Secure Boot is a security feature integrated within modern PCs' UEFI firmware that ensures only trusted software loads during the boot process, protecting against rootkits and boot-time malware. EA requires Secure Boot enabled for some of its games to improve anti-cheat measures, as it helps detect and prevent cheating software from compromising the system early in the boot sequence.
What is Secure Boot in EA Games?
Secure Boot allows EA's anti-cheat system (Javelin Anticheat) to better detect cheats by accessing the motherboard's Trusted Platform Module and ensuring kernel-level cheat protections and hardware manipulation are not possible. It is mandatory for games like Battlefield 6 as part of EA’s anti-cheat enforcement.
How to Check and Enable Secure Boot
- Check if Secure Boot is enabled by running
msinfo32on Windows, where under System Summary, "BIOS Mode" should be UEFI and "Secure Boot State" should be On. - If Secure Boot is off or unsupported, you need to ensure your disk is formatted as GPT (not MBR), and your BIOS is set to UEFI mode.
- To enable Secure Boot, enter your computer's BIOS or UEFI settings (via Advanced Startup options), navigate to the Secure Boot option in the Boot tab, and enable it.
- Some systems may require TPM 2.0 enabled before Secure Boot can be turned on.
- After saving changes and rebooting, verify again in System Information that Secure Boot is enabled.
Common Issues and Recommendations
- Secure Boot is often disabled by default on custom or upgraded systems.
- Legacy BIOS mode instead of UEFI will prevent enabling Secure Boot.
- Disk partition style must be GPT, which might require conversion tools if currently MBR.
- Follow manufacturer-specific instructions to navigate BIOS safely.
Enabling Secure Boot enhances anti-cheat protections for EA games and is part of their efforts to reduce cheating and ensure fair play.
