How does Alva LINK receive firmware updates?

Firmware updates are delivered over-the-air (OTA) via your Wi-Fi connection. You don't need to do anything — updates download, install, and activate automatically.

How the OTA process works

1. Download phase: When a new firmware version is available, LINK downloads it in the background during a low-activity period. The download is small (typically a few megabytes) and does not affect device performance or your home network.
2. Validation: The firmware image is cryptographically signed. LINK verifies the signature before applying — ensuring the update is authentic and unmodified. Unsigned or corrupted images are rejected.
3. Installation: The update is applied during a safe window — when no active control commands are in progress. This prevents interruption to an ongoing heat pump cycle or battery charge operation.
4. Rollback protection: If the update fails to apply correctly (power loss during install, corrupted flash write), LINK automatically reverts to the previous firmware version. The device never enters a non-functional state from a failed update. This dual-partition (A/B) approach is standard in mission-critical embedded systems.

What firmware updates deliver

• Expanded capabilities — new communication protocols, additional control features, and ecosystem extensions (such as the planned Matter support for room sensors and radiator valves)
• Improved optimization algorithms — as Alva's data set grows across installations, the optimization logic improves and those improvements propagate to every device in the field
• Security patches — vulnerability fixes and encryption updates
• Protocol extensions — new communication capabilities (e.g., future Matter energy features, additional Modbus register maps)
• Bug fixes — addressing edge cases discovered across the installed base

Update frequency: Alva targets regular firmware releases. Critical security patches are expedited. You can see your current firmware version in the Alva app under device settings.

Can I defer or skip updates? Firmware updates can be deferred but not permanently blocked. Security-critical updates are applied with minimal delay to protect the device and your network. Non-critical updates follow a staged rollout — deployed to a subset of devices first, monitored for stability, then expanded to the full fleet.

Longevity commitment: Alva LINK is designed for a long operational life. Firmware updates will continue throughout that lifespan. The device is built to get better over time, not obsolete. The same hardware you install today will run increasingly sophisticated optimization algorithms as the software evolves.