Firmware Updates For Devices On Your Network

How important is it to have the device manufacturers actively working on/ releasing new firmware updates for devices that you own? Printers, switches, voip phones, NAS servers..
When I do web searches about this "issue" the articles that I come across are a little bit off topic. One was about the importance of updating the firmware for your router, and the other was about you, the IT manager, managing the "end of life issue of hardware."
The sentiment on the web seems to be that the firmware updates for your motherboard are not that important, given the risk of doing the update.

 

The position that I take on this is to ONLY flash / update any firmware if there is a specific purpose to it in order to resolve some type of issue or potential vulnerability, eg flashing motherboard bios in order to be able to use newer cpu or router FW to block a vulnerability

Flashing firmware as a matter of principle in order to have the latest and greatest version can be a recipe for disaster.

I do the same with any program software updates as well.

Good luck

 

How do you all manage the ownership/ purchasing of hardware with taking into account the end of firmware life (EOL)? One time I looked into what android operating system upgrades the manufacturer of the phone was planning to do. But, they could not give me that info, or the rep did not know.

Right now I am trying to buy a voip phone adapter (so I can use a regular phone as a voice over IP phone) and some of the used merchandise that I am coming across hasn't had a firmware update available in several years, probably reached end of life.

 

Not really affected, would be my reply.

For example, I still have a fully working Linksys PAP2T ATA (voip adapter) on which I have never updated the fw. It's the original one and it works just as well today as when I bought it 10 years ago.......

 

I should add the following, there are of course times when hardware can no longer support certain services.

Last year I upgraded my broadband from ADSL2+ to fibre and because my trusted DG834GT did not have a VDSL modem, I had to upgrade my router and get another.

Not sure if that qualifies as a fw issue as the hardware itself was lacking