When we buy our devices hot off the shelf, there are often a few bugs which were not discovered during the initial user testing phase. There are often some features that have not been fully implemented on our devices, probably because the manufacturer wanted to get the device on the market straight away, before it was really ready. As the weeks and months go on, the manufacturer releases firmware updates (software to run hardware) to fix these bugs and add some extra features.

Firmware upgrades are available for most types of hardware including Phones, Pocket PC’s, routers and motherboards just to name a few.

To see if your device can be upgraded, go to your manufacturer’s website and look at the support pages for your device. I have often found that some of the more annoying features of my devices were fixed after doing an upgrade. It is like you are giving your device a second life.

Take caution and do a little research before you do this as:

• Firmware upgrades can void your warranty.
• You will most likely lose all the data on your device (but if syncing with a PC this can easily be recovered).
• If you do it wrong, it is possible destroy your device.

Many manufacturers have made their firmware applications much more user friendly than they used to be because of these risks. They guide you through step by step and tell you whatNOT to do at each stage of the upgrade.

You may find that you can take your device to where you bought it from, or a service center to have your firmware upgraded. This is especially the case for Mobile Phones.

I don’t want to make the process sound too scary as this is a very good and worthwhile thing to do.