How to Access BIOS on ASUS Laptop in 2026

Almost every ASUS laptop, from a thin Zenbook to a ROG gaming machine, opens its BIOS with the same key: F2, held down while you press the power button. The catch is timing. Modern ASUS laptops boot so quickly, and Windows Fast Startup makes a shutdown less complete than it used to be, that the F2 window can flash past before you have pressed anything. This guide covers every reliable route in, the keyboard method, the Windows 11 and Windows 10 Settings routes, and the Esc boot menu, plus what to do when F2 seems to do nothing at all.

One thing worth settling first: on a current ASUS laptop the BIOS is technically the UEFI firmware setup, and ASUS itself calls the screen the BIOS configuration. Depending on your model you will land on one of three interfaces, a standard UEFI screen, an older Legacy screen, or the graphical MyASUS in UEFI dashboard found on newer models. They look very different, but all three are reached the same way, and this guide points out where each one puts the settings people usually need.

Quick Answer: Shut the ASUS laptop down completely, then press and hold F2 and press the power button while still holding F2. Release F2 when the BIOS configuration screen appears. If Windows loads instead, use Settings > System > Recovery > Advanced startup in Windows 11, then Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings > Restart.

Which BIOS Method Should You Use?

The four routes below all end at the same BIOS configuration screen. Pick by your situation: whether Windows still boots, whether the keyboard method has been failing, and whether you actually need the BIOS at all or just the one time boot menu.

Method 1: Hold F2 While You Power On

This is the method ASUS documents for its laptops, and it works whether or not Windows is healthy, because it happens before Windows starts. The detail that makes it reliable is holding the key down before the machine powers up, instead of tapping it and hoping to catch the logo screen.

1. Shut the laptop down completely. In Windows, click Start > Power > Shut down, and wait until the screen and keyboard lights are fully off.
2. Press and hold the F2 key on the keyboard. Do not let go.
3. While still holding F2, press the power button once to turn the laptop on.
4. Keep holding F2 until the BIOS configuration screen appears, then release it.
5. If Windows starts loading instead, shut down and repeat. You either released F2 too early or the shutdown was not a complete one, which the troubleshooting section below explains how to fix.

Two model notes. If you have a 2-in-1 convertible such as a Transformer Book, ASUS says the keyboard must be connected before you start, because a detached tablet screen cannot send the F2 press. And if your laptop opens into the MyASUS in UEFI dashboard rather than a classic BIOS screen, you are still in the right place: press F7 or choose Advanced Settings there to reach the full BIOS settings pages.

Method 2: Enter BIOS From Windows 11 Settings

When Windows 11 still boots, this is the most dependable route of all, because it removes timing from the problem entirely. Windows restarts the laptop straight into the firmware setup for you. A plain restart from Windows behaves differently from a shutdown on these machines, which is also why this method succeeds where F2 failed; if restarting itself has become unreliable on your laptop, our guide to how to reboot a laptop covers the clean ways to do it before you try this route.

1. Save your work and close your apps. The laptop is about to restart.
2. Open Settings and go to System > Recovery.
3. Under Advanced startup, click Restart now, and confirm with Restart now again if Windows asks.
4. On the blue screen that appears, choose Troubleshoot.
5. Choose Advanced options.
6. Choose UEFI Firmware Settings.
7. Click Restart. The laptop restarts directly into the BIOS configuration screen.

ASUS documents the same route starting from the search bar: type Change advanced startup options, open it, and click Restart now under Advanced startup, then follow the Troubleshoot path above. Either way you arrive at the same blue menu, so use whichever starting point you find first.

Method 3: Enter BIOS From Windows 10 Settings

The Windows 10 route is the same idea with one different menu label along the way.

1. Save your work, then open Settings.
2. Go to Update & Security > Recovery.
3. Under Advanced startup, click Restart now.
4. On the blue screen, choose Troubleshoot, then Advanced options.
5. Choose UEFI Firmware Settings, then click Restart.

The laptop restarts into the BIOS configuration screen, exactly as on Windows 11. If the UEFI Firmware Settings option is missing from Advanced options, your machine is likely running in Legacy mode or is old enough to predate this route; use the F2 method at the top of this guide instead, since the keyboard method works on every ASUS laptop regardless of firmware mode.

Method 4: Use the Esc Boot Menu, and Know How It Differs From BIOS

Plenty of people searching for the BIOS actually want this menu instead. The boot menu is a one time choice of which drive or device to start from, such as a Windows installer USB stick. It changes nothing permanently. The BIOS setup, by contrast, is where the permanent boot order and firmware settings live. ASUS documents Esc as the boot menu key on its laptops, and on many models the boot menu also carries an Enter Setup option that walks you into the BIOS itself.

1. Shut the laptop down completely.
2. Press and hold the Esc key.
3. While holding Esc, press the power button.
4. Release Esc when the boot menu appears.
5. Use the arrow keys to pick the device you want to boot from and press Enter, or choose Enter Setup if it is listed and you want the BIOS configuration instead.

If Esc never produces a menu on your model, ASUS’s own fallback is to enter the BIOS with F2 and select the boot device from the Boot page or the boot override list there. The result is the same one time boot, reached from inside the setup screen.

What You Will See Inside: UEFI, Legacy and MyASUS in UEFI

ASUS lists three interfaces for this screen, and knowing which one you have saves a lot of confusion, because advice written for one does not always match the others.

The UEFI interface is the standard modern screen. On most models it opens in an EZ Mode summary page showing the BIOS version, processor, memory and boot priority. Press F7 to switch to Advanced Mode, where the Main, Advanced, Boot, Security and Save & Exit pages hold the settings people usually come for, such as Secure Boot, boot order and Fast Boot. In this interface you can move with the arrow keys and Enter, and on most models the touchpad or a mouse works too.

The Legacy interface, sometimes titled Aptio Setup Utility, is the older text only screen found on ageing ASUS laptops. Navigation is keyboard only: arrow keys to move, Enter to open or change an item, and Esc to go back a level. The setting names are mostly the same as the UEFI screens, so the steps in this guide still apply; only the presentation is older.

MyASUS in UEFI is the graphical dashboard ASUS ships on supported newer laptops, broadly those with Intel 12th Gen Core processors or later, or AMD Ryzen 6000 series or later. Instead of a setup page you get a dashboard with hardware information, boot priority, firmware update, system diagnostics and, on supported models, Cloud Recovery for reinstalling Windows when the system cannot boot. Press F7 or click Advanced Settings to move from the dashboard into the conventional BIOS settings pages. Menu layouts and names vary slightly between models on all three interfaces, so treat exact wording as a guide rather than a promise.

Whichever interface you land on, the exit keys are shared: F10 saves your changes and exits, and the Save & Exit page offers Save Changes and Exit, Discard Changes and Exit, and Restore Defaults. If you changed nothing, discard and exit. Key behaviour differs a little between brands even though the idea is the same, which is why our companion walkthrough on how to access BIOS on a Lenovo laptop uses a different key and menu layout for the same job.

Why You Might Need the BIOS at All

Most owners only visit this screen a handful of times in a laptop’s life, and usually for one of four jobs. The first is boot order: starting the laptop from a USB stick to install Windows, run a memory test or boot a recovery tool. The second is Secure Boot and related security settings, which Windows 11 features and some games and work tools check for. The third is switching a setting that Windows cannot reach, such as Fast Boot, virtualization, or a disabled device. The fourth is information: the BIOS screen reports the exact firmware version, installed memory and storage, which is the fastest way to confirm what the machine really contains before an upgrade or a repair.

Troubleshooting: BIOS Problems on ASUS Laptops

Work through these in order. Almost every failed attempt at this guide comes down to one of the four problems below, and the first is by far the most common.

F2 is not working

Start with the shutdown itself. Windows Fast Startup means a normal shutdown is really a partial hibernate, and the laptop may never give you the F2 window at all. Either choose Restart instead of Shut down and hold F2 as the machine comes back up, or hold the Shift key while you click Shut down, which forces a complete shutdown, and then use Method 1. Next, check your technique: F2 must be held down before you press power, not tapped after the ASUS logo appears, because on a fast SSD machine the logo screen can be gone in under a second. If the laptop is a convertible, connect its keyboard first. And if the machine shows no signs of life at all, with no lights and no fan, the BIOS is not the problem yet; work through basic power checks first, since the checks we list for a Lenovo laptop that wont turn on apply to any brand at that stage.

Fast Boot or Fast Startup keeps skipping the BIOS window

There are two separate settings with almost the same name, and either one can shut the F2 window. Fast Startup is the Windows setting described above. To turn it off, open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options, click Choose what the power buttons do, click Change settings that are currently unavailable, untick Turn on fast startup, and save changes. A full shutdown after that gives you the proper F2 window again. Fast Boot is a setting inside the BIOS itself. Once you are in, using the Windows Settings route if you have to, press F7 for Advanced Mode, open the Boot page, select Fast Boot, set it to Disabled, then press F10 and confirm to save and exit. That is the exact sequence ASUS documents for disabling it.

The laptop keeps booting straight into BIOS

A laptop that lands on the BIOS screen every time you switch it on is a documented ASUS support case, and the cause is usually a boot setting rather than the BIOS itself. ASUS’s fix starts with loading the optimized defaults: on the Save & Exit page choose Restore Defaults and confirm. Then open the Boot page, find Boot Option #1, and make sure it is set to the drive that holds your Windows installation. Save and exit with F10. If no drive appears in the boot options at all, the laptop is not detecting its storage, and ASUS recommends an authorized service center at that point, because the fault is hardware rather than a setting. On MyASUS in UEFI models, the same steps apply after pressing F7 into Advanced Settings.

A BIOS or UEFI password prompt appears

If a password box appears before the setup opens, the laptop has a UEFI or BIOS password set on it, either by you, by a previous owner, or by a workplace IT setup. On models with MyASUS in UEFI, ASUS places this under Permission Settings > UEFI Password Settings, and there is no master password or documented back door around it. Enter the password if you know it. If you do not, the honest route is proof of ownership and an ASUS authorized service center, which is where ASUS directs password cases; no key combination in this guide can bypass it, and guides claiming otherwise are not describing a real ASUS procedure.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Verdict

For almost every ASUS laptop, BIOS access is one habit: full shutdown, hold F2, press power, release at the setup screen. Keep the Windows Settings route in reserve for the days Fast Startup eats the F2 window, remember that Esc is the boot menu rather than the BIOS, and leave the Delete key to desktop boards. If the laptop keeps booting into BIOS on its own, restore defaults and check Boot Option #1 before suspecting anything worse.