But the firmware’s gifts were not merely speed. That evening, a curious device—an aging smart bulb—reconnected without protest. Where once a flaky negotiation left the bulb and router at an uneasy truce, now they agreed on handshakes and channels, and the bulb lit on the owner’s command. Security holes closed like shutters; the release notes’ dry phrase “vulnerability mitigations” felt suddenly vivid, a shield forming around home traffic.