OBDII/Smartphone Combos which Work/Do Not Work

[vijayl]

This OBD2 scanner with Switch (~$17) works very well with Kyocera Event ~$40

 

[Boomer23]

Vgate OBD scan http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M1AVFQ/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Works with Google Nexus 7 tablet
2013 Leaf

Holland

Same Vgate mini as stjohnh linked to, works great with an old donated Droid X2 (thanks Keijidosha!).

The Droid has a terribly depleted battery and I should replace it. It also has no easy way to take screen shots, unless I "root" the phone, which I have no idea how to do. I bought the Vgate from Gary, who had tested it in advance.

 

[garygid]

I bought extra Kyocera Event phones (Android 4.0.4, which easily takes screen shots).
Replacing an old battery might be almost as expensive as upgrading the phone.
In any case, upgrading is an easy option, if someone is interested.

I swapped Tom's EV-modified ELM device for an unmodified one,
to better work with the latest versions of the LEAF Battery App,
which (with the discovery of GIDs on the CAR bus) only support
the LEAF's CAR CAN bus.

 

[Scribbious]

Simvalley™ Mini ELM327 Bluetooth OBD2 Auto Diagnostics Scanner with Power Switch for Android works fine with the Kyocera Event:

http://www.amazon.com/Simvalley%2599-ELM327-Bluetooth-Diagnostics-Switch/dp/B00CF88GEW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I got one of these and am returning it. Doesn't turn on/off and unreliable connection with HTC EVO LTE. Maybe just a bad unit, but I'm going to try the one where you just switch the PINs if I can find it. (not 100% sure which one without links)

 

[LEAFfan]

Simvalley™ Mini ELM327 Bluetooth OBD2 Auto Diagnostics Scanner with Power Switch for Android works fine with the Kyocera Event:

http://www.amazon.com/Simvalley%2599-ELM327-Bluetooth-Diagnostics-Switch/dp/B00CF88GEW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I got one of these and am returning it. Doesn't turn on/off and unreliable connection with HTC EVO LTE. Maybe just a bad unit, but I'm going to try the one where you just switch the PINs if I can find it. (not 100% sure which one without links)

The link may be in Stoaty's Wiki. He has a link in his sig.
The one I use and both have worked flawlessly (100% connects) with Kyocera eVent is from Simvalley also, but is Vgate (about $18) and has the four screws (garygid calls it 'stumpy') so you can easily switch pin 16 to pin 8 for switched Power.

 

[vijayl]

This one with switchworked very well so far for me..

 

[Duncan]

I've been using a Vgate adapter with a Sony Xperia Z and an HTC Velocity with no issues.

However, I strongly suspect that all compatibility issues that people are experiencing are coming from the adapter side. The phones are used by hundreds of thousands or millions of people every day for Bluetooth connections, so you would know if the phone was a problem.

The adapters are ultra cheap and dodgy technology, and clearly they do not all get tested before being posted out.

 

[garygid]

Bluetooth has a variety of Protocols, the commonly used Audio and Headset,
and also the less commonly used (not always available?) Serial Data Protocol,
that the Battery App uses.

So, lots of successful use of the Headset or Audio Protocols does
not mean that the Serial Data Protocol is even supported.

 

[FalconFour]

General rule of thumb: Bluetooth is completely software-implemented. The only hardware is the radio, which does exactly what the software tells it to do. So if a device has a Bluetooth radio, its only limitation is software implementation.

In addition, "software" is a Bluetooth stack within the device's operating system, which itself implements all the protocols in software, like mono headset audio (phone audio), stereo audio (A2DP virtual line-in cable for music), PIM item transfer (sending pictures, files, etc), printing, networking, and... serial.

Serial is one of the most basic, low-speed, low-complexity, well-documented and well-implemented functions, and Android (as well as everything dating back to Windows Mobile back in the early '00s) definitely supports serial across the board in the same way. If it's Android, it'll support serial, unless the device manufacturer specifically blocked it.

That's my case for turning this "whitelist" supported-phones list into a "blacklist" for those rare cases where it doesn't work. I can think of a thousand ways Bluetooth can screw up at the device (OBDII adapter) level, not the host (phone/Android device) level.

I don't mean to appear confrontational or pushy about this, and I definitely support and admire the efforts of the developers here. You guys have all put something amazing together that is far beyond my wildest expectations for data monitoring. It's just so amazing that I hate to see it wrapped up in a shroud of uncertainty. It's something you could easily sell on the Android market as a stable product now, in my opinion

 

[Berlino]

ObdCANADA BLUETOOTH OBD MultiProtocol Scan Tool -Elm327 V 1.4a (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00AR9PSUG/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) works with HTC One. The tool can be inconvenient, though, because it is over-sized.

 

[mwalsh]

Going to have to return my Simvalley Elm. Used it like 3 times, and it will still pair just fine with the phone, but no longer appears to connect to the CAR-CAN BUS. So today I had to use my EV-CAN BUS modded Elm from FairwoodRed to get my readings (still using an older version of the app and did not get any EV faults, despite forgetting to exit the app first. Or at least that's how I remember it).

 

[Turbo3]

Going to have to return my Simvalley Elm. Used it like 3 times, and it will still pair just fine with the phone, but no longer appears to connect to the CAR-CAN BUS. So today I had to use my EV-CAN BUS modded Elm from FairwoodRed to get my readings (still using an older version of the app and did not get any EV faults, despite forgetting to exit the app first. Or at least that's how I remember it).

You should get the latest beta, take an ELM Trace and send it to me so I can see where it is hanging up.

 

[mwalsh]

Going to have to return my Simvalley Elm. Used it like 3 times, and it will still pair just fine with the phone, but no longer appears to connect to the CAR-CAN BUS. So today I had to use my EV-CAN BUS modded Elm from FairwoodRed to get my readings (still using an older version of the app and did not get any EV faults, despite forgetting to exit the app first. Or at least that's how I remember it).

You should get the latest beta, take an ELM Trace and send it to me so I can see where it is hanging up.

But I don't think it's anything to do with your app. I have the same version I've used all along (well 0.25b, with the Heath update) and it's worked fine. Plus I'm not getting the indicator lights for OBD and Link coming up on the device anymore. Will newer versions of the app still work with an EV-CAN modded ELM if that's all I have for a while?

 

[Turbo3]

Unfortunately the EV-CAN does not support the requests the newer versions of the app requires.

So you are saying that the ELM was working fine and then stopped working? Could be bad soldering to the OBDII pins 6 and 14 which would prevent it from seeing the Leaf.

 

[mwalsh]

Unfortunately the EV-CAN does not support the requests the newer versions of the app requires.

So you are saying that the ELM was working fine and then stopped working? Could be bad soldering to the OBDII pins 6 and 14 which would prevent it from seeing the Leaf.

Yeah, that's what I thought. So I'm going to stick with the version I'm running now.

Yep, ELM was working fine. Now not. Definitely a problem with it. But it doesn't appear to be an easy one to get apart, so I'm not going to fool with it.

 

[LEAFfan]

But it doesn't appear to be an easy one to get apart, so I'm not going to fool with it.

That's why some of us have been recommending the 'stubby' Vgate from Simvalley (around $18) which is super easy to modify or fix since it has 4 screws for easy disassembly. I have two that I've changed the pins (16 to 8) to switched power and both work perfectly with my Kyocera eVent.

 

[mwalsh]

But it doesn't appear to be an easy one to get apart, so I'm not going to fool with it.

That's why some of us have been recommending the 'stubby' Vgate from Simvalley (around $18) which is super easy to modify or fix since it has 4 screws for easy disassembly. I have two that I've changed the pins (16 to 8) to switched power and both work perfectly with my Kyocera eVent.

No thanks. Don't want anything that long sticking down out of the ODBII port.

 

[LEAFfan]

But it doesn't appear to be an easy one to get apart, so I'm not going to fool with it.

That's why some of us have been recommending the 'stubby' Vgate from Simvalley (around $18) which is super easy to modify or fix since it has 4 screws for easy disassembly. I have two that I've changed the pins (16 to 8) to switched power and both work perfectly with my Kyocera eVent.

No thanks. Don't want anything that long sticking down out of the ODBII port.

So you've seen one then? LOL, why do you think they call it a 'stubby'? I'm almost 6ft, and I've never hit it once. Actually, it isn't that much longer than the one you had that didn't work.

 

[mwalsh]

The one I did have worked just fine. Until it didn't anymore. I'm probably gonna hit up FairwoodRed for another one of his, but without the EV-CAN mod.

 

[garygid]

Sadly, the Web is full of comments about the ELM clones, and
their ability to stop functioning well after some usage...
or not functioning well enough to start.

Probably there are some that are made better, and last longer,
but the lack of identification, even with the same label from
the same vendor, on the same order, one will often get
devices with two different "guts". And, paying $19 instead
of $13 does not appear to make a substantial difference.

Perhaps, "No guts, no glory" applies?