Rednroll

Hi Everyone,

After working on my wife's car which had a check engine light on and where all the symptoms indicated her car needed an oil pressure sensor replaced. Then I replaced that sensor and the problems still didn't go away and I ended up bringing it to a repair shop any how. I've decided it's time to invest in an OBD-II scanner.

I remember OBD-II scanners being a pretty common question on this forum, so I decided to use the search function and do some reading.

At 1st I thought, I was going to just run out and buy an all-in-one hand held scanner and be done. Then as I read more posts in this forum, more and more people seemed to be using the "Torque Pro" app for it's flexibility, as well as the amount of things you could do with the app. Seeing as though, I really didn't know anything about these scanners and what I will need in regards to features/functions....getting more and not using it, seemed like a better route than buying something that did less and finding myself needing something it didn't do. So the Torque app seemed like the way to go.

Ok, time to get out my iPhone and get the app and start putting the pieces together.....so I thought. Looking through the Apple Store, "Torque Pro" didn't exist. There were a lot of other apps, that advertised to do similar tasks, but no Torque Pro. Come back to the forum and do some more reading......and find out "Torque Pro" is only available for Android devices. Ok, I don't own any Android devices, so I start to wonder if I should get one of these other non Torque Pro apps??? And which one should I get???

Then yesterday, I thought my problems were solved. I was out shopping at the local Micro Center and they had a 7" Android Tablet on sale for $40. I'm like...I'll buy this tablet to do one thing...run Torque Pro and for $40 it's worth the investment to do that task. How cool will that be, to have a 7in screen to run Torque Pro??? Seemed like a great idea at the time.

BTW....if anyone has a Micro Center near them....you might want to stop by and pick one up.
Micro Center - Computers, Electronics, Computer Parts, Networking, Gaming, Software, and more!

I even bought one for my 2 year old son who likes to play with mom and dad's swipe screen on their iPhones, and watch YouTube video cartoons. I got the $10 3 year replacement plan for his though, since he occasionally likes to take these devices and "accidentally" throw them on the floor.

Ok...Android device now in hand. It's time to go look at buying an OBD-II wireless adapter to use with this $40 Android device. I find there are 2 options, OBD 2 "Bluetooth" or OBD 2 "Wifi". Ok, let's go to the Torque developer's website and see which ones they recommend. They only recommend the "Bluetooth" models. Ok....let's get a bluetooth adapter. Wait a second....this $40 Android device does not have Bluetooth, only Wifi.

Now I start reading the Torque Website's user forums, thinking someone has got to have tried a Wifi adapter with Torque Pro. Holy "Ad-hoc" Wi-Fi Technical jargon Batman!!!!! I've run myself into a technical interface nightmare!!!

What I find out is the following.
-If you own an Android Device, you will want to purchase a Bluetooth OBD2 adapter.
-If you own an iPhone you will want to purchase a Wifi OBD2 adapter.

The Bluetooth OBD2 adapters don't work with iPhone's because of the way Apple locks out other devices through Bluetooth. Then the Wifi adapters are configured so they communicate in the Apple iPhone language, which happens to be the exact opposite of the Android Wifi language and to get the Android devices to communicate the same way as the Apple devices you need to "Root" your Android device and then modify a few configuration files on the device, which will then in turn allow you to configure your wifi "Adhoc" setting on your Android device.

And here, I thought I was buying this Android device to make things less complicated?

Seriously......here's a guy who wrote up some pretty nice instructions to do such a thing. Wow!!! Am I ever looking forward to doing this stuff, just to learn a bunch of other road blocks along the way.
[GUIDE/TUT] How to get ICS devices run OBD2 interfaces via WIFI WITHOUT DROPS - xda-developers

So I now am finding myself doing more and more reading and research as I travel down this path, and I've found people who show that they've used an OBD-II Wifi adapter made by "VGATE" which seems to work with Android devices via Wifi but no one explains anything they may have had to do, to get it to work.

Is anyone on this forum using an OBD-II wifi adapter with an Android device and have it working with Torque Pro??? And can you share who makes this device and where to get this device and if there's anything special you had to do to get it working via Wifi?

Right now...I'm wishing I would have done no research and just went out and bought an OBD-II hand held scanner at Harbor Freight for $80. I feel like I'm in technical hell just trying to get something that will read me some check engine codes, allow me to clear the codes, and suggests the most likely problem that caused the code.

Rednroll

Whelp, 93 views and no replies. I guess that probably means I'm headed in a direction where no man has gone before and others are interested to find out the results.

So, I ordered a OBD-II to Wifi adapter, and I'll let everyone know how things work out, and if they work out I'll post a write-up.

mrgc

Engine link is the equivalent of torque pro but for IOS devices, it also allows custom PIDS.

Mark Doiron

Sorry I missed this. You need a better Android device and an OBD to Bluetooth adapter. I have a video on using a Nexus 7 in a Jeep JK. Digitalbydoiron on YouTube. It has links to parts l used. Once you're done, you will have a much greater capability than just a code reader.

Mark Doiron

Okay, on my desktop instead of phone now so I can give a better answer: OBD-BT adapter to Nexus 7 is awesome. I prefer the 2012 N7 due to the 2013 GPS issues (had one, had the latest updates, gave it to my son since GPS remains questionable). With the N7 I have Torque Pro. When an engine code occurs, Torque Pro gives me voice audio of the code, number, and a brief description of what it is ("P0456. Evaporative emission leak. Small leak detected.", etc). I also have great topo maps using Backcountry Navigator Pro (USGS quad topos for free), use it to carry and play my music, and use Copilot GPS Pro/Live/Whatever (they keep changing names) for highway navigation (no data connection required). I also carry copies of important documents on the tablet, such as wilderness travel permits, campsite reservations, Jeep torque tables, etc. The video I mentioned above only goes partly into this because I prepared long before I learned just how valuable the Nexus 7 was. Anyway, good luck with whatever solution you arrive at.

mrgc

http://torque-bhp.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay-ZvTn3fLo&sns=em

Rednroll

Thanks, that will be my back up plan.

My current plan is that I'm going to use the following 3 components.

Plan A
1. Azpen A700 Android tablet: $40
-Only communicates wirelessly via Wifi.
2. Torque Pro App: $4.99
3. Vgate OBD-II Wifi adapter :$35

From what I read the Vgate Wifi adapter has been designed to work with Android devices via Wifi unlike most other Wifi adapters, where no Adhoc work around hacks are needed. Waiting for it to arrive, to see if it actually works as advertised. If it doesn't work, then it's time to try Plan B.

Plan B
1. iPhone 5: Already own
2. Engine Link App: $5.99
3. Vgate OBD-II Wifi adapter : Already purchased from Plan A

Already read where people have had success using the Vgate Wifi adapter with the iPhone.

Thanks for the advise on the Nexus 7 Android Tablet. I'm sure it works well with a bluetooth OBD-II adatper, as well as with other Android smart phones from what I've read. I'm just not that interested in spending that much money for an Android Tablet/Device for it's bluetooth capabilities. The only reason I bought this other Android Tablet was because it was "cheap".

mfrank84

Found myself in the same situation. Hem hawed around for days, researching scanners, android bluetooth options etc... Finally ordered a bluetooth adapter made by BAFX and will purchase the Torque Pro app. Still have my eye on a Actron CP9575 or an Equus Innove 3150. These would be a little quicker to use vs having to connect via bluetooth, start app and so on. Maybe not that big a deal but I like the idea of just plugging a scanner in and getting quicker info.

Mark Doiron

This is slightly different than OP because he is working with a tablet that doesn't have BT.

Regardless, not sure what you mean by "vs having to connect via bluetooth, start app and so on." On my tablet, when I plug it into the Jeep, Torque immediately connects (okay, it takes a couple seconds) without any action on my part. Within 5-6 seconds all displays are up except GPS, that usually taking about 15-30 (which info is slow coming from the tablet, not the Jeep). When I turn off my Jeep, Torque goes into sleep mode automatically, and I leave it there. Maybe you need to check some settings for Torque if yours isn't working that way.

Rednroll

Just an update for now.

I received the V-Gate Wifi Adapter this past week.

The Android tablet connected to it with no problem. No Adhoc, Android OS hacking rooting needed.

I installed the Torque Lite "Free" version, just to see if Torque would communicate before I purchase the Torque Pro app.

Torque Lite does not communicate via Wifi, only Bluetooth. From what I read on the Torque forum website, to get Wifi connectivity you must buy Torque Pro.

One of the admins on the torque forum suggested in a post to try using an App named "ConnectBot", and stated that if ConnectBot works, most likely so will Torque Pro. So I installed the ConnectBot app which is free, and it's not a simple app where you can just connect via wifi. You have to manually enter in some kind of connection Port settings, and there's no instructions on how to do that.

So it's looking like I must purchase the Torque Pro app, to see if this actually works.