NVIDIA Pushes Firmware Fix For GeForce RTX 5060 Blank Screen Bug
Heads up, if you own a GeForce RTX 5060 series graphics card, there is a new firmware update available to "ensure compatibility with certain motherboard SBIOSes." Note that this is not something you're bound to come across through the NVIDIA App, which can automatically check for and fetch updated GPU driver packages. This requires flashing your card's actual firmware.
Not every GeForce RTX 5060 series GPU owner needs the updated firmware, though. According to NVIDIA, you should only apply the firmware if you're seeing blank screens when rebooting your PC.
"Without the update, GeForce RTX 5060 series cards in certain legacy motherboards could experience blank screens on reboot. This update should only be applied if blank screens are occurring on reboot," NVIDIA explains on in a support document.
What can make this potentially confusing is that black screens and game crashes have been ongoing problems for some GeForce RTX 50 series owners. NVIDIA has attempted to rectify these (and other bugs) in its past few 'Game Ready' GPU driver releases, as well as out-of-band hotfixes. This particular issue, however, appears to be an entirely separate one.
To be clear, the firmware update is applicable to all three SKUs within the GeForce RTX 5060 family, including the 8GB GeForce RTX 5060 ($299 MSRP), 8GB GeForce RTX 5060 Ti ($379 MSRP), and 16GB GeForce RTX 5060 Ti ($429 MSRP).
If you're experiencing blank screens on reboots with your GeForce RTX 5060 or 5060 Ti graphics card and want to apply the firmware fix, you first need to download NVIDIA's GPU UEFI Firmware Update Tool v2.0. Then run the tool and let it do its thing. If it detects that a firmware update is appropriate, it will give you the option to apply the new build.
Before you do that, however, NVIDIA recommends following these steps...
- Completely power down your system before booting
- Ensure you are using the latest SBIOS from your motherboard vendor
- Ensure you are in UEFI boot mode and not Legacy/CSM
- Boot using an alternate graphics source (secondary card or integrated graphics)
- After powering on your system, wait for your operating system to load with the graphics driver installed
If you've done all that and are ready to check for (and install) new firmware, make sure all apps are closed and that no OS updates are pending in the background. Then download the Firmware Update Tool and follow the instructions.
