The Firmware upgrade Process fails or is Unstable on a Virtualized Machine

Most tools will perform a reset when asked to switch from normal operation mode to firmware upgrade mode. This forces the tool to re-enumerate on the USB bus, and the virtualization software may not reattach to it making your virtualized system with a disconnected tool.

Normal virtualization software supports the idea of USB filters where you set a collection of USB devices you want to automatically attach to a given guest operating system. Check the manual for your virtualization solution to see how this is done, or see the Firmware Upgrade Fails on VirtualBox.