diff --git a/src/ble/sagas.ts b/src/ble/sagas.ts
index b22c3363..e5aa87e8 100644
--- a/src/ble/sagas.ts
+++ b/src/ble/sagas.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 import { firmwareVersion } from '@pybricks/firmware';
 import { Task, buffers, eventChannel } from 'redux-saga';
-import { satisfies } from 'semver';
+import { lt, satisfies } from 'semver';
 import {
     call,
     cancel,
@@ -223,9 +223,9 @@ function* handleBleConnectPybricks(): Generator {
 
         // notify user if old firmware
         if (
-            satisfies(
+            lt(
                 pythonVersionToSemver(firmwareRevision),
-                `<${pythonVersionToSemver(firmwareVersion)}`,
+                pythonVersionToSemver(firmwareVersion),
             )
         ) {
             yield* put(alertsShowAlert('ble', 'oldFirmware'));
diff --git a/src/hub/reducers.ts b/src/hub/reducers.ts
index 583482ab..ec219b4c 100644
--- a/src/hub/reducers.ts
+++ b/src/hub/reducers.ts
@@ -193,12 +193,7 @@ const preferredFileFormat: Reducer<FileFormat | null> = (state = null, action) =
     if (blePybricksServiceDidNotReceiveHubCapabilities.matches(action)) {
         // HACK: there is not a good way to get the supported MPY ABI version
         // from a running hub, so we use heuristics on the firmware version.
-        if (
-            semver.satisfies(
-                pythonVersionToSemver(action.firmwareVersion),
-                '>=3.2.0-beta.2',
-            )
-        ) {
+        if (semver.lte(pythonVersionToSemver(action.firmwareVersion), '3.2.0-beta.2')) {
             return FileFormat.Mpy6;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/utils/version.test.ts b/src/utils/version.test.ts
index 1757f301..f5f62bef 100644
--- a/src/utils/version.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/version.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
-// Copyright (c) 2021 The Pybricks Authors
+// Copyright (c) 2021-2022 The Pybricks Authors
 
+import { lt } from 'semver';
 import { pythonVersionToSemver } from './version';
 
 describe('pythonVersionToSemver', () => {
@@ -14,6 +15,16 @@ describe('pythonVersionToSemver', () => {
         expect(pythonVersionToSemver(version)).toBe(expected);
     });
 
+    test.each([
+        ['v1.0.0a1', 'v1.0.0b1'],
+        ['v1.0.0b1', 'v1.0.0c1'],
+        ['v1.0.0c1', 'v1.0.0'],
+    ])('%s < %s', (first, second) => {
+        expect(
+            lt(pythonVersionToSemver(first), pythonVersionToSemver(second)),
+        ).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
     test('invalid version', () => {
         expect(() => pythonVersionToSemver('not a version')).toThrow();
     });