In years past, there were a lot of rumors about avoiding updates due to the issues that they caused. These days, most people keep their devices updated because the risks of not doing it outweigh the risks of updating your device. Depending on how old your device is, you still may want to forego the newer updates. For example, if you're still using the Note II today, Android 11 is too advanced for your phone's hardware. Of course, if your phone is that old it probably won't work with most applications today either so it's really time to update. Performing an update doesn't erase any of your data on your phone, so you shouldn't worry too much about that. However, if an update gets stuck (because the WiFi was disconnected or something like that) then you may need to do a factory reset after all. Essentially, one should think of software updates like they do oil changes on their vehicle. They are necessary to keep your device secure and running smoothly. But, they aren't completely without risks either. If you have a newer device and you keep your phone backed up to the Cloud, the risks of updating won't likely effect you.