I’ve got
60116 Gleisbox
60117 WLAN Box
60657 MS2
60667 MSW

The MS2 is at 3.55
The MSW is at 4.27.0.13
The WLAN Box is at 0.2.4.35

They are all connected via the 60116 gleisbox and the 60117 WLAN’s WiFi network “Märklin WLAN Box xxxx”


The question is , is there a way to update the MS2 firmware ?

If so, how does one do that? The MS2 only seems to offer an option to PUSH a firmware update out, not get one.

I'll have no way to test it for the short term. As I have already updated the MSW with the latest firmware for it, via the manual method : downloaded the BIN file from Maerklin, and then accessed the MSW via its web interface on my LAN directly to feed it the BIN file via the manual update interface it offers.

Looking at the Maerklin main website, it offers firmware updates for 3 devices:
1) CS2
2) CS3
3) MSW

My understanding is the CS firmwares contain the MS2 payload, so when the MS2 is plugged into a CS, the MS2 gets offered the updated to the MS2 firmware.
I had assumed the MSW works in the same way, that once the MSW has the updated firmware, that this contains the MS2 firmware payload and would similarly offer it to the MS2.

But I'm not seeing that happening.. and I don't know how long that would take to show up on the MS2 or how it even gets offered. I don't have a CS and thus no experience in how that CS->MS2 update works.

All I can say is that with the updated MSW (via the WLAN Box) and the MS2 being both connected to the Track Box (Gleisbox)... nothing seemed to happen on the MS2 side of things.

Manually, on the MS2, selecting the config item Update MS2, brings up the screen in my initial post. This reads to me as "take the device with 4.27 and update it to 3.55". 4.27 is the firmware ON the MSW already, and 3.55 is the firmware that is on the MS2 already. So it feels like the MS2 is offering to push its firmware to the MSW, effectively a downgrade of the MSW. The opposite of what I want.

That triggers this key thought - the 'update' must come from the MASTER device on the controller bus. The CS would be a master. But in the current config I have, the MS2 is the master, and the MSW is a expansion controller in that collection - so the information flows from the MS2 to the MSW. That is how I'd often want it, as the MS2 has the card slot to read Loco Cards and thus allow that benefit of adding DCC based locos to the database.

However, to get the update to work to get to the MS2, I'd need to configure it to have the MSW be the master, and the MS2 to be a expansion controller to it. The MSW manual has a small section on the whole master/expansion controller heirarchy and indicates it can be set in the MSW's configuration.

So looking at the MSW, with it connected to the internet connected WiFi, the MSW sees no master controllers. The MSW is just sitting there by itself on my home wifi network. That suggests the MSW may need to be connected to the WLAN Box to function in that multi-controller world before one can set/change who is the master and who is an expansion controller.

So, changing the WiFi network from my home LAN to the WLAN Box's LAN....
.... then the MSW sees the MS2, and fetches the loco database from it. (as expected).

Now trying to change the master controller in the MSW .. that doesn't seem to work.
Selecting the option in the MSW config menu, brings up the selecting screen with a "Please Wait" message, which then automatically switches to a "the master controller is being changed", to again fetching the db from the MS2. It is as if the MSW is automatically choosing the MS2 as the main controller without user choice in the matter.. that is an MS2 is always the master, and an MSW is always an 'expansion controller' to the MS2. In that mode, the MSW will never be able to push the update to the MS2.

I suppose its time to put it to Maerklin. What should have been simple to implement either wasnt or not designed to, unless I'm missing something.