ByteSnap Design shares practical guidance on avoiding OTA update failures in embedded devices
ByteSnap Design has issued new guidance to help embedded systems manufacturers reduce the risk of device failure caused by poorly implemented over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates.
With connected products becoming standard across industrial and commercial sectors, OTA capability is now expected. However, according to ByteSnap Design, many systems are still being deployed without the architectural safeguards needed to handle real-world conditions, leading to avoidable failures once devices reach the field.
“OTA updates tend to work well in development, but the field introduces conditions that are much harder to control,” said Martin Thompson, Principal Engineer at ByteSnap Design. “Power interruptions, unstable connectivity and untested edge cases can all cause updates to fail. If the system hasn’t been designed to recover from those scenarios, devices can become unusable.”
The company highlights that the root cause of most large-scale OTA failures is not a single defect, but a combination of design decisions that fail to account for how devices behave outside controlled environments.
A key issue is how systems handle interruption during the update process. ByteSnap Design notes that power loss during installation remains one of the most common causes of individual device failure, while wider deployment issues are often linked to insufficient testing and rollout validation.
“An update shouldn’t be considered successful just because it’s been written to memory,” Thompson added. “It needs to be fully running and stable before the system commits to it. Until then, the device should be able to retry or revert safely.”
The company also points to increasing security requirements as a growing challenge for OTA implementation. As regulations such as the Cyber Resilience Act approach, manufacturers are under pressure to ensure that firmware updates are both reliable and secure.
“Security is now part of the same problem,” said Thompson. “You need a clear root of trust, with protected keys and signed firmware. That has to be built into the system from the start, not added later.”
Testing remains another area where systems frequently fall short. ByteSnap Design advises manufacturers to simulate real-world conditions, including intermittent connectivity, corrupted downloads and device resets during installation, rather than relying solely on stable lab environments. In addition, the embedded electronics design company emphasises that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to OTA design. Constraints such as memory availability, hardware variation and deployment environment all influence the most appropriate strategy.
“Dual-bank firmware is often seen as the standard approach, but it isn’t always practical,” Thompson said. “You have to design around the constraints of the system you actually have, not the one you would ideally like.”
To help manufacturers assess their current approach, ByteSnap Design has outlined five key considerations for OTA firmware design:
- Do not mark an update as successful too early; only confirm once the firmware is fully running
- Plan for power loss and connectivity failure at every stage of the update process
- Verify data at both block level and full package level before installation
- Design OTA capability into the system from the beginning of development
- Secure the root of trust, including key storage and firmware signing
ByteSnap Design advises that addressing these fundamentals early in development can significantly reduce the risk of failure once devices are deployed at scale.
“Most OTA failures aren’t unexpected,” Thompson added. “They’re the result of gaps in design or testing that only show up in the field. Identifying those risks early makes a big difference.”
For more information, visit www.bytesnap.com
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