FORScan forum

Hi,
is the VLinkerFD+ a good ? or is it better to take an other one?
I've just Apple at the moment in house and no Microsoft, and this adapter I can also take to programm my BMW.

PS: it would be nice if someday you could create a soft also for Apple to code the the car

VLinker FD+ is a generic adapter, depending on your use, it will work.

I have the VLinker FD+, using it with an iOS phone. It works, but it regularly freezes for up to 10 seconds at a time, both when watching the dashboard view, and when looking at exported log data. So it's fine for general troubleshooting, but to get clean logs for dialing in a fueling or shift strategy, the data dropouts are not acceptable. It's inexpensive, so it has that going for it.

The BAFX bluetooth and wifi dongles were inexpensive and better in this regard, but could still occasionally drop up to 7 seconds of data. They appear to be no longer offered for sale.

I have not found a cheap dongle that works well. Recommend spending the money on the OBDLink MX+ to get a reliable wireless OBDII dongle at this point. I have been recently using OBDLink's SX wired USB dongle and Windows FORScan on a laptop to ensure I get the needed data when tuning.

bwst wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2024 2:15 pm I have the VLinker FD+, using it with an iOS phone. It works, but it regularly freezes for up to 10 seconds at a time,

Thanks for your post -- I find the data interesting, especially since I own several scantools, including the BAFX BT and the OBDLink SX. However, folks should be careful not to blame a scantool based solely on seeing a lag in the responses as shown.

Think about what's really happening...

1. Your app sends a command to the scantool.
2. The scantool re-formats that command and sends it to the vehicle.
3. The vehicle receives the command and formulates a reply.
4. The vehicle sends the reply to the scantool.
5. The scantool re-formats the vehicle's reply and sends it to the host (e.g. your iOS phone).
6. The host receives that reply, time-stamping and logging it to some storage medium.

There are many ways for lags to be introduced in that series of events.

Frankly, as the source(s) of the lags, I'd be more suspicious of the vehicle itself and, in the case of WiFi & Bluetooth, the transmission medium. Then I'd be suspicious of the host's operating system, especially for a phone.

Also, even though it wouldn't be 100% conclusive, it would be more interesting if you duplicated the testing while logging something reported by the vehicle that should be more predictable over time, like "engine run time". In fact, I may have to try that experiment myself someday! I don't recall ever seeing lags as large as you're seeing.