The SoftDevice supports the use of a bootloader. A bootloader may be used to update the firmware on the SoC.
The nRF51 software architecture includes a Master Boot Record (MBR) ( Figure 1). The MBR is necessary in order for the bootloader to update the SoftDevice, or to update the bootloader itself. The MBR is a required component in the system. The inclusion of a bootloader is optional.