diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 38f51360..bee4a8f0 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ repos:
         args:
           - --ignore-words-list=nd,reacher,thist,ths, arry
   - repo: https://github.com/pycqa/flake8
-    rev: 4.0.1
+    rev: 7.1.1
     hooks:
       - id: flake8
         args:
diff --git a/tests/utils.py b/tests/utils.py
index 6eaeccd7..a86a9367 100644
--- a/tests/utils.py
+++ b/tests/utils.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ def assert_equals(a, b, prefix=None):
         b: second data structure
         prefix: prefix for failed assertion message for types and dicts
     """
-    assert type(a) == type(b), f"{prefix}Differing types: {a} and {b}"
+    assert type(a) is type(b), f"{prefix}Differing types: {a} and {b}"
     if isinstance(a, dict):
         assert list(a.keys()) == list(b.keys()), f"{prefix}Key sets differ: {a} and {b}"