Firmware - A Mystery?

The Garmin Forerunner 405ctx is a masterpiece of modern technology. There is a plug-in device that transmits all your runs from the "watch" wirelessly to the computer via Garmin Connect. However I hadn't bothered to do that since the first successful upload in March. So when I came to try again, it failed on every attempt. So much for modern technology.

The most annoying aspect is that the Forerunner also started a nasty habit of draining a fully charged battery after only a mile of running. Searching the net for an answer to this problem, someone mentioned "Firmware". Whilst I was waiting during one of the failed attempts at uploading, I happened to remember a note on Garmin Connect about Firmware. I found a link to where you could download the latest Firmware update, but worried that this might compromise all my records.

However I went for it and the download seemed to be OK. Low and behold, the next time I tried to upload my data, it worked first time. So all my runs since December are now on the Garmin website. It did erase all the data on the Forerunner, but hopefully that has also cured the battery problem. We shall see.

But Firmware, what is that? I looked for an answer but I'm still none the wiser. As Alison would say, it's all witchcraft!