The device manufacturer has access to the device (at the hardware level even) the moment they start building it. They don't need to push a patch to gain access, they could access your logs at any point throughout the lifespan of the device.
However, if important data is retained in logs, then the manufacturer could grab the data from the logs. They can get information from a time before they decided to look into you.
It's like a wiretap vs access to a diary. A wiretap only gives you information after the tap has been installed, whereas getting your hands on someone's diary would give you access to previous information too.