Marlin is the software update the Fisker Owners Association can install on a Fisker Ocean. This is what it contains, who can put it on your car, and how to arrange it.
What Marlin actually is
Marlin is a bundle, not a single piece of software. Marlin 1.0 contains three things:
- FiskerOS 2.2 - a package in its own right, holding updates for the car’s ECUs: the small computers that run the motors, the battery, the screens and the rest of it
- VCU24 and PDU4000 - newer versions of the software for two of the car’s control units, which FiskerOS 2.2 already carries in an older form
- ADAS 3.1.1 - the driver assistance software
Membership decides how much of that you get. Without one, the SURF tool installs FiskerOS 2.2, including the older VCU and PDU software inside it. With one, those two are brought up to VCU24 and PDU4000, and ADAS 3.1.1 is installed as well.
This trips people up, so it is worth saying plainly: a car on Marlin 1.0 is running FiskerOS 2.2. The two version numbers describe different things. Marlin is the name of the package the association installs; FiskerOS 2.2 is one component inside it. If you want the longer explanation, we wrote one in Fisker Ocean software versions explained.
Who can install it
Marlin is installed with the SURF tool. Anyone with a SURF tool and the training to use it can install Marlin, which in practice means:
- Advanced Installers - owners and volunteers who have been trained and equipped by the association
- Independent workshops that have a SURF tool
The association itself only has the SURF tool, and Marlin is the only update it performs. If someone offers to put a different software version on your car, they are working with different equipment and a different arrangement.
There is no over-the-air route with Marlin. Somebody has to be at the car with the tool.
What you can do without a tool
Not everything needs an installer. With the OceanLink Pro app you can, from your own phone:
- read fault codes and diagnose what the car is complaining about
- calibrate the windows
- pair key fobs and key cards
Is it safe?
This is the question owners ask most, and it is a fair one. Nobody wants a car that will not start because an update went wrong halfway through.
So far, no Fisker Ocean has come out of a Marlin installation unable to drive. Not one. That is the association's own record across every installation its Advanced Installers have carried out.
That is a record, not a guarantee. It says the process is well understood and the tooling is sound. It does not mean nothing can ever go wrong.
Installing updates on a Fisker Ocean turned out to need a steady voltage on the 12V battery for the whole update. That is why Marlin is not offered over the air.
What happens on the day
An installation is an appointment, not a drop-off. The car needs to be stationary, with the installer's tool connected, for the length of the update. Plan for the car to be occupied for a couple of hours rather than a few minutes, and do not book it for the morning you need to drive somewhere.
Bring the car with a reasonable state of charge and be prepared to leave it alone while the update runs. Your installer will tell you what else they need.
What it costs
The software itself is free. Having it installed at a workshop is not: workshops set their own rates, so ask what the appointment costs before you book it.
Membership decides how much of Marlin can go on the car. Without one, the SURF tool installs FiskerOS 2.2 and you keep the older VCU and PDU software that comes inside it. VCU24, PDU4000 and ADAS 3.1.1 are for FOA members.
How to arrange it
Start with the service points list. It shows the workshops around the world that will take a Fisker Ocean, with contact details, and it grows as owners bring their own garages on board.
If there is nothing near you, that is worth fixing rather than accepting. Getting your local workshop onto the SURF tool explains how owners have done exactly that.
The association's community is also where installations get coordinated in practice, and where owners in your country will tell you who they used. Membership is what gets you in there.