diff --git a/master_changes.md b/master_changes.md
index 2b9641e6c6d..f3cfda12a3e 100644
--- a/master_changes.md
+++ b/master_changes.md
@@ -75,6 +75,9 @@ users)
 ## Release scripts
   * Upgrade the Alpine Linux container where the Linux release binaries are built from Alpine 3.13 to 3.20 [#6237 @kit-ty-kate]
   * Make the release script produce a Linux/riscv64 binary [#6237 @kit-ty-kate]
+  * Upgrade the FreeBSD qemu image where the FreeBSD binary is built from FreeBSD 13.2 to 14.1 [#6237 @kit-ty-kate]
+  * Upgrade the OpenBSD qemu image where the OpenBSD binary is built from OpenBSD 7.4 to 7.6 [#6237 @kit-ty-kate]
+  * Simplify and improve the reliability of the one-click release script by switching away from a passwordless setup [#6237 @kit-ty-kate]
 
 ## Install script
 
diff --git a/release/Makefile b/release/Makefile
index 83bdc492c74..a5393069e27 100644
--- a/release/Makefile
+++ b/release/Makefile
@@ -151,8 +151,8 @@ distclean: clean
 REMOTE_DIR = /tmp/opam-release
 REMOTE_MAKE = make
 REMOTE_SHELL = /bin/sh
-SSH = ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no
-SCP = scp -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no
+SSH = sshpass -ppassword ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no
+SCP = sshpass -ppassword scp -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no
 remote: $(OUTDIR)/opam-full-$(VERSION).tar.gz
 	$(SSH) "$(REMOTE)" "mkdir -p $(REMOTE_DIR)/$(OUTDIR)"
 	$(SCP) Makefile "$(REMOTE):$(REMOTE_DIR)/"
diff --git a/release/readme.md b/release/readme.md
index 5835abf7ebe..9a54f077d73 100644
--- a/release/readme.md
+++ b/release/readme.md
@@ -24,11 +24,13 @@
   * no online account
   * yes, i want the limited experience
   * username: opam
-  * no password
+  * password: password
+  * 3 hints: just random or something
   * no location
   * no find my device
-  * send required diagnostic data
   * no improve inking & typing
+  * send required diagnostic data
+  * no advertising ID
   * no cortana
 * Open gpedit.msc and right-click on "Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update -> Configure Automatic Updates", click Edit and in the new window click on Enabled and then select "2. Notify for download and auto install", click Apply and then Ok.
 * Start -> Power off
@@ -36,18 +38,11 @@
 * Answer yes to the "would you like to be discoverable on the network" prompt
 * Open the Settings app
   * "System -> Power & Sleep" and select "Never" on the "When plugged in, turn off after" drop-down menu
+  * Put the slider on "Best performance"
   * search for "Add an optional feature", then search for "OpenSSH" and install "OpenSSH Server"
 * Run services.msc
   * Double-click OpenSSH SSH Server then select Automatic from the Startup drop-down menu
   * Click Ok
-* Open cmd.exe as administrator and run "net start sshd", then "notepad C:/ProgramData/ssh/sshd_config"
-  * Uncomment and set:
-    * PermitEmptyPasswords yes
-    * PermitRootLogin yes
-    * PasswordAuthentication yes
-    * StrictMode no
-  * Save and close both applications
-* Open regedit.exe and set HKey_Local_Machine\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\LimitBlankPasswordUse to 0
 * Shutdown the computer using the startmenu button
 
 ## Github release
@@ -92,6 +87,6 @@
 ## Device requirements
 * Mac M1 or above with Rosetta2
 * >=70GB of disk space free
-* brew dependencies: git, gpg, qemu>=8.1.0, docker>=24.0.0
+* brew dependencies: git, gpg, qemu>=8.1.0 (avoid qemu 9.1.0, see https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu/-/issues/2581), docker>=24.0.0, sshpass
 * opam repo with the tag fetched
 * Have the secret key available
diff --git a/release/release.sh b/release/release.sh
index 2c168adfe7a..00b47ff8827 100755
--- a/release/release.sh
+++ b/release/release.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ cd "$DIR"
 LC_ALL=C
 CWD=$(pwd)
 JOBS=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
-SSH="ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no"
+SSH="sshpass -ppassword ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no"
 
 OUTDIR="out/$TAG"
 mkdir -p "$OUTDIR"
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ qemu_build() {
 
   if ! ${SSH} -p "${port}" root@localhost true; then
       qemu-img convert -O raw "./qemu-base-images/${image}.qcow2" "./qemu-base-images/${image}.raw"
-      "qemu-system-${arch}" -drive "file=./qemu-base-images/${image}.raw,format=raw" -nic "user,hostfwd=tcp::${port}-:22" -m 2G -smp "${JOBS}" &
+      "qemu-system-${arch}" -drive "file=./qemu-base-images/${image}.raw,format=raw" -nic "user,hostfwd=tcp::${port}-:22" -machine q35 -m 2G -smp "${JOBS}" &
       sleep 60
   fi
   ${SSH} -p "${port}" root@localhost "${install}"
@@ -90,6 +90,6 @@ make JOBS="${JOBS}" TAG="$TAG" riscv64-linux
 [ -f "${OUTDIR}/opam-$TAG-x86_64-macos" ] || make TAG="$TAG" JOBS="${JOBS}" macos-local MACOS_ARCH=x86_64 REMOTE_DIR=opam-release-$TAG GIT_URL="$CWD/.."
 [ -f "${OUTDIR}/opam-$TAG-arm64-macos" ] || make TAG="$TAG" JOBS="${JOBS}" macos-local MACOS_ARCH=arm64 REMOTE_DIR=opam-release-$TAG GIT_URL="$CWD/.."
 [ -d ./qemu-base-images ] || git clone https://gitlab.com/kit-ty-kate/qemu-base-images.git
-[ -f "${OUTDIR}/opam-$TAG-x86_64-openbsd" ] || qemu_build 9999 OpenBSD-7.4-amd64 "pkg_add gmake curl bzip2" gmake x86_64
-[ -f "${OUTDIR}/opam-$TAG-x86_64-freebsd" ] || qemu_build 9998 FreeBSD-13.2-RELEASE-amd64 "env IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes pkg install -y gmake curl bzip2" gmake x86_64
+[ -f "${OUTDIR}/opam-$TAG-x86_64-openbsd" ] || qemu_build 9999 OpenBSD-7.6-amd64 "pkg_add gmake curl bzip2" gmake x86_64
+[ -f "${OUTDIR}/opam-$TAG-x86_64-freebsd" ] || qemu_build 9998 FreeBSD-14.1-RELEASE-amd64 "env IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes pkg install -y gmake curl bzip2" gmake x86_64
 [ -f "${OUTDIR}/opam-$TAG-x86_64-windows" ] || windows_build 9997 Windows-10-x86_64