diff --git a/open_wearable/lib/models/firmware_version_comparison.dart b/open_wearable/lib/models/firmware_version_comparison.dart
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..683af69b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/open_wearable/lib/models/firmware_version_comparison.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import 'package:pub_semver/pub_semver.dart';
+
+/// Compare firmware precedence, ignoring transport padding and build metadata.
+bool isNewerFirmwareVersion(String latest, String current) {
+  Version parse(String value) {
+    final normalized = value
+        .replaceAll('\x00', '')
+        .trim()
+        .replaceFirst(RegExp(r'^v(?=\d)'), '');
+    final version = Version.parse(normalized);
+    return Version(
+      version.major,
+      version.minor,
+      version.patch,
+      pre: version.preRelease.join('.'),
+    );
+  }
+
+  return parse(latest) > parse(current);
+}
diff --git a/open_wearable/lib/view_models/wearables_provider.dart b/open_wearable/lib/view_models/wearables_provider.dart
index c59a0d677..86277cd9f 100644
--- a/open_wearable/lib/view_models/wearables_provider.dart
+++ b/open_wearable/lib/view_models/wearables_provider.dart
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import 'package:open_wearable/models/wearable_status_cache.dart';
 import 'package:open_wearable/view_models/sensor_configuration_provider.dart';
 
 import '../models/logger.dart';
+import '../models/firmware_version_comparison.dart';
 
 /// Event emitted when a newer firmware version is available for a wearable.
 class NewFirmwareAvailableEvent extends WearableEvent {
@@ -452,7 +453,7 @@ class WearablesProvider with ChangeNotifier {
           .getLatestFirmwareVersion()
           .then((version) => version.toString());
 
-      if (firmwareImageRepository.isNewerVersion(
+      if (isNewerFirmwareVersion(
         latestVersion,
         currentVersion,
       )) {
diff --git a/open_wearable/test/models/firmware_version_comparison_test.dart b/open_wearable/test/models/firmware_version_comparison_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0b04624b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/open_wearable/test/models/firmware_version_comparison_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import 'package:flutter_test/flutter_test.dart';
+import 'package:open_wearable/models/firmware_version_comparison.dart';
+
+void main() {
+  test('compares released firmware against the installed development build',
+      () {
+    expect(
+        isNewerFirmwareVersion('2.2.9', '2.2.10-dev.60+ga99d057fa'), isFalse,);
+    expect(
+        isNewerFirmwareVersion('2.2.10', '2.2.10-dev.60+ga99d057fa'), isTrue,);
+    expect(
+        isNewerFirmwareVersion('2.2.11', '2.2.10-dev.60+ga99d057fa'), isTrue,);
+  });
+  test('prerelease numbers are numeric and build metadata has no precedence',
+      () {
+    expect(isNewerFirmwareVersion('2.2.10-dev.10', '2.2.10-dev.9'), isTrue);
+    expect(isNewerFirmwareVersion('2.2.10+z', '2.2.10+a'), isFalse);
+    expect(isNewerFirmwareVersion(' v2.2.10\x00 ', '2.2.9'), isTrue);
+    expect(isNewerFirmwareVersion('2.2.9', '2.2.9'), isFalse);
+  });
+  test('unrecognized labels fail explicitly instead of suggesting a downgrade',
+      () {
+    expect(() => isNewerFirmwareVersion('2.2.9', 'PR #123'),
+        throwsFormatException,);
+  });
+}