My stick coincidentally started showing the symptoms of failing that others have seen (dropping communication with the stick, graying out devices). I ordered a new one that arrives today and backed up the existing one last night that seemed to work. I also tried the firmware update and that failed, the stick keeps disconnecting from the USB port and switches off during the process. It asks you to press and release the reset button but the tool does not seem very intuitive or robust.
Once the new one arrives and is in place, I will try more with the old one but at the moment I need it to hang on for at least another 24 hours.
Neil