diff --git a/files/ansible-playbooks/update-outdoorbackup-scheduler.yml b/files/ansible-playbooks/update-outdoorbackup-scheduler.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eab6a7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/files/ansible-playbooks/update-outdoorbackup-scheduler.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# update-outdoorbackup-scheduler.yml
+# Single nbplay invocation:
+#   Phase 1: Cloud -> NetBox sync (via sot-updater-iponly.yml in wrapper mode)
+#   Phase 2: Refresh ansible_host from nb_ip, reset_connection
+#   Phase 3: Run update-outdoorbackup224.yml
+
+
+- hosts: all
+  gather_facts: no
+  vars:
+    rmq_host: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_HOST') | default('10.210.12.2', true) }}"
+    rmq_port: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_PORT') | default('15672', true) }}"
+    rmq_user: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_USER') | default('admin', true) }}"
+    rmq_pass: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_PASS') | default('change_me', true) }}"
+    rmq_vhost: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_VHOST') | default('app', true) }}"
+    rmq_exchange: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_EXCHANGE') | default('controls', true) }}"
+    control_queue: "{{ lookup('env','CONTROLQUEUE') | default('queue_controls', true) }}"
+  tasks: []
+
+- import_playbook: sot-updater-iponly.yml
+  vars:
+    sot_wrapper_mode: true
+
+
+- name: Phase 2 | Refresh in-memory target IP after iponly
+  hosts: all
+  gather_facts: no
+  vars:
+    rmq_host: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_HOST') | default('10.210.12.2', true) }}"
+    rmq_port: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_PORT') | default('15672', true) }}"
+    rmq_user: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_USER') | default('admin', true) }}"
+    rmq_pass: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_PASS') | default('change_me', true) }}"
+    rmq_vhost: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_VHOST') | default('app', true) }}"
+    rmq_exchange: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_EXCHANGE') | default('controls', true) }}"
+    control_queue: "{{ lookup('env','CONTROLQUEUE') | default('queue_controls', true) }}"
+
+
+  tasks:
+    - name: "Wrapper | Extract nb_ip from nb_onedevice_update.py stdout"
+      vars:
+        _lines: "{{ (nb_preflight.stdout_lines | default([])) | map('regex_replace','\r','') | map('trim') | list }}"
+        _ok_line: "{{ (_lines | select('match','^OK\\s+') | list | last | default('')) }}"
+        _fail_line: "{{ (_lines | select('match','^FAIL\\s+') | list | last | default('')) }}"
+        _ip_raw: "{{ _ok_line | regex_search('([0-9]{1,3}(?:\\.[0-9]{1,3}){3})') | default('') }}"
+      set_fact:
+        nb_ip: "{{ _ip_raw }}"
+        nb_ip_ok: "{{ (_ip_raw | length) > 0 }}"
+        nb_ip_err: "{{ _fail_line }}"
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: "Wrapper | Abort if nb_ip not available"
+      fail:
+        msg: "Wrapper preflight did not produce nb_ip. FAIL line: {{ nb_ip_err | default('') }}"
+      when: not nb_ip_ok
+
+    - name: "Wrapper | Debug before ansible_host override"
+      debug:
+        msg:
+          - "inventory_hostname={{ inventory_hostname }}"
+          - "ansible_host(before)={{ ansible_host | default('UNSET') }}"
+          - "ansible_port={{ ansible_port | default('22') }}"
+          - "nb_ip={{ nb_ip | default('UNSET') }}"
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: "Wrapper | Update ansible_host to nb_ip"
+      set_fact:
+        ansible_host: "{{ nb_ip }}"
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: "Wrapper | Debug after ansible_host override"
+      debug:
+        msg:
+          - "inventory_hostname={{ inventory_hostname }}"
+          - "ansible_host(after)={{ ansible_host | default('UNSET') }}"
+          - "ansible_port={{ ansible_port | default('22') }}"
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: "Wrapper | Reset connection after ansible_host change"
+      meta: reset_connection
+
+    - name: "Wrapper | Debug after reset_connection"
+      debug:
+        msg:
+          - "inventory_hostname={{ inventory_hostname }}"
+          - "ansible_host(post_reset)={{ ansible_host | default('UNSET') }}"
+          - "ansible_port={{ ansible_port | default('22') }}"
+      changed_when: false
+
+
+    - name: "Wrapper | Pause 2s before next playbook"
+      pause:
+        seconds: 2
+      changed_when: false
+      
+- import_playbook: update-outdoorbackup224.yml
+  vars:
+    is_run_by: "scheduler"
diff --git a/files/ansible-playbooks/update-outdoorbackup224.yml b/files/ansible-playbooks/update-outdoorbackup224.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27c4c55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/files/ansible-playbooks/update-outdoorbackup224.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,848 @@
+---
+- name: Upgrade firmware safely (no Python on target)
+  hosts: all
+  gather_facts: no
+
+  vars:
+    # RabbitMQ (pull from env if provided)
+    rmq_host: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_HOST') | default('10.210.12.2', true) }}"
+    rmq_port: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_PORT') | default('15672', true) }}"
+    rmq_user: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_USER') | default('admin', true) }}"
+    rmq_pass: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_PASS') | default('change_me', true) }}"
+    rmq_vhost: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_VHOST') | default('app', true) }}"
+    rmq_exchange: "{{ lookup('env','RMQ_EXCHANGE') | default('controls', true) }}"
+    control_queue: "{{ lookup('env','CONTROLQUEUE') | default('queue_controls', true) }}"
+
+    # Invocation context (default: manual; scheduler wrapper sets is_run_by=scheduler)
+    is_run_by_effective: "{{ is_run_by | default('manual') }}"
+
+    # NEW: Post-upgrade check scheduling (via holding queue -> DLX)
+    # The holding queue is bound to exchange 'deviceconfig.holding' with routing key 'deviceconfig'.
+    # Messages published here carry a per-message TTL (AMQP 'expiration' property, in ms).
+    # Once TTL elapses, messages dead-letter to exchange 'deviceconfig' with same routing key,
+    # where a consumer will perform the after-upgrade verification (attempt-based backoff lives on consumer side).
+    afterupgrade_hold_exchange: "{{ lookup('env','AFTERUP_HOLD_EXCHANGE') | default('deviceconfig.holding', true) }}"
+    afterupgrade_routing_key: "{{ lookup('env','AFTERUP_ROUTING_KEY') | default('deviceconfig', true) }}"
+    # Queue name is not used for publish; present for documentation/reference only
+    afterupgrade_hold_queue: "{{ lookup('env','AFTERUP_HOLD_QUEUE') | default('queue_deviceconfig_holdingzone', true) }}"
+
+    # REQUIRED (pass via -e)
+    firmware_path: /tmp/2.2.4-r9850.bin
+    firmware_sha256: "38f7dd3bb5b06a2267d7bc68e2d8351df59c2aea858d644909208e11a3970539"
+
+    # Helper computed vars
+    fw_base: "{{ firmware_path | basename }}"
+    fw_name: "{{ fw_base | regex_replace('\\.bin$', '') }}"
+    fw_banner_repr: "{{ fw_name | regex_replace('-r', ' rev ') }}"
+    fw_marker: "/tmp/prepared_for_{{ fw_name }}"
+    pathprefix: "PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin:$PATH; "
+
+  tasks:
+
+    # ----------------------------- HOSTNAME PREFLIGHT -----------------------------
+    - name: Hostname preflight
+      block:
+        - name: Read remote HOSTNAME
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} echo \"$HOSTNAME\""
+          register: host_env
+          changed_when: false
+
+        - name: Debug hostnames
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg:
+              - "remote_hostname={{ host_env.stdout | trim }}"
+              - "inventory_hostname={{ inventory_hostname }}"
+
+        - name: Stop if connected hostname differs from inventory
+          ansible.builtin.fail:
+            msg: "Aborting: connected host reported hostname '{{ host_env.stdout | trim }}' which differs from inventory '{{ inventory_hostname }}'."
+          when: (host_env.stdout | trim) != inventory_hostname
+
+      rescue:
+        - name: Build failure task name and detail (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            fail_task_name: "{{ ansible_failed_task.name | default('hostname preflight') }}"
+            fail_detail_raw: >-
+              {{ ansible_failed_result.msg
+                 | default(ansible_failed_result.stderr)
+                 | default(ansible_failed_result.stdout)
+                 | default('no additional error output')
+                 | trim }}
+
+        - name: Build failure summary text (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            fail_summary: >-
+              Firmware update aborted at '{{ fail_task_name }}': {{ fail_detail_raw }}
+
+        - name: Truncate failure summary to ~400 chars (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            fail_summary_short: "{{ fail_summary | regex_replace('\\s+', ' ') | trim | truncate(400, True, '...') }}"
+
+        - name: Build control queue payload for failure journal (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            journal_failure_payload_pre:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "journal_add"
+              task_result: "{{ fail_summary_short }}"
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish failure journal to control queue (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish failure journal to control queue (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ journal_failure_payload_pre | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_journal_pre_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_journal_pre_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_journal_pre_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_journal_pre_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_journal_pre_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_journal_pre_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+
+        - name: Build control queue payload for update-aborted tag (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            tag_failed_payload_pre:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "tag_add"
+              task_result: "update-aborted"
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish update-aborted tag to control queue (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish update-aborted tag to control queue (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ tag_failed_payload_pre | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_tag_failed_pre_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_tag_failed_pre_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_tag_failed_pre_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_tag_failed_pre_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_tag_failed_pre_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_tag_failed_pre_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+
+        - name: Scheduler | Publish action_state failed (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ {
+                'inscope_device': (ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname)),
+                'task_name': 'custom_field_set',
+                'task_add1': 'action_state',
+                'task_result': 'failed'
+              } | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          changed_when: false
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: is_run_by_effective == 'scheduler'
+
+        - name: Scheduler | Debug action_state failed published (hostname preflight)
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg: "scheduler-run detected; published action_state=failed (hostname preflight)"
+          when: is_run_by_effective == 'scheduler'
+
+        - name: Stop play after hostname preflight failure
+          ansible.builtin.meta: end_play
+
+    - name: Scheduler context | Debug is_run_by
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: "is_run_by={{ is_run_by_effective }}"
+
+    - name: Scheduler | Publish action_state inprogress (scheduler-run)
+      ansible.builtin.uri:
+        url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+        method: POST
+        user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+        password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+        force_basic_auth: true
+        status_code: 200
+        headers:
+          content-type: "application/json"
+        body_format: json
+        body:
+          properties:
+            content_type: "application/json"
+          routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+          payload: "{{ {
+            'inscope_device': (ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname)),
+            'task_name': 'custom_field_set',
+            'task_add1': 'action_state',
+            'task_result': 'inprogress'
+          } | to_json }}"
+          payload_encoding: "string"
+      changed_when: false
+      delegate_to: localhost
+      when: is_run_by_effective == 'scheduler'
+
+    - name: Scheduler | Debug action_state inprogress published
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: "scheduler-run detected; published action_state=inprogress"
+      when: is_run_by_effective == 'scheduler'
+
+    # --- Tag device as update-in-progress at start ---
+    - name: Build control queue payload for update-in-progress tag
+      ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+        tag_inprogress_payload:
+          inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+          task_name: "tag_add"
+          task_result: "update-in-progress"
+
+    - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish update-in-progress tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+      ansible.builtin.pause:
+        seconds: 1
+      delegate_to: localhost
+      changed_when: false
+    - name: Publish update-in-progress tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+      ansible.builtin.uri:
+        url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+        method: POST
+        user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+        password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+        force_basic_auth: true
+        status_code: 200
+        headers:
+          content-type: "application/json"
+        body_format: json
+        body:
+          properties:
+            content_type: "application/json"
+          routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+          payload: "{{ tag_inprogress_payload | to_json }}"
+          payload_encoding: "string"
+      register: rmq_tag_inprogress_resp
+      changed_when: (rmq_tag_inprogress_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_tag_inprogress_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+      failed_when: >
+        (rmq_tag_inprogress_resp.status != 200) or
+        (rmq_tag_inprogress_resp.json is not defined) or
+        (not (rmq_tag_inprogress_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+      delegate_to: localhost
+
+    - name: Log control queue tag publish result
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        var: rmq_tag_inprogress_resp.json
+      when: rmq_tag_inprogress_resp is defined
+
+    # --------------------- Prepared marker check BEFORE SSID scan -----------------
+    - name: Check if any prepared marker exists
+      ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} [ -e /tmp/prepared_for* ] && echo PRESENT || echo ABSENT"
+      register: prep_scan
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: Debug marker presence
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: "prepared_marker={{ prep_scan.stdout | trim }}"
+
+    - name: Journal preparation already present, skipping update steps
+      ansible.builtin.uri:
+        url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+        method: POST
+        user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+        password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+        force_basic_auth: true
+        status_code: 200
+        headers:
+          content-type: "application/json"
+        body_format: json
+        body:
+          properties:
+            content_type: "application/json"
+          routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+          payload: >-
+            {{
+              {
+                "inscope_device": (ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname)),
+                "task_name": "journal_add",
+                "task_result": (
+                  "Preparation already present for " ~ fw_banner_repr ~
+                  "; marker " ~ fw_marker ~
+                  ". Skipping update steps."
+                )
+              } | to_json
+            }}
+          payload_encoding: "string"
+      register: rmq_journal_prep_present
+      changed_when: (rmq_journal_prep_present.json is defined) and (rmq_journal_prep_present.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+      failed_when: >
+        (rmq_journal_prep_present.status != 200) or
+        (rmq_journal_prep_present.json is not defined) or
+        (not (rmq_journal_prep_present.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+      delegate_to: localhost
+      when: (prep_scan.stdout | trim) == 'PRESENT'
+
+
+    - name: End play for this host (already prepared)
+      ansible.builtin.meta: end_host
+      when: (prep_scan.stdout | trim) == 'PRESENT'
+
+    # --- SSID scan & journal (does not stop the play) ---
+    - name: Count SSID lines in /tmp/config.json (filtered)
+      ansible.builtin.raw: >
+        {{ pathprefix }}
+        grep '"ssid"' /tmp/config.json 2>/dev/null | grep -vE '\{|SC|auto|backha' | wc -l
+      register: ssid_lines
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: Debug SSID count
+
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: "ssid_count={{ (ssid_lines.stdout | default('0')) | trim }}"
+
+    - name: Build joined SSID list when multiple SSIDs found (≥3)
+      ansible.builtin.raw: >
+        {{ pathprefix }}
+        grep '"ssid"' /tmp/config.json | grep -vE '\{|SC|auto|backha' \
+        | sed -E 's/.*"ssid": "([^"]+)".*/\1/' \
+        | awk 'NR==1 { out=$0; next } { out=out","$0 } END { print out }'
+      register: ssid_concat
+      changed_when: false
+      when: (ssid_lines.stdout | trim | int) >= 3
+
+    - name: Build control queue payload for SSID journal (journal_add)
+      ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+        ssid_journal_payload:
+          inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+          task_name: "journal_add"
+          task_result: "Multiple SSID! {{ ssid_concat.stdout | trim }}"
+      when: (ssid_lines.stdout | trim | int) >= 3
+
+    - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish SSID journal to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+      ansible.builtin.pause:
+        seconds: 1
+      delegate_to: localhost
+      changed_when: false
+    - name: Publish SSID journal to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+      ansible.builtin.uri:
+        url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+        method: POST
+        user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+        password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+        force_basic_auth: true
+        status_code: 200
+        headers:
+          content-type: "application/json"
+        body_format: json
+        body:
+          properties:
+            content_type: "application/json"
+          routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+          payload: "{{ ssid_journal_payload | to_json }}"
+          payload_encoding: "string"
+      register: rmq_ssid_journal_resp
+      changed_when: (rmq_ssid_journal_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_ssid_journal_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+      failed_when: >
+        (rmq_ssid_journal_resp.status != 200) or
+        (rmq_ssid_journal_resp.json is not defined) or
+        (not (rmq_ssid_journal_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+      delegate_to: localhost
+      when: ssid_journal_payload is defined
+
+    # ----------------------------- MAIN UPDATE BLOCK -----------------------------
+    - name: Firmware update main block
+      block:
+
+        - name: Check if firmware image is already on the device
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} [ -f '{{ firmware_path }}' ] && echo OK || echo MISSING"
+          register: fw_exists
+          changed_when: false
+
+        - name: Count fw_printenv lines
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} fw_printenv 2>/dev/null | wc -l"
+          register: env_line_count
+          changed_when: false
+
+        - name: Debug fw_printenv line count
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg: "fw_printenv_lines={{ env_line_count.stdout | trim }}"
+
+        - name: Stop if bootloader environment looks invalid (<7 lines)
+          ansible.builtin.fail:
+            msg: "Aborting: fw_printenv returned only {{ env_line_count.stdout | trim }} lines (<7) — environment missing or corrupted."
+          when: (env_line_count.stdout | trim | int) < 7
+
+        - name: Read first line of /etc/banner (current running version)
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} cat /etc/banner | grep -i rev | head -n1"
+          register: banner
+          changed_when: false
+
+        - name: current version
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg:
+              - "current banner: {{ banner.stdout | trim }}"
+
+        - name: Stop if target version matches current (/etc/banner already at {{ fw_banner_repr }})
+          ansible.builtin.fail:
+            msg: "Aborting: device already runs {{ fw_banner_repr }} (banner: {{ banner.stdout | trim }})"
+          when: banner.stdout is search(fw_banner_repr)
+
+        - name: Upload firmware to /tmp via scp (controller-side)
+          ansible.builtin.shell: |
+            set -e
+            SRC='{{ fw_src_local | default("/opt/containers/ansible-worker/app/2.2.4-r9850.bin") }}'
+            DST_USER='{{ ansible_user | default("root") }}'
+            DST_HOST='{{ ansible_host | default(inventory_hostname) }}'
+            test -f "$SRC"
+            sshpass -p '{{ ansible_ssh_pass }}' scp -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o PubkeyAuthentication=no \
+              "$SRC" "${DST_USER}@${DST_HOST}:{{ firmware_path }}"
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: fw_exists.stdout is not defined or (fw_exists.stdout | trim) != 'OK'
+          changed_when: true
+
+        - name: Re-check firmware presence after optional upload
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} test -f '{{ firmware_path }}' && echo OK || echo MISSING"
+          register: fw_exists2
+          changed_when: false
+          failed_when: (fw_exists2.stdout | trim) != 'OK'
+
+        - name: Compute sha256 of the uploaded image
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} sha256sum '{{ firmware_path }}' | awk '{print $1}'"
+          register: sha_out
+          changed_when: false
+
+        - name: Verify sha256 matches expected
+          ansible.builtin.fail:
+            msg: "SHA256 mismatch for {{ firmware_path }}. Got {{ sha_out.stdout | trim }}, expected {{ firmware_sha256 }}"
+          when: (sha_out.stdout | trim) != (firmware_sha256 | trim)
+
+        - name: sha256 verification debug
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg:
+              - "sha256sum is: {{ sha_out.stdout | trim }}"
+
+        - name: Check image validity (update -c must say 'valid')
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} update -c '{{ firmware_path }}'"
+          register: up_check
+          changed_when: false
+          failed_when: up_check.stdout.strip() != 'valid'
+
+        - name: image verification debug
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg:
+              - ".bin verification is: {{ up_check.stdout | trim }}"
+
+        #    - name: forced stop before writing
+        #      ansible.builtin.meta: end_play
+
+        - name: Write image (this will take a while)
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} update -w '{{ firmware_path }}'"
+          register: up_write
+          changed_when: true
+          failed_when: up_write.stdout is not search('update is complete')
+        - name: Create prepared marker
+          ansible.builtin.raw: "{{ pathprefix }} touch '{{ fw_marker }}'"
+          changed_when: true
+
+        - name: Build control queue payload (progress & target version)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            nbq2_payload_obj:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "update_outdoorbackup"
+              task_result: "backup_prepared"
+              task_add1: "{{ fw_banner_repr }}"     # e.g., "2.2.0 rev 9739"
+          when: up_write is changed
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish message to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish message to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ nbq2_payload_obj | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_resp.json.routed | default(false))
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (rmq_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool == false)
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: nbq2_payload_obj is defined
+
+        - name: Log control queue publish result
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            var: rmq_resp.json
+          when: rmq_resp is defined
+
+        - name: Summary
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg:
+              - "Banner before: {{ banner.stdout | trim }}"
+              - "Target version: {{ fw_banner_repr }}"
+              - "SHA256: OK ({{ sha_out.stdout | trim }})"
+              - "update -c: {{ up_check.stdout | trim }}"
+              - "update -w: OK"
+              - "Marker: {{ fw_marker }}"
+
+        # --- Success tag selection (ONLY CHANGE) --- (ONLY CHANGE) ---
+        - name: Build control queue payload for update-backup-prepared (rebootin == 0)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            tag_auto_restarted_payload:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "tag_add"
+              task_result: "update-backup-prepared"
+          when:
+            - nbq2_payload_obj is defined
+            - rebootin is defined
+            - (rebootin | int) == 0
+
+        - name: Build control queue payload for update-backup-prepared (rebootin >= 1)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            tag_restart_scheduled_payload:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "tag_add"
+              task_result: "update-backup-prepared"
+          when:
+            - nbq2_payload_obj is defined
+            - rebootin is defined
+            - (rebootin | int) >= 1
+
+        - name: Build control queue payload for update-backup-prepared tag (no reboot scheduled)
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            tag_waits_restart_payload:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "tag_add"
+              task_result: "update-backup-prepared"
+          when:
+            - nbq2_payload_obj is defined
+            - rebootin is not defined
+
+        # --- Publish chosen tag (updated names only) ---
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish update-backup-prepared tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish update-backup-prepared tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ tag_waits_restart_payload | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_tag_waits_restart_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_tag_waits_restart_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_tag_waits_restart_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_tag_waits_restart_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_tag_waits_restart_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_tag_waits_restart_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: tag_waits_restart_payload is defined
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish update-backup-prepared tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish update-backup-prepared tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ tag_auto_restarted_payload | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_tag_auto_restarted_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_tag_auto_restarted_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_tag_auto_restarted_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_tag_auto_restarted_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_tag_auto_restarted_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_tag_auto_restarted_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: tag_auto_restarted_payload is defined
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish update-backup-prepared tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish update-backup-prepared tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ tag_restart_scheduled_payload | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_tag_restart_scheduled_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_tag_restart_scheduled_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_tag_restart_scheduled_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_tag_restart_scheduled_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_tag_restart_scheduled_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_tag_restart_scheduled_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: tag_restart_scheduled_payload is defined
+
+        # --- Journal: preparation successful (only if fully successful) ---
+        - name: Build control queue payload for success journal
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            journal_success_payload:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "journal_add"
+              task_result: >-
+                Backup bank prepared for { fw_banner_repr }.
+                Active unchanged; marker { fw_marker }.
+          when: nbq2_payload_obj is defined
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish success journal to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish success journal to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ journal_success_payload | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_journal_success_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_journal_success_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_journal_success_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_journal_success_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_journal_success_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_journal_success_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+
+        - name: Scheduler | Publish action_state done (success) (success)
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ {
+                'inscope_device': (ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname)),
+                'task_name': 'custom_field_set',
+                'task_add1': 'action_state',
+                'task_result': 'done'
+              } | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          changed_when: false
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: is_run_by_effective == 'scheduler'
+
+      rescue:
+        - name: Build failure task name and detail
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            fail_task_name: "{{ ansible_failed_task.name | default('unknown step') }}"
+            fail_detail_raw: >-
+              {{ ansible_failed_result.msg
+                 | default(ansible_failed_result.stderr)
+                 | default(ansible_failed_result.stdout)
+                 | default('no additional error output')
+                 | trim }}
+
+        - name: Build failure summary text
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            fail_summary: >-
+              Firmware update aborted at '{{ fail_task_name }}': {{ fail_detail_raw }}
+
+        - name: Truncate failure summary to ~400 chars
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            fail_summary_short: "{{ fail_summary | regex_replace('\\s+', ' ') | trim | truncate(400, True, '...') }}"
+
+        - name: Build control queue payload for failure journal
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            journal_failure_payload:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "journal_add"
+              task_result: "{{ fail_summary_short }}"
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish failure journal to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish failure journal to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ journal_failure_payload | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_journal_fail_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_journal_fail_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_journal_fail_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_journal_fail_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_journal_fail_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_journal_fail_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+
+        - name: Build control queue payload for update-aborted tag
+          ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+            tag_failed_payload:
+              inscope_device: "{{ ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname) }}"
+              task_name: "tag_add"
+              task_result: "update-aborted"
+
+        - name: Bandaid | Pause before Publish update-aborted tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.pause:
+            seconds: 1
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          changed_when: false
+        - name: Publish update-aborted tag to control queue via RabbitMQ HTTP API
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ tag_failed_payload | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          register: rmq_tag_failed_resp
+          changed_when: (rmq_tag_failed_resp.json is defined) and (rmq_tag_failed_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool)
+          failed_when: >
+            (rmq_tag_failed_resp.status != 200) or
+            (rmq_tag_failed_resp.json is not defined) or
+            (not (rmq_tag_failed_resp.json.routed | default(false) | bool))
+          delegate_to: localhost
+
+        - name: Scheduler | Publish action_state failed (update failure)
+          ansible.builtin.uri:
+            url: "http://{{ rmq_host }}:{{ rmq_port }}/api/exchanges/{{ rmq_vhost | urlencode }}/{{ rmq_exchange | urlencode }}/publish"
+            method: POST
+            user: "{{ rmq_user }}"
+            password: "{{ rmq_pass }}"
+            force_basic_auth: true
+            status_code: 200
+            headers:
+              content-type: "application/json"
+            body_format: json
+            body:
+              properties:
+                content_type: "application/json"
+              routing_key: "{{ control_queue }}"
+              payload: "{{ {
+                'inscope_device': (ansible_hostname | default(inventory_hostname)),
+                'task_name': 'custom_field_set',
+                'task_add1': 'action_state',
+                'task_result': 'failed'
+              } | to_json }}"
+              payload_encoding: "string"
+          changed_when: false
+          delegate_to: localhost
+          when: is_run_by_effective == 'scheduler'
+
+        - name: Scheduler | Debug action_state failed published (update failure)
+          ansible.builtin.debug:
+            msg: "scheduler-run detected; published action_state=failed (update failure)"
+          when: is_run_by_effective == 'scheduler'
\ No newline at end of file