Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ADA05 (81W1) — Unable to access BIOS Setup, Fedora always boots in Legacy mode

Discussion in 'BIOS Mods' started by Do_Yuri, Aug 4, 2026.

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  1. Do_Yuri

    Do_Yuri MDL Novice

    Aug 2, 2026
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    Hello.

    I’m looking for help diagnosing a firmware/BIOS issue on my Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ADA05 (Model 81W1).

    Laptop

    • Model: Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ADA05 (81W1)
    • BIOS version: E8CN34WW
    • Storage: NVMe SSD
    Problem

    I cannot reliably enter BIOS Setup.

    • Pressing F2 during power-on usually freezes on the Lenovo logo or is ignored.
    • Pressing the Novo button opens the Novo Menu.
    • Selecting BIOS Setup from the Novo Menu does not open BIOS Setup correctly. Instead, it usually returns to the Boot Menu.
    • Because of this I currently have no reliable way to access BIOS settings.
    What I verified

    • The NVMe SSD is detected correctly.
    • The SSD uses GPT partitioning.
    • Ventoy successfully boots Fedora Live.
    • Fedora Live works normally.
    • Every Fedora Live session boots in Legacy BIOS mode, never UEFI.
    • /sys/firmware/efi does not exist.
    • efibootmgr reports that EFI variables are not supported because the system is not booted in UEFI mode.
    Already confirmed

    • The SSD is working normally.
    • Fedora Live itself is working normally.
    • Ventoy is able to boot Fedora Live successfully.
    Additional information

    I have already spent a long time troubleshooting this.

    The inability to enter BIOS Setup and the fact that every Linux Live system boots only in Legacy mode appear to be related.

    Questions

    • Has anyone seen this exact behavior on a Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ADA05 (81W1)?
    • Is this a known firmware/BIOS issue?
    • Is there any documented BIOS recovery procedure for this exact model before using an SPI programmer?
    • Are there any additional diagnostic steps you would recommend?
    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.