Upgrading is the process of replacing a product with a newer version of the same product. In

computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...

and

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are Electronics, electronic (Analogue electronics, analog or digital electronics, digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for ...

an upgrade is generally a replacement of hardware,

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

firmware In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide ...

with a newer or better version, in order to bring the system up to date or to improve its characteristics.

Computing and consumer electronics

Examples of common hardware upgrades include installing additional memory ( RAM), adding larger hard disks, replacing microprocessor cards or graphics cards, and installing new versions of software. Many other upgrades are possible as well. Common software upgrades include changing the version of an

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, of an

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, of an anti-virus program, or of various other tools. Common firmware upgrades include the updating of the

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control menus, the

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dashboard, or the non-volatile flash memory that contains the embedded operating system for a

device. Users can often download software and firmware upgrades from the

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. Often the download is a patch—it does not contain the new version of the software in its entirety, just the changes that need to be made. Software patches usually aim to improve functionality or solve problems with

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. Rushed patches can cause more harm than good and are therefore sometimes regarded with skepticism for a short time after release. Patches are generally free. A software or firmware upgrade can be major or minor and the release version code-number increases accordingly. A major upgrade will change the version number, whereas a minor update will often append a ".01", ".02", ".03", etc. For example, "version 10.03" might designate the third minor upgrade of version 10. In

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, the minor upgrades (or updates) are generally free, but the major versions must be purchased. Companies usually make software upgrades for the following reasons: 1.) to support industry regulatory requirements 2.) to access

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with new features, and tools 3.) to meet the demands of changing markets 4.) to continue to receive comprehensive product support.

Risks

Although developers usually produce upgrades in order to improve a product, there are risks involved—including the possibility that the upgrade will worsen the product. Upgrades of hardware involve a risk that new hardware will not be compatible with other pieces of hardware in a system. For example, an upgrade of RAM may not be compatible with existing RAM in a computer. Other hardware components may not be compatible after either an upgrade or downgrade, due to the non-availability of compatible drivers for the hardware with a specific

. Conversely, there is the same risk of non-compatibility when software is upgraded or downgraded for previously functioning hardware to no longer function. Upgrades of software introduce the risk that the new version (or patch) will contain a bug, causing the program to malfunction in some way or not to function at all. For example, in October 2005, a glitch in a software upgrade caused trading on the

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to shut down for most of the day. Similar have occurred: from important government systems to

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on the internet. Upgrades can also worsen a product subjectively. A user may prefer an older version even if a newer version functions perfectly as designed. This may happen for a variety of reasons, including the user being already accustomed to the behavior of the old version or because the upgrade removed some features (see iPhone jack removal controversy or

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). A further risk of software upgrades is that they can brick the device being upgraded, such as if power fails while the upgrade is in the middle of being installed. This is an especially big concern for embedded devices, in which upgrades are typically all-or-nothing (the upgrade is a firmware or filesystem image, which isn't usable if it's only partially written), and which have limited ability to recover from a failed upgrade. Solutions to this generally involve keeping multiple copies of firmware, so that one can be upgraded while the other remains intact as a backup, but there are still holes which can cause this to fail. Tools such a
Mender.io
Sysup, SWUpdate, RAUC, and OSTree provide more complete solutions that implement upgrades in a safe atomic way, and reduce or eliminate the need to customize bootloaders and other components. Desktop systems are more likely to use something like

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or restore points; these are more efficient as they only require a small fraction of space to store the changes from the old system to the new one, but the lack of a turnkey implementation for embedded systems makes this impractical.

References

{{reflist Computing terminology

Computing and consumer electronics

Risks

See also

References