Nvidia releases emergency RTX 5060-series firmware to fix blank screens on reboot

Many RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti users encounter blank screens when restarting their systems. Nvidia has released an update to resolve this problem, not through a new driver, but as a firmware update for the GPU, also known as the vBIOS. The report strictly advises that only users experiencing this problem should update their firmware.

The problem likely stems from how Nvidia's vBIOS communicates with the system's BIOS/UEFI. If your motherboard does not support UEFI boot mode, Nvidia recommends contacting the customer service of your GPU manufacturer for a legacy vBIOS update. The exact culprit hasn't been specified, but the fact that Nvidia is providing a fix strongly implies that part of the problem is within their domain.

Nvidia's RTX 50 GPUs have struggled with stability and compatibility, starting with the problematic R570 branch of drivers, which even affected older RTX 20/30/40 series GPUs. Having experienced these issues first-hand, it took Nvidia multiple weeks to address most of them with the 576.02 update. If your RTX 5060 or RTX 5060 Ti throws a black or blank screen on reboot, you may need to update its vBIOS. An abrupt power outage during firmware updates can potentially brick your GPU, so proceed cautiously.

Fortunately, Nvidia's provided utility can verify compatibility with your system's firmware and determine if a vBIOS update is necessary. Nvidia recommends only installing this update if you're encountering blank screens. To apply the fix, you must first boot into the Operating System, which might be a hassle given the current predicament. Nvidia suggests the following temporary workarounds to boot with a display:

• 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.

Download the NVIDIA GPU UEFI Firmware Update Tool v2.0 to apply the update, run the executable, and follow the on-screen instructions. Interestingly, this issue only impacts the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti family of GPUs, both based on GB206 silicon. This raises the question of why older RTX 50 cards are unaffected. What specific changes in these GPUs led to this problem?

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