Columbus Firmware question. I have 5238 should I update to 5274?

[Fishlex]

HI All, I need your wisdom before my trip to Wales this weekend in my new (to me) Skoda Superb, I have Firmware 5238 on the car I've just picked up from the dealer (presumably unmodified). I see that there are newer firm wares such as 5274 and possibly later are available but I'm struggling to see what , if anything, I would gain. The release notes are not very helpful so I thought I'd ask the gurus. I have Delivery part number 3T0035680K with HW version H09. I've got the V16 maps loaded no problem (asked dealer to do it prior to purchase but they didn't bother).

 

I got the above info out of a long press on setup rather than pulling the head unit out of my shiny new beloved car so I'm aware it may not be accurate.

 

Is it worth me updating to any of the newer firm wares? What would I gain? Whats the latest I can update to with my old hardware?

 

Many thanks in advance for answering any or all of my ignorant questions!

[TheRobinK]

If you have 5238 then you have the version that allows you to use the latest maps etc. 5238 is a version that is known to be stable on most, if not all Columbus units. It's why the pirates selling the latest map update DVD's on eBay often include 5238 on a second disk.

 

I asked the same question here and the resident Columbus wizard ( @Rustynuts ) as I couldn't see what I would gain either - except to risk causing problems if all did not go well. 

 

Rustynuts said at the time that there was no need to upgrade as I would gain nothing much. I'm sure he will chime in if I got that wrong.

 

If you have the latest maps, you definitely don't need to be messing with the firmware before your trip to Wales. Just enjoy the journey and a stable SatNav!   

[Fishlex]

Very helpful reply, thank you. I shall leave it as is and begin familiarizing myself with it.

[Lucchese]

Hi talking of firmware updates I have just dropped my car off for a Service, DSG gear box etc and I asked them to check my firmware and update if necessary. I was told that they no longer do this because of the time it takes and go to the Skoda website and check for updates there. is this correct or are they fobbing me off?

[Fishlex]

I just purchased my Skoda and specifically asked the dealer to update firmwares and maps. They agreed but didn't do so, so what you experienced seems about right to me.

[chimaera]

44 minutes ago, Lucchese said:

Hi talking of firmware updates I have just dropped my car off for a Service, DSG gear box etc and I asked them to check my firmware and update if necessary. I was told that they no longer do this because of the time it takes and go to the Skoda website and check for updates there. is this correct or are they fobbing me off?

For the Superb 2, maps can only be updated from DVD and a lot of dealers probably aren't bothered buying them as they are released. They should be able to order a DVD for you if you ask but IIRC it's not that cheap. Timewise, the update takes an hour or so, but could certainly be completed while they are completing the other work if they were bothered. The update files can be found in certain parts of the internet if you are willing to look: you will need a dual-layer DVD to burn them onto before you can complete the update.

 

Firmware update officially is a dealer only job, but it's not hard to find the files online and burn them to a CD. Update takes relatively little time. Version 5238 is the best one if you're not sure what hardware version of the Columbus you have is.

 

(The Superb 3 version of the Columbus can be updated from the SD card using map data downloaded from Skoda's website.)

[Fishlex]

Excellent advice from chimaera there. My Superb 2 didn't like the dual layer DVD I write out so I ended up doing it from SD using this tool here...https://christian-jeanin.ro/en/mapstool/

 

You'll need an SD card big enough for the map and a blank CD to boot off of. Does take quite a while but you can lock the car and leave it to do its thing then come back when it's finished and turn it off.

[chimaera]

A word of warning on that tool, while I've used it successfully myself twice, it has been known to cause problems with some Columbus units. @Rustynuts would know more about what the problem is.

[Fishlex]

I did not know that, thanks for the heads up. It seemed to go ok for me but obviously there are many different versions of this unit out there. Guess I got lucky!

[Lucchese]

4 hours ago, chimaera said:

Version 5238 is the best one if you're not sure what hardware version of the Columbus you have is.

How do I check what firmware / version I have?

[Fishlex]

I was able to press and hold setup for about 10 seconds and then I got a menu with version information on it. Clicked that and got the numbers. Alternately, pop the unit out of the car and the numbers are printed on the top. Hope that helps.