Lifetime FOTA
Keep connected products secure — for the lifetime of the device.
Lifetime FOTA is a production-ready firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) update service built on nRF Cloud, designed for connected products using Nordic Semiconductor devices. It enables manufacturers to securely deploy firmware updates throughout the entire lifecycle of a device — from initial deployment to long-term maintenance and compliance.
The service is optimized for scalable IoT deployments and provides a simple commercial model: a one-time prepaid license per device for long-term FOTA enablement.
Why Lifetime FOTA
Modern connected products require secure software maintenance long after deployment. Lifetime FOTA helps product teams:
- Deliver firmware updates remotely.
- Reduce operational and maintenance costs.
- Improve device reliability and security.
- Meet lifecycle maintenance expectations such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
- Avoid building and maintaining their own OTA infrastructure.
- Accelerate time-to-market with a production-ready cloud solution.
Key features
Lifetime FOTA provides the following capabilities for production IoT deployments.
Production-ready OTA infrastructure
Deploy firmware updates securely using nRF Cloud managed infrastructure.
Secure device lifecycle management
Support secure onboarding, authentication, firmware delivery, and update orchestration.
Nordic device optimization
Built specifically for Nordic Semiconductor wireless SoCs and SiPs.
Flexible deployment models
This service supports two deployment architectures:
- Device-to-cloud architecture
- Gateway and mobile-assisted update workflows
Cloud-based campaign management
Manage update rollouts, monitor progress, and control deployments remotely.
Scalable architecture
Designed to support everything from pilot deployments to millions of devices.
EU Cyber Resilience Act lifecycle support
The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) requires secure software maintenance workflows for modern connected products. Lifetime FOTA supports these requirements.
Supported devices
Lifetime FOTA supports selected Nordic Semiconductor devices, including:
Cellular IoT
- nRF91 Series
Bluetooth Low Energy
- nRF52 Series
- nRF53 Series
- nRF54 Series
Support availability may vary depending on device architecture, connectivity method, and SDK integration model.
Supported update architectures
Direct device-to-cloud
Devices connect directly to nRF Cloud using cellular or IP connectivity.
Best suited for:
- Cellular IoT products
- Always-connected devices
- Remote asset tracking
- Infrastructure monitoring
Mobile and gateway-assisted FOTA
A mobile app or gateway acts as the bridge between the device and the cloud.
Best suited for:
- Bluetooth LE products
- Consumer devices
- Wearables
- Smart home products
Nordic provides SDKs, libraries, and integration tooling to accelerate implementation.
Included components
Lifetime FOTA includes:
- Secure firmware hosting
- Firmware distribution infrastructure
- Device authentication and management
- OTA campaign management
- Update status monitoring
- Nordic-managed cloud backend
- Documentation and SDK support
- Long-term production enablement
Developer experience
Developers can integrate Lifetime FOTA using:
- nRF Connect SDK
- nRF Cloud documentation
- Reference applications and sample integrations
- Mobile and gateway integration libraries
Get started
Designed for connected devices using direct device-to-cloud communication over cellular networks.