Learn how to quickly check if your secure boot certificate is about to expire and whether you need to update it asap.
While most of you know that Secure Boot checks and verifies the boot loader before Windows starts to make sure it hasn’t been modified, most don’t know that to make it happen, the secret ingredient required is the Secure Boot Certificate. This certificate was issued by Microsoft way back in 2011 and is about to expire in 2026. If the Secure Boot Certificate expires and you don’t update it promptly, your system might not boot properly, and you may experience issues with Windows and other installed applications.
In this quick and easy guide, I will show you how to check whether your Secure Boot certificate is about to expire and whether you need to update it as soon as possible to avoid disruptions. Let’s get started.
Before You Start
- Administrator rights are required to check the Secure Boot Certificate’s expiration.
Check if the Secure Boot Certificate Is About To Expire
First, we must open the Terminal with administrator rights. To do that, right-click the Start button on the taskbar and select the “Terminal (Admin)” option. Alternatively, you can also open the Start menu, search for “Terminal”, and click the “Run as Administrator” option in the Start menu.
Copy (Ctrl + C) the following command, paste (Ctrl + V) it in the Terminal window, and press the “Enter” button on your keyboard.
([System.Text.Encoding]::ASCII.GetString((Get-SecureBootUEFI db).bytes) -match 'Windows UEFI CA 2023')
If the command output says “false“, then it means that your system is still using the Secure Boot Certificate issued in 2011, and it will expire in 2026.
If the command output says “true“, you are using an updated certificate. You have nothing to worry about.
If your certificate is about to expire, you have two options. Wait for Windows to update the certificate. Or, manually update the Secure Boot Certificate.
That is all. It is that simple to check the expiration of your Secure Boot Certificate. If you have any questions or need help, comment below.
