Difference between software update and firmware

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If you work with technology on a daily basis—whether programming embedded systems, configuring your PC, or simply using your mobile phone—you've probably come across these terms a thousand times. software, firmware, drivers, BIOS, UEFI and updatesThey all seem like close relatives, but they don't mean the same thing at all. And understanding what each one is isn't just good tech knowledge: it helps you make better decisions when designing products, keep your devices healthy, and avoid security scares.

In the world of embedded development, things get even more complicated, as in projects that use Replicant OSIt's not uncommon for a single project to mix very low-level firmware, control code, RTOS, and application logicAnd that within the team, some call it "firmware," others "software," and still others "magic microcode." Let's sort all this out calmly: what firmware is, what software is, how they are similar, how they differ, and how real-world examples like the King Kong 3 Pro Max controller, which stopped malfunctioning after a firmware update, fit in.

What exactly is firmware?

When we talk about firmware, we are referring to a a very specific type of software integrated within the hardware itselfThese are instructions that reside in a non-volatile memory chip (ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash) and are executed directly in the device's microcontroller or processor to bring the hardware to life.

The original idea behind the term, coined by Ascher Opler back in 1967, was to describe something halfway between hardware and software: a microprogram firmly linked to the devicewhich defines how that circuit should behave, what timings to respect, what protocols to use, and what states to manage. Today the concept has evolved, but the core remains the same: code very close to hardware.

In many relatively simple devices (a smart card, a sensor, a console remote, a modern washing machine) that firmware is de facto the entire “internal operating system”It starts the chip, manages inputs and outputs (pins, sensors, buttons), runs a small state machine, and controls communication with other devices.

In more complex systems, such as a PC or server, firmware typically focuses on key tasks like booting, hardware initialization, and basic low-level services. Your BIOS or UEFI is simply that... a fairly sophisticated firmware which runs before the operating system and allows you to do everything from turning on the computer to adjusting voltages, RAM profiles, or the boot order.

An important feature is where it's stored. The firmware is stored in non-volatile memories Device-specific: old ROMs or EPROMs (programmable only once or with special physical erasure) and, nowadays, almost always in NAND Flash memory, which allows rewriting the contents when it's time for an update.

Types of firmware: low-level, high-level, and subsystem

Not all firmware is created equal. In practical terms, it's usually distinguished between several layers, depending on how integrated it is with the hardware and how easy it is to update or replace.

Low-level firmwareIt is the most closely tied to the hardware, to the point of being considered almost part of the circuit itself. It is usually stored in ROM or other once-programmable memory, so that It is not intended to be rewrittenIt defines the minimum essential behavior of the device. In many SoCs, microcontrollers, or highly critical devices, there is still some underlying microcode that the user never touches.

High-level firmwareIt is still embedded code, but it now resides in reprogrammable Flash memory and It supports updatesThis is the update you receive when you download a new version for your router, SSD, wireless controller, or camera. It usually includes bug fixes, performance improvements, new features, and security patches.

Subsystem firmwareMany large devices (servers, modern cars, network switches, etc.) group together different, relatively autonomous modules, each with its own firmware. For example, the power supply subsystem of a server It has a microcontroller with its firmware to manage fans, redundant power supplies, temperature sensors, and power states.

Among the most typical examples of firmware are BIOS/UEFI, firmware for USB drives, hard drives, SSDs, graphics cards, sensors, smart cards, routers, printers, smart appliances and a long etcetera: almost everything you plug in today has one or more firmwares inside.

How firmware updates work

Updating the firmware basically consists of rewrite the code inside that non-volatile memory chipThe process is usually called "flashing" because most modern devices use Flash memory to store that code, as is the case in scooters. M365.

Why update it? The most common reasons are to correct errors, close security vulnerabilities, improve stability, add features, or adjust compatibility with new standards or peripheralsThat's exactly what saved your King Kong 3 Pro Max controller: a flaw in the internal logic caused button presses to malfunction or trigger random actions. The manufacturer released new firmware that corrected this logic, and after flashing it, the controller started behaving as it should.

In some internet-connected devices (routers, smart TVs, certain mobile phones, IoT devices) the device itself Check periodically for a newer firmware update.It downloads and installs it almost seamlessly. In other cases, you have to go to the manufacturer's website, download the correct file, and use a specific tool to apply it.

The update frequency also varies considerably: a home router or a connected car might receive important updates every so often, while A small industrial sensor or a simple household appliance can go years with the same firmware. if no serious problems are detected.

However, the flashing process is critical. While the new firmware is being written to the flash memory, if the power goes out, the device freezes, or the process is interrupted, the component can become unusable. In the worst-case scenario, it will be "bricked." literally turned into an electronic brick It won't start anymore. That's why they emphasize not turning it off or touching anything while you're watching the firmware update progress bar.

Where does the firmware live and how does it communicate?

The firmware is stored, as we mentioned, in memories that do not lose their contents when the device is turned offHistorically, ROM and EPROM were used, which required special equipment or even ultraviolet light to erase their contents. Over time, these were replaced by EEPROM and Flash, which can be reprogrammed electrically with greater ease and safety.

Many modern motherboards include two memory chips for the BIOS/UEFIThe main chip and a backup copy. If something goes wrong during an update, the board can boot from the "good" copy and allow the firmware to be restored without having to send the device to the manufacturer. Previously, when this dual-chip system didn't exist, a flashing failure usually meant replacing the board or physically reprogramming the chip at the factory.

Regarding communication, different microcontrollers, sensors, and modules of a device connect to the firmware chip via low-power, low-speed interfaces such as UART or I2C or SPIThese lines allow the main CPU to read or load parts of the firmware during boot, or allow an external programmer to write a new version when an update is due.

Once running, that firmware is responsible for dictating how the hardware synchronizes with the rest of the systemIt determines what timings the memory must respect, what voltages are valid, how to negotiate speeds on a data bus, what to do in case of an error, etc. It is literally the internal "brain" of many components.

Why is it so important to keep your firmware updated?

It's not just a matter of the manufacturer's whim: Ignoring firmware updates can be very costly.especially in terms of security and stability. Each new version usually brings a mix of functional bug fixes, vulnerability patches, and sometimes new capabilities that the hardware already supported but were disabled.

Some common reasons for updating are Activate performance optimizations, reduce power consumption, improve compatibility with other components, prevent known bugs, and strengthen security against attacksIn the case of processors or motherboards, firmwares have been seen that enable features that were initially dormant or limited by commercial strategy or lack of testing at launch.

Firmware-level vulnerabilities are especially dangerous because They can remain invisible to antivirus software and survive even a complete operating system reinstallation.If an attacker manages to execute malicious code at that level, they gain very deep and persistent control over the machine. That's why manufacturers release firmware patches to close those vulnerabilities, and it's advisable to apply them; especially because unsupported devices They stop receiving them.

However, it's best to do it sensibly: you only need to install firmware downloaded from the manufacturer's official website or through their official tools. Firmware modified by third parties can alter the component's declared functionality or intentionally introduce backdoors. And if the process fails, there's no guarantee of recovery.

In everyday use, tools such as SSD management suites, motherboard utilities, or diagnostic applications (AIDA64, for example) allow you to check the installed firmware version and compare it with the one published by the manufacturer in their repository. If you see a new version with significant fixes, The upgrade is worth planning..

The case of the “deceptive” firmware and the scams

Since the firmware is what reports the device's characteristics to the operating system, some unscrupulous manufacturers use it to to disguise or falsify the actual hardware specificationsIt is a sadly common practice with certain products from unknown brands or unreliable sellers.

A well-known example was that of certain "2TB SSDs" sold on online platforms at ridiculously low prices. Their firmware was modified to indicate an enormous capacity to the system, but physically they were little more than 64GB memory cards in disguiseWhen the user tried to write data beyond the actual capacity, data corruption began.

Tools like H2testw are specifically designed to detect these types of scams: They verify how much data can be written and read in its entirety.ignoring the capacity declared by the firmware. If you buy suspiciously cheap storage drives or USB flash drives, it's worth running them through some tests.

There are also cases of hardware that doesn't meet the specifications set in quality tests. In these cases, the honest manufacturer sells it as a different, scaled-down model with different firmware and a different brand name. The problem arises when someone tries to "upgrade" that product by flashing firmware from higher-end models, risking rendering it unusable or pushing it beyond its actual capabilities.

What is software and how does it differ from firmware?

Moving on to the other main protagonist, software is, in essence, the entire set of programs, data, and instructions that run on a computer system to perform specific tasks. It is the logical part that relies on the hardware, but is not a physical part of it.

It's a broader and more flexible concept than firmware. Software encompasses everything from operating systems and device drivers to user applications, games, development tools or scriptsIt is stored on hard drives, SSDs, external memory, or loaded into RAM while running.

We can divide it into several broad categories. On the one hand, the app software, which is the one we use directly: word processors, web browsers, spreadsheets, image editing programs, business CRMs, scientific simulators, multimedia players, educational apps or office suites like Microsoft Office.

On the other, the system softwarewhich is what lies between applications and hardware: operating systems like Windows, macOS, or Linux; device drivers; system management utilities; BIOS and UEFI; programming language translators; and also, if we're being precise, a good part of the firmware can be considered specific system software, or alternatives like Ubuntu Touch.

And we also have the programming softwareThat is, all the tools that developers use: compilers, debuggers, development environments, libraries, middleware that connects applications with system services, etc. All of that is software that runs on top of another, even more basic, layer of software.

How the software works in the system

For a program to do something useful, it has to to be loaded from a storage medium into RAM and executed by the CPU. The operating system manages this process: allocating memory, opening files, managing permissions, and coordinating resources among multiple applications.

El app software It doesn't know how, or doesn't want to know how, to communicate directly with the hardware. Instead, it relies on the operating system and drivers to request things like "write this file," "draw this window," or "send this data through the network card." That's why the same app can work on different PC models as long as the operating system supports that hardware.

El system software It starts as soon as you turn on the computer. On a PC, the UEFI (firmware) comes into play first, initializing the basics and passing control to the operating system loader. From there, the kernel takes over and handles all the essential functions: process scheduling, memory management, communication with the hardware via drivers, user-level security, and so on.

Meanwhile, the user launches applications that run "on top" of that system. Each runs in its own memory space and benefits from the operating system's services without having to worry about low-level details such as How does the CPU communicate with the disk controller? or what specific instructions a USB port needs to wake up a device.

Software quality is measured by many dimensions: reliability, performance, safety, compatibility, ease of installation, maintainability, usability, location, testabilityetc. An application can be very powerful, but if it crashes every other day or is riddled with vulnerabilities, it's not good.

Firmware vs software: key similarities and differences

In practice, firmware and software share a common foundation: Both are executable code composed of instructions for a processorFrom a compiler's point of view, there's not so much magic: in the end, it all just becomes a sequence of opcodes that the CPU understands.

That's why in many job postings you'll see positions like "embedded firmware engineer" and "embedded software engineer" with almost identical descriptionsIn systems without an operating system (bare metal), the same equipment is usually responsible for both the hardware drivers and microcontroller headers as well as the application logic that uses those drivers.

Where firmware truly differs from the rest of the software is in its level of hardware coupling, the environment in which it runs, and how it is deployed and updatedThe firmware lives inside the device, in its own memory, and is usually critical for the hardware to do anything useful.

In contrast, typical software (applications, services, even operating systems) is installed and uninstalled relatively easily, is frequently updated, is distributed over the internet or on physical media, and is not so tied to a single hardware model. The same program can run on dozens of different configurations as long as there is a compatible operating system and suitable drivers.

We can summarize some important practical differences: the firmware is stored in Internal ROM/Flash memory, runs directly on the device, is more delicate to update, and controls the basic operation of the hardware.The software is stored on disks or in the cloud, loaded into RAM, runs on the operating system, and is used to perform user or higher-level system tasks.

Firmware vs driver: another common confusion

Another point that raises many questions is the difference between firmware and driverBoth are related to hardware, but they play in different leagues.

The firmware, as we have already mentioned, is within the device itselfIt's the code that runs on your microcontroller and defines how the component behaves, how it initializes, how it communicates, and what states it supports. Without firmware, many pieces of hardware would be practically inert.

The driver, on the other hand, is software that runs on the operating systemnot on the device. It acts as a translator between the system and the hardware: it receives calls from the kernel or applications (“send this data over the network”, “draw this frame”) and transforms them into commands that the device and its firmware understand.

In a printer, for example, there's internal firmware that controls the motors, printheads, paper and ink sensors, etc. But you also need to install a driver on your PC or mobile device so the operating system knows how to use it. how to talk to that specific printerWithout the driver, the system wouldn't know what commands to send; without the firmware, the printer wouldn't know what to do with them.

Furthermore, the risk associated with updates is different. If a driver update goes wrong, it's usually enough to restart in safe mode, uninstall the driver, and revert to a previous version. But if the firmware becomes corrupted during flashing, You could lose the device completelyunless there is a well-designed recovery mechanism.

Why are new firmware and software versions released?

Returning to the question that usually sparks all these doubts: when you see that a new update is available, is it only to be compatible with new apps? The short answer is No: compatibility is only part of the story.

Manufacturers release new versions of firmware, drivers, and software for a variety of reasons: Correction of bugs detected after launch, performance improvement, reduced power consumption, compatibility with new operating systems or standards, activation of additional hardware functions and, most importantly, security patches facing newly discovered vulnerabilities.

On a wireless controller like your King Kong 3 Pro Max, a firmware update can adjust Button management, analog stick curves, Bluetooth connection stability, and compatibility with new consoles or systemsIt's not so much about "new apps" as it is about refining the device's behavior and making it more robust.

On a router, SSD, or processor, firmware updates can be the difference between having a device vulnerable to security breaches and a much more secure system. On a PC, keeping the BIOS/UEFI, drivers, and operating system up to date significantly reduces the risk of problems and improves overall compatibility with modern software.

Ultimately, understanding the role each layer plays—hardware, firmware, drivers, operating system, applications—allows you to decide. when to update, how to do it safely, and what to expect from each updateNot every version change offers the same benefits, nor is it worthwhile to take the risk with the same frequency on all devices, but completely ignoring the firmware is rarely a good idea.

When you design or maintain embedded systems or connected productsDrawing clear lines between firmware and software, ensuring the integrity of the internal code, applying mechanisms such as secure boot and digital signatures, and carefully planning your update strategies is what makes the difference between a reliable device in the long term and one that gives trouble at the slightest provocation.