If the installed firmware version is older than the latest available version, an update is necessary. winIDEA will notify you if your firmware is outdated. Additionally, other issues may arise, such as the inability to initialize hardware.
Only update the firmware under the following conditions:
1. (optional) If you're using an older winIDEA version, do this procedure in the latest verified build, as it has the most recent available firmware.
2. Update Firmware via Hardware | Debugger Hardware | Hardware Type | System Configuration.