how electrum is updated

[aqui12]

I do not understand how to update, the only thing I see is download the latest version and install on top of the previous version
that is correct
the other is to uninstall the current version and then install the new version and the wallet will not touch

and on keeping a safe copy of the wallet is to copy and paste nothing else, that is what is referred to as a secure copy
thanks for answering

[OmegaStarScream]

Well, what's your question? You pretty much answered yourself. You update by installing it on top of the old version.

The software is open source, everyone is free to contribute once enough fixes, improvements etc. has been made, they release a new version. (in GitHub) which is later added to the site.

You won't see a wallet with auto-update feature, and here is a detailed answer on why: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=293824.msg3148582#msg3148582

[pooya87]

installing any software including Electrum on your computer is not some complicated and weird process. it is simply a bunch of simple steps. mostly it is extracting files from their compressed form (the .exe you run, the tarball you untar) and writing them on your disk in a certain location.
eg. python35.dll to C:\Program Files (x86)\Electrum on windows. english.txt to C:\Program Files (x86)\Electrum\electrum\wordlist, ...
then it is setting up some additional things such as registry keys. for instance Electrum sets a key (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT) for handling the bitcoin URI scheme outlined in BIP21 and RFC3986

so when you upgrade you just install the same .exe file or copy over the same files then run it again. as simple as that. there is no need for some additional steps since programs like Electrum are not making changes to your system.

[HCP]

I do not understand how to update, the only thing I see is download the latest version and install on top of the previous version
that is correct
the other is to uninstall the current version and then install the new version and the wallet will not touch

Correct... you simply run the installer for the new version and it will overwrite the old version. Also, uninstalling will NOT delete the wallet files, this is a safety measure by the devs so that you don't accidentally lose your wallet if you accidentally uninstall the app by mistake.

and on keeping a safe copy of the wallet is to copy and paste nothing else, that is what is referred to as a secure copy
thanks for answering

Not sure what you mean by "secure copy"?

You can create copies of your wallet file and store them offline (on external drive or USB thumbdrive etc) if required. You can create the copy from within Electrum using "File -> Save Copy".

NOTE: If your wallet file is password protected then the sensitive data in the wallet file (ie. private keys/seed mnemonic etc) are encrypted which helps to protect your coins should the wallet file get leaked.

Arguably, the "best" way to "backup" the wallet, is to make sure you have an offline copy of your 12 word seed mnemonic, written down and stored safely and securely.

[bob123]

Actually it doesn't matter whether you first uninstall the outdated version and install the updated afterwards or simply just install the latest version 'on top of' the old one.
In both cases your wallet file (usually named default_wallet) inside the AppData directory will not be deleted.

To be on the safe side, you might simply want to make a backup of (1) your 12/24 word seed mnemonic (inevitable) and/or
(2) the wallet file (located in \Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets), accessable through pressing WIN-key + R (to open run-command) then enter: %APPDATA%\Electrum\wallets

[pooya87]

Actually it doesn't matter whether you first uninstall the outdated version and install the updated afterwards or simply just install the latest version 'on top of' the old one.
In both cases your wallet file (usually named default_wallet) inside the AppData directory will not be deleted.

To be on the safe side, you might simply want to make a backup of (1) your 12/24 word seed mnemonic (inevitable) and/or
(2) the wallet file (located in \Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets), accessable through pressing WIN-key + R (to open run-command) then enter: %APPDATA%\Electrum\wallets

wallet file changes usually happen with major version releases such as from 1.x to 2.x and to 3.x. but you should always keep a back up of the seed and back up the wallet file if you are doing a major update.
it is also a good idea to keep track of the change through the change long here: https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/blob/master/RELEASE-NOTES so that you can be aware of the changes that happened. sometimes updates are not necessary at all. for example they may fix a bug with hardware wallets which you don't even use. but sometimes they may be mandatory such as critical bug in JSON-RPC interface.

[milewilda]

Actually it doesn't matter whether you first uninstall the outdated version and install the updated afterwards or simply just install the latest version 'on top of' the old one.
In both cases your wallet file (usually named default_wallet) inside the AppData directory will not be deleted.

To be on the safe side, you might simply want to make a backup of (1) your 12/24 word seed mnemonic (inevitable) and/or
(2) the wallet file (located in \Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets), accessable through pressing WIN-key + R (to open run-command) then enter: %APPDATA%\Electrum\wallets

wallet file changes usually happen with major version releases such as from 1.x to 2.x and to 3.x. but you should always keep a back up of the seed and back up the wallet file if you are doing a major update.
it is also a good idea to keep track of the change through the change long here: https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/blob/master/RELEASE-NOTES so that you can be aware of the changes that happened. sometimes updates are not necessary at all. for example they may fix a bug with hardware wallets which you don't even use. but sometimes they may be mandatory such as critical bug in JSON-RPC interface.

Checking on logs will only be done by those users who are really interested into update changes but most of users will not look into this matter for sure.
Updating to latest version is much advisable but not really a necessary thing unless if theres an issue then update is a must. Even now im using up 3.1.3 and didnt bother to
DL 3.2.3.
Precise answers about op's concern is already answered above i dont know if OP do able to read it up.