As someone who works with electronics and computer systems virtually my whole life, I understand the firmware and the importance it places in modern life. Firmware updates are common theses days as internet connected devices in your home, reach out to servers and update themselves with the latest approve software. Printers, televisions, streaming services and routers can be configured to update themselves.
After I configured my Home Assistant and got the initial connection done, I was surprised that I needed to perform a firmware update for my light bulb. Yeaup, the good people at THIRDREALITY had deployed a firmware update for my light bulb. This was a first for me.
Well, this was my first device connected to the system, and it appears to be working very well. Who am I to deprive some developer the glory of updating my light bulb with the latest and greatest in bug fixes and tech support? Back just a few years ago, a bad firmware update could “brick” a device and make it unusable. Should I risk the security of my network on a $10 light bulb which was not running the latest in light bulb firmware technology? Regardless, security is important to me, and I clicked the update button.
I am pleased to say, the update worked and my light bulb continues to shine brightly. It did take longer than I expected. A lot longer.
Later the same week, I purchased a Zigbee thermometer just to monitor the temperature in my office. No sooner that about 10 minutes after I started seeing data in Home Assistant, I received a notice that my thermometer firmware was out of date. Do I dare risk the security of my network and the potential increases in the accuracy of the measurements of temperature and humidity by running the old firmware. The horror… the horror…
Wrapping it up
This whole exercise is supposed to be fun, and I am truly enjoying myself. It is all a bit of tongue in cheek and I often update everything which needs updating when offered the ability to update. The companies which produce these devices are spending money to develop and deploy these firmware updates. I could do the research each time to figure out what they are fixing, but I am not supper interested honestly. I think that it is amazing that Home Assistant has the firmware update process built into the system and it appears to work very well.