Anybody shopping for an OBDII adapter will immediately find a little blue box for a low price. They have a lot of different brands, but "ELM327" will frequently be in the ad or on the label. This is because the ELM327 chip inside the original units had a great reputation. Unfortunately, that ELM327 chip costs more for wholesale to the manufacturers than the whole OBDII units you find on eBay. Remember - the manufacturer has to buy the chip, build a case with the OBDII port, and sell it for a profit... so the "real" units should cost closer to $80 or more.

Welll.... China cloned the ELM327 chip, covered it with an OBDII case, and sent shipping containers of them to us at a very low price. Quality control? Pshaw. Their attitude is to just build it and ship it. Problems? Not many Americans get in a big dust-up about warranty on a $20 item, they just try another unit - very likely from the same manufacturer without the buyer's knowledge. So... they get their money, and we get frustration. What a deal.

If this sounds like I'm on a solo rant, consider these excerpts:

From FORScan:

From BAFX:

From Fadvisor:

From DX.com, selling an OBDII Bluetooth adapter that "supports all OBDII Protocols" (it says this right on the label):

Remember - we're J1850 PWM.

From Torque Pro:

 

We can only hope China's military technology suffers from the same reliability issues.

 

Until our illustrious leadership starts farming out to China for our OWN stuff....

 

I hope you're right, Whitey, but I bet every component has 2 bins- one labeled "for our use", and one labeled "for everyone else"...

 

Awesome job doing the research, compiling it, and posting!

 

I am frequently asked on the forum and in PMs which OBDII adapter I "endorse". While I haven't tried the other units, I have done my homework with my OCD eye and 40 years background in electronics (yes, I worked with tubes at one time). I am not affiliated in any way with any vendor - I'm on salary in the agriculture business, and I'm just sharing what I have learned in this hobby. Here is a copy and paste from a PM to a very good friend (with a few edits here and there). You might note I'm not regurgitating quotes from the "brochure" - these are my own words:

With all my research and direct experience, the clear winner is the one I own now - the OBDLink MX Bluetooth [LINK]. There is also an OBDLink MX WiFi, but it has such a lag that I would use it only if I was purely dedicated to Apple products - since Apple won't use Bluetooth.

The reasons for my unit:

• Clear and obvious support. There is a website for this and other products in the family, a support forum [LINK], free OBDII software downloads that work on whichever platform you have - and you can buy Ford "enhanced" OBDII diagnostics software on their site. Most of the OBDII apps I've tinkered with list the OBDLink MX as an adapter to link with, and make direct use of special features in the adapter. My unit is still under the 3-year warranty.
• No power drain. Once the key is turned on, the adapter gets a signal to use the OBD +volts to remain on for a while, even if the key is off. The adapter times out after that extended period of time, then it powers down completely. I have left mine in the port without starting the truck for up to 3 months without ill effect. I moved the OBDII port behind the knee dash to get it away from my shin and out of sight.
• Freaking fast. This thing retrieves data just as fast as our truck can dish it out and our portable device/apps can deal with it - same on my 2nd-gen Prius. I can't say that about any other product out there, except the Infinity. The very expensive Infinity neither lags nor leads the speed race on our trucks - our trucks can talk only so fast through the OBDII port.
• Quality. Just a glimpse at the device shows an obvious step up on build quality. While this unit is not absolutely perfect at all times (once in a great while, I have to pull the device to "reboot" it), I feel very comfortable that it will just work on a daily basis. Hell... even the website demonstrates a dedication to quality. In all fairness about the reboot thing, most other units would never be left in for months at a time - because of the power drain.
• Future-resistant. I already mention the same device that talks to our antiquated trucks also talks to my not-so-classic Prius. I checked, and there isn't an OBDII protocol that this unit won't read (yet).
• Security. As OCD as I am with my truck, I am borderline nuts with privacy issues and security. Because the unit powers down until I turn the key - no invader can possibly link to the unit in an unattended vehicle and unlock the doors with their phone (you can do this through the GEM or VSM on our trucks). I can't say the same with certainty about any other device out there. OBDLink also says they have security measures in there for when the key is on, but the device can't pair with two devices simultaneously anyway - so I'm generally covered.

 

Great info, but to I have to admit, I'm using one of those $20 Elm 327 boxes successfully. With two samsung phones now and a tablet. I'm guessing one of the production runs must have been Ok. That said, the unit you posted does look superior. I love the no power drain feature as I have to remove the Elm 327 which is PITA and interferes with data logging frequency.

 

For those of you out there wanting to get set up to run Forscan on your truck spend the extra money and get the quality OBDII adapter. The $10 cheap one didn't work for me as I didn't do enough research before hand.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought this one a month ago and so far so good.

 

I purchased the OBDLink MX Bluetooth as well, use it with torque pro and have had no issues. Highly recommend it. What some may not be aware of is I can leave the adaptor installed without worrying about it draining the battery - it has a "sleep" mode. It also has a high level of security encryption for the bluetooth signal. Reliable, accurate, and replaces any need for adding many gauges.

 

from Tugly's linked thread and posts here, I got it that the best hardware if OBDLink LX or MX depending if one want the wifi option. However, I'm still not clear so far if this will work with Forscan in iOS. Their official website still says no iOS. Please enlighten me, thx. I'd like one that will work with both android and iOS. Erwin

 

Thank you for the recommendation. It is the one I bought based on your advise. (from the PID threads) Works great, no hiccups and I expect it to be trouble-free for a long time.

My dad always told me when I was a kid, and I find it to be true most times even today, "you get what you pay for". There is a reason something cost more, not always but most times it's a quality issue.

 

I believe this is the page you want to see: FORScan compatibility. Any OBLink LK & MX compatibility issues are likely for using the software included with them, which you won't use at all - least I never have. I run Torque Pro while driving (sometimes) and FORScan for troubleshooting in the garage - but with an older PC laptop. The OBD adapters are merely tools, and are not installed or need drivers of any kind. So for Android & iOS, then it would be the OBDLink Wifi model.

I'm not sure how limited the iOS versions of FORScan are, but it's a simple program; get a cheap used PC laptop for a carputer and run it on that. Even the Windows Extended license is free, just gotta request it. I needed it to program another key fob on my new Ford Flex.

 

China is the worse counterfeiting country in the world. Unless you are a very large company it's hard to fight it. I worked in the medical industry manufacturing film before I retired. China could not duplicate our film but they did duplicate packaging, would intercept shipments overseas and repackage the less expensive film into the more expensive "looking" packaging. They even broke our RF tag encryption scheme so the medical equipment would accept the package as the genuine product. Cost us millions of dollars and years of work to counter measure the issue.

If you have ever been to a China manufacturing plant it is quite interesting. Unlike in the US and other country's where one person would do many assembly jobs on a product(s) in China one person would do the the same simple task such as connect a wire on a terminal and nothing else, then down to the next person in line. Quite interesting, but in doubt what happens if that one person in line was not available at the time, lol.

 

Bumping this thread for updating this discussion, as we enter into the 21st year of the 21st century.

@Tugly 's excellent (and as always, artfully written) introduction provides an unmatchable kickoff to the talking points.

For multi-brand or multi-generational vehicle fleets / households who need more than just SAE J1850 PWM capabilities, and are looking to read over HS-CAN and MS-CAN bus protocols, and likewise know and care about the capabilities of FTDI and STN1170 or newer chips, please feel free to add your recommendations here also.

Whether your known good, better, or best adapter is BlueTooth, WiFi, or hard wired into your laptop, whether it has a hard ISO/UBP switch or is auto detecting, whether it is super cheap or uber expensive... of interest to anyone reading is what WORKS, and works reliably, so please contribute your experience and explorations over the last 6 years (an eternity in the digital world) since this thread was created, and let us all know what is WORKING WELL without hiccups for you.

Thanks!