+1 Furry and LIME (hehehe)
Updating your firmware only updates the feature set that was included in that firmware release. Theres nothing magical about them. And alot of times they seem to magically fix problems because in the process of updating, your resetting your settings, which also resets your security. So it gives a illusion that it fixes the problem, but really it was just the default setting restore that fixes it. And since its harder to go forward, then backward, its something you should do with caution.