only the damage but also people accusing players.
- Just learn your BIOS.
- It’s easy.
- You ought to know what you are about.
Really?
The majority of consumers purchase PCs to play games and not to explore trickier firmware configurations. It is similar to purchasing a car, you are supposed to drive it and not fix the engine. In case a vehicle producer had to perform a self-repair involving a dangerous part, citizens would revolt.
But EA?
They placed a small heads-up on their site that stated that Secure Boot has the potential to create some problems with the boots.
- Not a warning.
- Not a bold alert.
- A simple observation with an insignificant icon.
- No major tweets.
- No YouTube guides.
- No pinned messages.
- No widespread alerts.
Players had to depend on Reddit posts that were not random and old tutorials.
EA should have communicated far better for secure boot battlefield 6.
EA might have simply put this message on all places: Unless you are sure about your ability to operate your BIOS, then do not use Secure Boot manually. Call your manufacturer or a technician. Clear. Visible. Responsible. But they didn’t. They provided a rough guide and assumed that all the BIOS look like one another, whereas BIOS layouts differ radically between different brands and generations.
The same mistake Riot made with the anti-cheat of Valorant needed Secure Boot as well. And players had the same treatment. PC Gaming Is Gaining Popularity – and Complexity. Pre-Builts do not exist to be tweaked to the needs of the BIOS. Millions of players today are dependent on ready-built PCs. They desire quality graphics, fluency FPS, simple installation not motherboard architecture.
A number of pre-built systems are already equipped with Secure Boot. Yet the older ones do not, and it is dangerous to alter their settings. EA knows this. But they were pretending that it was as trivial as changing the screen resolution to switch on Secure Boot. This Is Not a Secure Boot – It is Secure Responsibility.
The fact that there is a security feature is not bad. The lack of communication is. Secure Boot is likely to be needed in competitive games soon. Call of Duty is already on its way to do that. Publishers then need to make sincere warnings and not vague notes that are written on help pages. When you would require the users to make modifications that would demolish their machines, you should provide them with clear and reiterative and uniform communications. EA claims that it is not their duty. I think it absolutely is.
Conclusion.
Having undergone all these, it is obvious that the Battlefield 6 case with the Secure Boot must have been tackled in a better manner. Rather than confusing and frustrating fans, EA ought to have provided more clarity and quicker solutions. When Battlefield 6 is running, it is a fantastic game, but technical obstacles such as Secure Boot rob the experience. Going forward, EA should emphasize on easier communication and easier solutions to ensure that players are able to concentrate on what actually counts, play the game, and not to struggle with the PC settings.
FAQs.
According to EA, Secure Boot assists their anti-cheat in ensuring that unauthorized software does not run when the game is open.
Yes. Unless your BIOS is compatible and you have configured your motherboard correctly, enabling Secure Boot may result in boot failures or even a hardware problem.
Not always. Unless you are conversant with the BIOS settings, it is best to consult a technician or the manufacturer of your PC.