WTIU: Not able to load mth engine thru APP

Have you tried just setting the WTIU up with power and a small test track to see if that works?  That might help confirm if the unit is working and it is something else causing the issue.

In my post you'll see I tried that already. I get the same results!

I had a similar problem where I tried to add a new MTH engine in the app with my new WTIU and kept getting error messages in the app. I kept trying and on the 10th or so attempt it found the engine. Nothing changed during the attempts, so I'm not sure why it finally worked. If you're having a similar problem just keep trying to add the engine. Hopefully it eventually works for you as well.

Well, I am having same problem , can’t seem to add engines via the upgraded app using wtiu. I set up powered test track , have recycled wtiu many times and app many times and the app ‘ reads’ but keeps messaging no engine. Have tried 3 new PS 3 and a PS 2 MTH locomotive.Tried fixed out 1 and 2. Wtiu connected to android device using MTH wifi network with excellent signal.

Grrrrr!

Well, now I'm having the same problem. I was able to add one engine, but now I just get a "Request Failed" or "Request Time Out" message when I try to add an MTH engine. I just updated to the latest WTIU firmware as well.

Yes, I  also updated  wtiu firmware powered down wtiu and still unable to add engines .

Within the app I did a wtiu feature and factory reset , powered down everything and upon restart I was able to add two new PS 3 locomotives, at least on test track. So it seems it works now.

I also changed wtiu address to 5. Does anyone know if there is a requirement to set address within app to match wtiu or will it pick it up.

Everything seems to work now ….. until next glitch.

Hi again everyone! I found out that my WTIU never updated the firmware. Once again I went thru setting up for the MTH Network (being careful to follow each step & in the order posted) and was able to get to the actual downloading & installation of the firmware update. Once I was insured the firmware update actually download & installed, things started to fall in place!

MTH really needs to put together a step by step video running all the different ways to setup the WTIUs. The instructions you download for the WTIU from MTH can get confusing and in my opinion cause mistakes. A video would really help people with the different installations.

Transferred wtiu from test track to main layout, disconnecting the old tiu and everything works. Whew.Really strange that this device needs nearly two minutes to initiate and wifi signal to pop.Needed to add track power up work around .

I am having the same issue. I have downloaded and updated the WTIU firmware update, reinstalled the app and was able to connect one PS3 engine. I have tried 3 others and none of them will connect. I have tried using my home WiFi and the MTH network without success. Not sure where to go from here.

I’m still having the same problems as well. I’ve tried just about everything I can think of. I sent a tech support email over a week ago to MTH but still have not heard back.

If you are having troubles adding more than one engine please try deleting all the engines you added.  Then plug the power supply for the TIU to a different outlet then the power supply you are using to power your track.  That way the TIU is powered all the time.  Then after clearing the one or more engines you were able to add.  Make sure there is only one engine on the track at a time.  Add that engine.  After it's added take it off and put on the next engine and add it.  Take it off and go to the next engine.  Only add one engine at a time.  After all you engines are added then you can put the ones you want on the layout and hit the refresh circled arrow at the left of the name of the engine in the top left hand corner.

Also for those still having problems please state what power supply you are using and what device you are using so we can follow up if needed.

Thank you,

MTH

Thank you for the reply. I was ultimately able to add more engines, not sure how as I didn’t change anything, it just started working out of the blue. I am using 2 MTH power bricks into the 2 fixed channels and an Android based tablet.

While I seem to now be able to add engines successfully, I am having an issue where engines on the track are sporadically showing on the “inactive” list. Also, when I refresh the app to try to get them to appear as “active” I get the below message about every other time. If I keep refreshing it seems to ultimately work. This is happening on both the MTH network and my home WiFi network. When this happens I am maybe 8 feet from the WTIU. I don’t think it’s an issue with my network or the location of my WTIU as my base3 is in the same spot and I have no connection issues with that.

the app are far as I can tell from using it still has bugs. I cant rename the custom sounds at all. it just wont take when I hit save name. plus using the quillable whistle in a lashup freezes the lashup. the engines will not move and the sounds do not play at all.

I had an old tablet that had the app on it. it was an older app version and it worked better. then I upgraded the app on it to the latest version and got the same issues as the app on my phone. so its the current app version that need tweeking.

other than that btw my app which is the android version everything is working ok. my tablet and phone are sumsung and are not very old either.

I am starting to like running the trains more and more the more I use the app. the appeal for me at least is getting to the playable sounds and setting the individual engine ajustments. like sound volumes and smoke volumes and that whole page of settings. its so much quicker and more user-friendly than the remote.

I agree, it’s just buggy. Hopefully there is another update that will solve some of these problems. I too am getting really used to the app, and issues aside, am really enjoying it!

I am able to list all 10 engines I run on 4 different loops (+ a few inactive engines) on my Samsung SM-T580 tablet from 2016. I was able to run all 10 at the same time.I than tried loading the same trains on a newer Samsung SM-X200 from 2024 + my Samsung Galaxy A02s and am experiencing multiple loading/running issues with this tablet & phone. I'm still playing with them.

I'm also experiencing the AIU issue from another post. I have 4 AIUs, the WTIU sees them but I'm only able operate the switches/accessories on AIU #1. I can program AIUs 2-4, but they do not operate. I saw it was a firmware issue that needed to be upgraded.

I'm just surmising, but I believe the android software needs more work on it to work properly. GunrunnerJohn felt there would be plenty of issues when you tried to match 2 different operating systems (MTH/Android) to run smothly. Before WIFI, we had the TIU matched to an MTH remote that was made to work with one another.

I am so thankful for the OG forum!! With it, I have been able to find answers to my problems 95% of the time by just using a search. This forum literally taught me the DCS system. We are so very fortunate to have this

Update! I switched operations to my iPhone 15 Pro Max and everything works nearly flawlessly using my home network. I was using a cheap $50 Onn tablet before. It does seem that some operating systems/devices play better with the WTIU than others.

@rm233440 posted:

Update! I switched operations to my iPhone 15 Pro Max and everything works nearly flawlessly using my home network. I was using a cheap $50 Onn tablet before. It does seem that some operating systems/devices play better with the WTIU than others.

You're the second person to report problems with the 7" Onn tablet and the app. I have used the older 2023 model of this tablet and the app with no problems. I'm considering picking up the newest model just test it out.

Well I suppose I am relieved the issue lies within the $50 tablet instead of the $400 WTIU! 😀

Happy New Year!

After powering up the WTIU twice this morning, I had intermittent power issues to the track. Please see the video in this post of the WTIU continuously resetting itself. I have an MTH power brick going into each of the fixed channels. The first time I attributed the issue to a possible short in an Atlas Deluxe cab car. Then after removing the cab car, shutting the WTIU down for a few mins and powering up an again, I had power to the tracks as normal. I fired up a Ps2 engine and started running, all of a sudden I could see the Fastrack switch lanterns flickering and the engine shut down. Then the WTIU reset itself, restarted with track power and I have been running trains without issue for the past half hour+. I would think this could be indicative of a short, but the breakers on the MTH power bricks have not tripped at all today. In the past with the regular TIU connected, the breakers would trip immediately during a short, derailment etc. Could it be an issue within the WTIU?

@H1000 posted:

You're the second person to report problems with the 7" Onn tablet and the app. I have used the older 2023 model of this tablet and the app with no problems. I'm considering picking up the newest model just test it out.

I'm the other person.  Like someone else posted, the app works really well on an older tablet.  In my case a 2017 Samsung SM-350 tablet, but not on the newer ONN 7" tablet.  Everything freezes after loading an engine.  Conversely, the Lionel Base 3 won't work on my older Samsung SM-350, but works flawlessly on the ONN 7" tablet.  So I use one for one and one for the other.

John

I had similar problems,  and I use an older ipad. I have 16 engines on 3 tracks. It seems to take several refreshes to find all the engines. Once they are all there they run fine but using all engines the sound, bells, smoke, and horn only work individually. The app will not control all at once. Hopefully the next update helps.

I am also having similar issues getting an engine added through the app. Setup a test track prior to firmware upgrade and it read the engine just fine. After the firmware upgrade it will not see the engine through the app. All it does is says reading. Simple hookup into fixed 1 and out fixed 1 to test track. Also swapped power supplies and the same result. Tried in home network and MTH network to no avail. I am using Lionel power house 180 watt as the power supply. Unit appears to boot up fine with WIFI light blue and with track power on fixed 1 light is purplish.   

Sort of at a loss on where to go from here. In never thought it would be that difficult to setup. MTH should show more of a presence to work through the various issues. What a horrible experience to date. If I could return I would.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

@FoxBody88 posted:

I am also having similar issues getting an engine added through the app. Setup a test track prior to firmware upgrade and it read the engine just fine. After the firmware upgrade it will not see the engine through the app. All it does is says reading. Simple hookup into fixed 1 and out fixed 1 to test track. Also swapped power supplies and the same result. Tried in home network and MTH network to no avail. I am using Lionel power house 180 watt as the power supply. Unit appears to boot up fine with WIFI light blue and with track power on fixed 1 light is purplish.   

Sort of at a loss on where to go from here. In never thought it would be that difficult to setup. MTH should show more of a presence to work through the various issues. What a horrible experience to date. If I could return I would.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

I had a similar issue with mine.  I discovered that I had a bad unit, neither fixed channel worked properly.  In the app, I set both variable channels to fixed and swapped all connections over to the variable channels (now set to fixed).  Afterward, no issues adding engines, and signal strength was back to normal levels.

I also had better results changing the variable outputs to fixed. Still seems like an update or patch is needed from MTH

So I having the same as well and tried what MTH suggested by plugging the wtiu and power supply in different outlets, plus factory reset the app. Everything is running fine but there’s a buzzing sound coming from the wtiu. Using a gw180 for my power supply.

Mine had the buzzing sound as well until I switched the variable outputs to fixed

@Regnildnas posted:

So I having the same as well and tried what MTH suggested by plugging the wtiu and power supply in different outlets, plus factory reset the app. Everything is running fine but there’s a buzzing sound coming from the wtiu. Using a gw180 for my power supply.

GW180 is KNOWN to be a choppy variable output. Both the older TIU and new WTIU has inductors on the input to "choke off" the DCS signal from being degraded by your input power source (transformer). You are hearing the harmonics rattle the wire wound inductors.

Nothing new here- this was already a known bad combination- do not use a typical Lionel powermaster, CW80, GW180, ZW-C, or ZW-L as an input to the TIU.

ZW-L example https://ogrforum.com/topic/buzzing-on-new-wtiu

Further technical discussion https://ogrforum.com/topic/wti...9#188663164421740639

You can use a constant source like the powerhouse180 brick direct, and purer sine wave input like a Z4000 or like an MRC pure power or say an oldschool ZW.

@Tavila posted:

Mine had the buzzing sound as well until I switched the variable outputs to fixed

Chopping (variable voltage manipulation- AKA variable channel) of an already chopped up and partially distorted AC waveform (from many/most chopped wave source transformers)  might lead to crazy harmonics and problems.

Again, pretty simple- don't put a electronic variable power source (modern recent electronic transformers - CW80, GW180, ZW-L, ZW-C, Powermasters, TPC300/400, or MTH Zcontroller) as the input to the variable channel of the WTIU- this double manipulation of the AC wave form is highly likely to cause issues.

Could you use a zw500 as the power supply to eliminate the choppy variable wave sound?

@Regnildnas posted:

Could you use a zw500 as the power supply to eliminate the choppy variable wave sound?

You mean an MTH Z500 brick?- yes, that is just an 18V AC pure sine wave source.

Note- the problem with using multiple bricks or transformers then becomes you should perform phase testing due to shared common wiring systems. A single source multiple output transformer is internally wired inherently phased. Using multiple bricks- no guarantee they are natively in phase.

May have been summarized above but what has worked for me is I first remove all engines from all tracks.   I have more than one power supply.  I power everything up, then switch off one track but leaving power to the WTIU.  Put the engine on the track, provide power, and adds first time every time.  If I don’t do it this way it’ll take 10+ refreshes to get rid of the time out error message.

I have been successful on my iphone with no other engines on the loops except the one I am trying to add.

I am now having another strange issue. Yesterday I added a PS2 F-3 to my WTIU, assigned to address #6. I ran the engine successfully for several minutes. I then started up my already added PS3 EP-5, assigned to address #5. When I started controlling the EP-5, both the F-3 and the EP-5 responded and the F-3,  still assigned to address #6, appeared in the inactive list. I removed the EP-5 from the layout, but the app still controlled the F-3, with only the EP-5 listed as active. I then removed the F-3 from the layout, put the EP-5 back on, it appeared on the active list and responded to the app as normal. I deleted both engines from the WTIU and re added to the same addresses as before, #5 & #6. Both engines showed up on the active list and I was able to control each independently for the rest of the night.

Fast-forward to today. I was running the F-3 and fired up an E8 on a separate loop. At one point I refreshed the app, and listed as active was the EP-5 on address #5 which was once again controlling the F-3. The F-3, still assigned to address #6, was listed in the inactive list. The actual EP-5 was on a blocked siding with the power turned off.

I have not done any lashups or used the "all engines" feature since I've had the WTIU. The EP-5 and the F-3 are both New Haven engines but I can't imagine that would matter. The photo shows what the app looked like when it was controlling the F-3 today. Any thoughts?

@rm233440 posted:

I have been successful on my iphone with no other engines on the loops except the one I am trying to add.

I am now having another strange issue. Yesterday I added a PS2 F-3 to my WTIU, assigned to address #6. I ran the engine successfully for several minutes. I then started up my already added PS3 EP-5, assigned to address #5. When I started controlling the EP-5, both the F-3 and the EP-5 responded and the F-3 ABA, still assigned to address #6, appeared in the inactive list. I removed the EP-5 from the layout, but the app still controlled the F-3, with only the EP-5 listed as active. I then removed the F-3 from the layout, put the EP-5 back on, it appeared on the active list and responded to the app as normal. I deleted both engines from the WTIU and re added to the same addresses as before, #5 & #6. Both engines showed up on the active list and I was able to control each independently for the rest of the night.

Fast-forward to today. I was running the F-3 and fired up an E8 on a separate loop. At one point I refreshed the app, and listed as active was the EP-5 on address #5 which was once again controlling the F-3. The F-3, still assigned to address #6, was listed in the inactive list. The actual EP-5 was on a blocked siding with the power turned off.

I have not done any lashups or used the "all engines" feature since I've had the WTIU. The EP-5 and the F-3 are both New Haven engines but I can't imagine that would matter. Any thoughts?

Both PS2 and PS3 systems do NOT store the address in the locomotive until a power loss event where the firmware detects power loss on the track, continues powering the electronics in the engine via battery or supercapacitor, the firmware shutdown final sequence then stores the new updated address from RAM memory of the processor into permanent storage with a write command.

Again, let me state how this works. When you add engine- that negotiation and address change is in active RAM in the processor. It is not yet stored in the loco. If the shutdown firmware sequence fails or is not invoked for some reason- the write to storage never happens!!!

Validate especially on a PS2 engine that the battery subsystem- even if you put a BCR into it or original battery- is ACTUALLY WORKING. Even PS3 engines can have supercapacitor failures and thus a non working memory save function and will come back up on an old address.

Thank you, I didn’t even think of that. The battery in the F-3 is old, I changed it when I first got it, but that was 10 years ago now that I think of it. How time flies!

I have a BCR I can put in it, will see if that helps, thanks!

I'll add this- a symptom of an engine that does not have a working battery or supercap system-

Sounds cut off immediately after track power is dropped and do not continue playing the entire shutdown sequence.

The engine seems to lose it's address. You add the engine, it works as long as track power is not dropped -because the change happened and is in RAM memory powered by the track, but if track power is lost, the RAM is blank. Next boot, it reads from storage the old ID and loads that into RAM- so now there is a mismatch between your remote or app instance of your engine roster- and the ID stored in this engine- so you get engine not found or other errors (inactive roster). So you add the engine again and it increments to the next ID free in your app or remote. Each time you drop track power, you have to add the engine again and then it works- just as long as track power is not dropped.

These are all signs of the battery or supercap system not working. It might not be charging- bad charging circuit, or it might be a bad supercap or battery not storing the energy, or it might be damage to the discharge circuit- needed to connect the battery to power the electronics when the track power is dropped.

My WTIU could not connect to my home network no matter how hard I tried.

I ended up using the MTH network and after a few teething problems, It works great.

I'm using an older iPhone as a dedicated "remote" it makes things easier using the MTH network, you do have to make sure its connected on to the MTH network, when you turn on the WTIU (after 2 min.)

I have a second iPhone I use daily and installed the MTH app on it.  Sometimes it will switch to the MTH network when the WTIU is plugged in.  I had to uninstalled the app on that phone.