EOI CLOSED: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

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EOI CLOSED: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Manaz » Mon May 27, 2013 4:36 pm

Hi all,

I was about to grab one of the OBDLink MX Scan Tools (http://www.scantool.net/obdlink-mx.html) for myself from the US - unit price is USD$149.95, shipping is USD$44.95, total of USD$194.90. AUD$200 or so after currency conversions.

This is the preferred bluetooth device for the "Torque" app available for Android - it lets you query the OBD2 interface for a variety of information. You could probably connect it to any PC with Bluetooth to collect OBD2 data.

I've got some history running group buys for the VWWC community, so figured I'f see what it'll cost to get 5 units in.

Even without a per-unit price drop, shipping is only USD$49.10. Bringing the per-buyer price down from AUD$200 to around AUD$165 (landed in Sydney, anyway).

So, is anyone interested?
Last edited by Manaz on Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby jakey » Mon May 27, 2013 5:11 pm

My $9.00 ELM327 unit is fine, why do you need to spend $150?
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EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Nipple06 » Mon May 27, 2013 5:43 pm

Put me as a maybe gotta some cash in hand I gotta spend
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby bosc0 » Mon May 27, 2013 7:51 pm

Pity about the recent slump in the Aussie $.
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Manaz » Mon May 27, 2013 11:30 pm

jakey wrote:My $9.00 ELM327 unit is fine, why do you need to spend $150?


Great, congrats, I'm genuinely pleased for you.

Nipple06 wrote:Put me as a maybe gotta some cash in hand I gotta spend


No worries.

bosc0 wrote:Pity about the recent slump in the Aussie $.


Tell me about it. :(
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby jakey » Mon May 27, 2013 11:46 pm

Manaz wrote:
jakey wrote:My $9.00 ELM327 unit is fine, why do you need to spend $150?


Great, congrats, I'm genuinely pleased for you.



why the sarcasm? scared to answer my question? don't be a jerk.
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Manaz » Tue May 28, 2013 12:14 am

jakey wrote:why the sarcasm? scared to answer my question? don't be a jerk.


You're seeing sarcasm where it doesn't exist. And what the hell would I be scared to answer, seriously?

That you're happy with your $9 jobbie is great - that's your choice, and if it does what you want it to do, and you're happy with the price you paid, then you've paid exactly what you needed to pay for what you got.

I'm interested in the device I linked to. It's widely regarded as the best of the bluetooth OBDII devices, particularly for use with apps such as Torque, as it has the fastest read speeds, you can leave it connected all the time (as it's not meant to drain the battery if you leave it connected), it's flash upgradable (for feature enhancements or bug fixes), known good customer service from the vendor, compatible with a variety of vehicles (including those fitted with CANBUS as well as older electronics systems), includes security features (so unauthorised people can't pair with it and/or make changes to your car whilst the device is attached), etc. - check the link I provided for the full feature set. I didn't at any stage suggest that it's the only device anyone should ever use, or that there was something wrong with your $9 device. Nor did I attempt to force anyone to buy this.

If you're not interested in it, great. Nobody's forcing you to be interested in it.

But if you're not interested, don't be a dick and call people who are interested in it "jerks" because they see value in something you do not. I provided a link to the webpage for the device, people are also able to use Google to search for info if they want, and people should be free to make a decision as to whether or not they're interested free from innuendo and insults from people who may disagree with their choice.

The only person being a jerk here is you - insinuating that because you're happy with a $9 item, there must be something wrong with me because I'm considering a $150 item. If rather than trying to insult or question my right to make my own decision regarding which item I buy you were infact asking a genuine question, perhaps you could learn to ask your questions a little more suitably. I'd have responded totally differently had you said something like "I bought a $9 OBD2 reader, but the one you're linking to is $150 - what are the potential differences between the two?". The response then would have been something like this:

I saw the ELM327 stuff mentioned on the Torque website (http://torque-bhp.com/wiki/images/thumb ... Clone6.jpg is the pic they provide), they said the following:

"Some units seem to suffer poor build quality and reliability issues. Other units are perfectly fine. Make sure you purchase with a buyer who has a decent returns policy should the unit turn out to be defective. If you have connection issues, or displays randomly 'pausing' in the app then it is most likely an adapter issue.
If you are using the USB version of this adapter then be aware that you will need to make sure the adapter uses an FTDI or Prolific usb to serial converter chip and have an android device running Android 3.1 or 4.0(or above) and supports USB host mode - you will also need the Pro version of Torque for USB support (though this will be ported to the lite app eventually)
If you are using adapters with a bluetooth MAC address of 11:22:33:DD:EE:FF then be aware that these adapters will not work with other adapters nearby with the same address (and should be avoided if you plan to use multiple adapters) Some of these units also appear to have pairing issues."

So my concern there would be that purchasing a cheap ELM327-device such as the one you've got may be a bit of a lucky dip - and I'd personally rather buy a device with a good reputation and buy it once than potentially have to buy 2-3 cheaper units and spend my time chasing down faults and requesting returns/etc.


And then we'd all be a lot happier, instead of bitching at each other in what should be a nice clean GB thread. Wouldn't that be nice...
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Manaz » Tue May 28, 2013 12:23 am

FYI, here's a link to another page that says why buying a cheap ELM327 clone unit may not be the best idea:

https://www.scantool.net/forum/index.php?topic=2379.0

(for jakey - the fact that you've apparently avoided the pitfalls mentioned on that page is great for you - but I don't want to take the risk that I'll be as lucky).
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby jakey » Tue May 28, 2013 4:11 pm

thank you for the clarification. I did not realise there was actually advantages and thought it may be just overpriced to hell.

sorry for the insinuation.
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Nipple06 » Tue May 28, 2013 7:58 pm

random question but can you get the tourque app for iphone ?
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Manaz » Tue May 28, 2013 8:43 pm

Nipple06 wrote:random question but can you get the tourque app for iphone ?


Apparently Apple charge a royalty for use of their bluetooth stack, so you need a WiFi OBDII adapter and an app like the following:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/engine- ... 57194?mt=8

Or:

http://hackaday.com/2008/09/27/use-rev- ... d-ii-port/

Alternatively, grab a dirt cheap Android device (7" tablet perhaps?) :)
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby NewJerseyDamo » Tue May 28, 2013 9:53 pm

in regards to the ELM327 situation, not all Subaru's use the ELM327 method, they use the SSM (Subaru propriety communications), and therefore you need an OBD device that will communicate with both ELM327 or SSM to be safe.

You would be better at looking at a group buy for this: http://www.obdkey.com/obd_bluetooth_info.asp
As it is recommended for Subaru's (and what i need for my 01 Liberty, ELM327 will NOT work).

Just thought I'd share the info.
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby Manaz » Wed May 29, 2013 7:35 am

NewJerseyDamo wrote:in regards to the ELM327 situation, not all Subaru's use the ELM327 method, they use the SSM (Subaru propriety communications), and therefore you need an OBD device that will communicate with both ELM327 or SSM to be safe.

You would be better at looking at a group buy for this: http://www.obdkey.com/obd_bluetooth_info.asp
As it is recommended for Subaru's (and what i need for my 01 Liberty, ELM327 will NOT work).

Just thought I'd share the info.


Thanks for that.

The item I'm considering isn't an ELM327-based tool. From their website:

Extended command set - Enables OBDLink MX to perform enhanced diagnostics not possible with ELM327-based scan tools. 100% compatible with legacy ELM327 command set.


However, I shall ask them specifically if they support Subaru's full command set, and will respond here again.
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby dwayne » Mon Jun 17, 2013 2:11 pm

I just bought a bluetooth OBDKey for use with Torque. OBDKey supports SSM (possibly II), and Torque supports SSM. *BUT* Torque does not (yet) support SSM-II with CANBUS - which I think is GenIV facelift models. Thus no workee with my MY07.

The author of Torque is "working on it"

For those of you with iOS, the Bluetooth OBDKEy can work perfectly fine, however you need to be jailbroken and buy Roqy's Bluetooth app.
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Re: EOI: OBDLink MX Scan Tool (Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool)

Postby dwayne » Mon Jun 17, 2013 2:12 pm

Nipple06 wrote:random question but can you get the tourque app for iphone ?


Nope. Best bet is probably DashCommand.
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