Hi all,
i make this topic in the hope that someone can help me to downgrade the firmware.

i updated my firmware from your website, all seem fine but i've a strange audio static noise and i think it's related.

i failed to edit the bios file to allow the hidden me_reflash option to unlock the downgrade.

i've an asus VIII hero motherboard (not the hero alpha) and bios ver 3802
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/MAX...pDesk_Download/

good day :)

I doubt audio static has anything to do with ME FW, but you can check it out. How did you edit the BIOS, what tool and where did you make the change etc, and how did it fail?

BIOS mod/reflash is not required to enable ME Re-Flash option, this is best done via grub and setup_var. Here is a guide on how to use that, this guide was meant for changing other settings, but same thing you need to do for ME Re-Flash.
You can start at step 5-6, I will give you variable below. - [GUIDE] Grub Fix Intel FPT Error 280 or 368 - BIOS Lock Asus/Other Mod BIOS Flash

Rename your .efi file to >> Shell.efi
Me FW Image Re-Flash variable to edit >> 0x6A9

So at grub prompt, type the following >> setup_var 0x6A9 0x1

Now, ME FW will be disabled, some things might not function properly and fan may run full speed etc.
Then take BIOS from your board that has the ME version you want to use in it, extract BIOS body from capsule using UEFITool
Then flash ME via FPT >> FPTw.exe -me -f biosbody.bin

If you are not sure how to get BIOS body from capsule as mentioned above, stop, let me know and I will do it for you. If you need this done, please tell me which BIOS version has the ME you wanted in it
DO NOT Flash some stock ME FW file using FPT from here on the forums, it must be configured properly for your board, so either download BIOS from Asus that already has one you want, or tell me one you want and I will make for you etc.

thanks for your answer. sadly i don't think i have enough knowledge to do all this :/

i used UEFITool and tried to follow a tutorial there: [Guide] Unlock Intel Flash Descriptor Read/Write Access Permissions for SPI Servicing
but i didn't succeed.

could you change the file for me please? i think i'll just break my motherboard if i try x)

i think the correct ME version is not in a bios but in this file: https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LG...20171103_TP.zip
i tried to flash it directly from windows but i had errors, i also tried with the FWUpdLcl tool but errors too.

I gave you a image guided guide above, this is not something I can do on my end. Unless you mean can I do the ME for you? This really isn't needed, Asus has done already, which BIOS version has the ME Version you wanted inside it?
The ME tool you linked, or FWUpdateTool wont work with ME Re-Flash enabled, that disables ME. If you want to use a tool like those, you need to put ME Re-Flash back to stock (Disabled), easily done via reflashing stock BIOS, or redo in grub but use 0x0 to disable instead of 0x1 to enable.
Then you need to enable Local ME Update instead, that will allow those kind of tools to work. However, you can only roll back to older ME in certain instances, otherwise it's blocked by security reasons.

What ME is loaded in your system now, and what ME Version do you want? If Local ME FW Update is blocked due to security reasons then you will have to use FPT method, the other tools will not work
Once you tell me which two ME FW versions were discussing here I can tell you more about what's allowed, what would be blocked by ME Security roll back rules etc.

Do you know how to use USB Flashback for this system? If yes, I can make you two mod BIOS as outlined below
1. BIOS w/ ME Re-Flash enabled, this disables ME FW, allows FPT reflash (Asus ME Update tool or FWUpdLcl (same/same) will not work here, due to ME = disabled)
2. BIOS w/ ME Re-Flash disabled (Default), and Local ME FW update enabled - this will allow Asus ME Update tool / FWUpdLcl to update ME if there is not ME security violation between versions (can only roll back in certain instances)

i guess any bios version, or the most recent one from asus, i think there is one in the last bios (3802 https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LG...O-ASUS-3802.zip), since anyway i'll then be able to flash the one from the asus update tool if it work.

atm i have ME_Intel_v11.8.65.3590

i know how to use flashback yes

You guess any BIOS version... what? What does that mean? Please be specific.
What ME FW do you have now, if you are not sure, check BIOS main page and see if ME FW version is shown, if not then download HWINFO64 and on the large window on left side, expand motherboard and find ME area, inside that get the ME Firmware version.

Did you mean right now you have ME FW >> v11.8.65.3590
If yes, great, thanks. What ME FW are you wanting to use?

i've this atm:

[Intel Manageability Engine Features]
Intel ME Version: 11.8, Build 3590, Hot Fix 65
Intel ME Recovery Image Version: 11.8, Build 3590, Hot Fix 65
Intel ME FITC Version: 11.0, Build 1168

--

i just want the last official asus ME firmware, i don't know if there is one in each bios files. there is many bios files there: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/MAX...pDesk_Download/ if there is one in the latest bios 3802 i would like to have this one. i don't know how to check the version inside it i'm noob x)
i guess any would be fine since the tool would work anyway after the downgrade to update to the last one given by asus outside of bios files (https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LG...20171103_TP.zip) , only downgrade seem to be an issue for the tool or with unmodded bios.

There is no "Latest Official Asus ME FW" ME FW is an Intel thing, and you are currently using the latest version.

To check ME FW Version inside any BIOS you use ME Analyzer tool, drag and drop BIOS onto it's exe (Downloads in the "releases" tab) - https://github.com/platomav/MEAnalyzer

Downgrade has restrictions sometimes as I mentioned above, I need to know what OLD version of ME FW you are wanting to downgrade to, so I can check and tell you what your options are for downgrading.
If you are not wanting to downgrade now, then nothing to do here, you are using latest ME FW now. All is explained here about the versions, restrictions of downgrades etc - Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools

The Asus ME link you give there is from 2017 as you can see in the file name, you do not want and cannot downgrade to ME that is so old, at least not easily and I do not suggest that anyway for any reason (unless you maybe flash back to some old 2017 BIOS for the board, then it's more reasonable to use, but terrible for security and performance)

i meant ME FW from asus (that asus officially gave for the motherboard) sorry.

there is no bios after 2018, i prefer to have a me fw that asus tested specificly. i don't really want the 2017 ME FW if there is one in the latest bios (3802), i'm trying to check it.

edit2: so i guess i'll want the 2017 me fw from the tool. but if you think these audio issue aren't related to the not-given-by-asus me fw and that it can't have incompatibilities with the bios i'll leave the one i already have from win-raid. what do you think? it's strange because i didn't had these issues before :/
i want to test to downgrade to 11.8.55.3510 using the tool (before even trying to downgrade to 11.8.50.3399, if it's possible) but i can't find the file (for CSME Consumer H D,A)

edit:
╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ME Analyzer v1.88.0 r167 ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ MAXIMUS-VIII-HERO-ASUS-3802.CAP (1/1) ║
╟────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────╢
║ Family │ CSE ME ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Version │ 11.6.10.1196 ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Release │ Production ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Type │ Region, Extracted ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ SKU │ Consumer H ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Chipset │ KBP/BSF-H A ║
║ │ SPT-H D ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Security Version Number │ 1 ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Version Control Number │ 173 ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Production Version │ Yes ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Lewisburg PCH Support │ No ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ OEM RSA Signature │ No ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ OEM Unlock Token │ No ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Date │ 2016-11-16 ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ File System State │ Configured ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Size │ 0x1F0000 ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Flash Image Tool │ 11.6.10.1196 ║
╟────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────╢
║ Latest │ No ║
╚════════════════════════════════╧════════════════════════╝

strange thing is, the me fw in the asus bios from 04/2018 is older than the one they gave in 2017 with the update tool:


╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ME.bin (1/1) ║
╟─────────────────────────┬───────────────╢
║ Family │ CSE ME ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Version │ 11.8.50.3399 ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Release │ Production ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Type │ Region, Stock ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ SKU │ Consumer H ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Chipset │ KBP/BSF-H A ║
║ │ SPT-H D ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Security Version Number │ 3 ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Version Control Number │ 269 ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Production Version │ Yes ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Lewisburg PCH Support │ No ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ OEM RSA Signature │ No ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ OEM Unlock Token │ No ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Date │ 2017-09-26 ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ File System State │ Unconfigured ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Size │ 0x1F0000 ║
╟─────────────────────────┼───────────────╢
║ Latest │ No ║
╚═════════════════════════╧═══════════════╝

Few things, first, difference between 11.8.55.3510 and 11.8.50.3399 will not matter, and no, I don't think this has anything to do with your audio issue, unless you flashed the ME FW file from here with FPT instead of ME FW Update tool (FWUpdLcl)
How did you update to 11.8 initially? Please give me the exact process you used, what file you used and how you flashed it. This way I can guess if maybe you did something wrong and flashed in a ME FW without configuration settings, which could cause some issues.

That 2017 date must be wrong, or they updated the file later and never changed/updated the filename, probably the case to keep link valid (or it never meant 2017 date at all)

11.6.10.1196 is the latest ME FW that fits your thinking "Asus Tested ME FW" Since you are currently on 11.8 you cannot use ME FW Update tool (FWUpdLcl) to go back to 11.6 due to SVN AND VCN security restrictions
So your only option is ME Re-Flash enabled in BIOS (Disabling ME FW), via BIOS mod and flash in, or grub/setup_var edit, and then flash ME FW via FPT. This will require a properly configured ME FW region or a BIOS with properly configured ME FW in it, given as source to FPT
This BIOS would be the 3802 if you want to go to 11.6, but BIOS body MUST be removed from capsule before used with FPT, and you MUST make sure you flash ME region only with FPT and not entire BIOS. So do not jump ahead and try to flash things until I give you files/instructions to do so.

Additionally, since you are on 11.8.65.3590, you cannot use ME FW Update tool to flash back to either 11.8.55.3510 or 11.8.50.3399 due to VCN security restriction, so same kind of process as above would be required for those kind of test rollbacks as well.

My advice to you is this, if you are convinced this is due to current ME 11.8 FW, then it's either you are correct or that wasn't flashed in properly, so you should go back to 11.6.10.1196 per the 3802 BIOS - let me know if this is what you want to do and I will give you instructions and files to use
What is this strange audio static noise anyway, sounds like DPC Latency issue maybe, or due to power saving features enabled possibly (EIST, speedstep, C1E, C3, C6 etc)

i flashed it using the link given in this thread from asus forums: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.ph...H310C-B365-Z370)

it wasn't only for this audio issue, i also had issues with games but again, can't say for sure it's related. i saw some people having issues with the firmware in the forums above that's why i wanted to give it a try but.

but it's fine i won't bother you further, it's too much trouble and maybe for nothing. i'll keep this version and change the motherboard anyway later this year.

thanks for your help :)

@Supr4 - Thanks, I checked that package from the Mega link in that thread, this would have properly updated the ME FW and retained all original settings for this board, since it uses the ME FW Update Tool (FWUpdLcl64.exe)

What does this mean, and where is "The forum above" so I can read those comments >> "i saw some people having issues with the firmware in the forums above"

You are no bother to me, sorry if it seemed that way! I'm happy to help, and was only trying to explain what your options are, what does and does not work, how to make what possible etc.
Let me know how you want to proceed based on what I mentioned at post #10 and I will advise

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.ph...age4#post769038

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.ph...age6#post772580

thanks for your help, i'll keep the last firmware, i think the audio problem is more with the soundcard (even if i use toslink) than the motherboard. for the gaming issues (some microfreeze) i'll just change the motherboard & cpu later this year anyway.
too much trouble and risking to create more problems

@Supr4 - Microfreeze/stuttering can be video card overheating, video card drivers, SSD going bad etc.
Thanks for those links, it does sound like the describe some of the same stuff you mention, and if you didn't have any of those issues before then reverting back to original ME FW you had previously will fix the issues I assume.

Due to you updating to latest, it will be some wrestling for you to do in order to flash back to older ME FW, but it's possible and can be done without issue, you just have to do things in certain way.
If you want me to guide you through doing that let me know and I will. No need to buy a new board to fix this issue, and no need to live with it until then either, you can fix it now just have to go through unusual processes is all.

Ok i'm willing to try, thanks again for your help :)
what version do you suggest then, the one from the latest bios or from the update tool from asus? (which is older but more recent ME fw version than the bios).
i let you choose, i'm awaiting your instructions