# Advanced features

Features you don't need for daily use, but worth knowing if you want to squeeze the most out of the dongle.

## OTA updates

The dongle firmware and the GBA's ROM Menu are updated **over the air** (OTA). You don't need to plug the dongle into a computer to update it.

From the GBA menu: **Settings → Information → Firmwares → Check for updates**. If a new version is available, confirm the download with **A** or go back with **B**. A firmware update restarts the dongle; to load a new menu ROM, start the GBA and dongle in Multiboot again. See [GBA menu](doc:gba-menu) for the procedure.

## Modes and automatic shutdown

The button cycles through **Multiboot → GBA → Online → Multiboot**. Wi-Fi stays on in all three modes. The firmware can switch automatically to Online when it detects the SDK handshake from GBA or Multiboot. See [Getting started](doc:getting-started) for details.

### Deep sleep

To save battery, the dongle automatically enters *deep sleep* when no activity is detected. The final hardware power consumption will be measured before publishing battery-life figures.

**Sleep triggers:**

- Long button press (≥ 3 seconds).
- **Power Off** in the GBA main menu, after confirmation.
- 30 seconds without GBA or button activity, except during a declared SDK session. If the Link goes silent for 60 seconds, the session closes and a new 30-second idle window begins.

Shutdown also turns off the Wi-Fi radio. Internet traffic alone does not reset the idle timer: GBA communication and button activity count.

**To wake up:**

- Short button press. The dongle restarts in Multiboot and reconnects to Wi-Fi.

## Security and authentication

Each dongle ships with a **unique identity**, factory-burned, that only it can prove. When it connects, the server verifies that identity through a cryptographic protocol. The specific details of how this works are part of the product's internal design and are not documented publicly.

Sessions last **24 hours**: after that, the dongle reauthenticates automatically and transparently, with no user intervention.

> Even if someone obtained or copied visible data from your dongle (such as its MAC address), they wouldn't be able to impersonate it. The system requires a cryptographic proof that only the original hardware can generate.