ICarScan X431 Tool Available again.
05-12-2021, 08:46 PM
#436
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Location: Spring Lake, NJ, US of A
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Where did you find the iCarScan app? I downloaded the one from the Android Play Store - and it will let me log in (EZDiag doesn't under Android-10) but it doesn't accept the SN of my dongle. Very frustrating. I've sent them a "feedback" message but expect to hear nothing much back from them.. This seems to be a case where the Apple software is working and the Android isn't.
05-12-2021, 09:10 PM
#437
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Join Date: Mar 2011
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I will tell you Ive started to hate this device and no longer would recommend it. I loved it when I first got it 2+ years ago for my 955. I think there are now better options and frankly, Id be looking to buy a dedicated device that connects to OBD itself w/screen instead of relying on a phone.
1) The software could be so much better, theyve done nothing to improve the UI/UX
2) Requires internet access to work
3) Their model is - you buy device and get "free software". This expires at the end of a year. what this means is, if you ever switch phones or reset yours, you dont get the updated software back.
4) What this also means, is functionality becomes deprecated. For example, I first bought it to change brake fluid - you can cycle the ABS. I switched phones, and now I cant. Basic, basic functionality only.
If anyone knows how to solve these issues, or if im just a dummy, please let me know.
1) The software could be so much better, theyve done nothing to improve the UI/UX
2) Requires internet access to work
3) Their model is - you buy device and get "free software". This expires at the end of a year. what this means is, if you ever switch phones or reset yours, you dont get the updated software back.
4) What this also means, is functionality becomes deprecated. For example, I first bought it to change brake fluid - you can cycle the ABS. I switched phones, and now I cant. Basic, basic functionality only.
If anyone knows how to solve these issues, or if im just a dummy, please let me know.
You may want to consider the Foxwell NT530. It's a stand-alone unit, cable connects to the diagnostics head which has a screen and some buttons.
The software appears excellent for the 955 series, quite capable looking and can do component read/writes and good stuff like that. Ditto for use on the 987 series Boxster/Cayman. The software for the 958 series Cayenne isn't quite as advanced, but it does have some nice functions like an oil-fill tool that tells you exactly how much oil to add to the engine to bring it up to full (really needed for engines with no dipstick like the later model Porsches), and a function to pump out the air-suspension air-spring for any wheel and pump the nitrogen into the nitrogen reservoir, and then after replacement/repair - refill the replacement air-spring from the reservoir.
I have used it for ABS bleed on my Boxster and it worked fine.
Cost is around $155 with the Porsche software. Supposedly software updates are free for life once you've purchased a manufacturer. You can find out more at: https://www.foxwelltool.com/ - message Sales from that page and ask for the "best price" - that's how I got the $155 price for it.
My only dissatisfaction with it is - the battery coding routine for the 958 Cayenne doesn't work (takes all the data then tells you the function isn't available) and their response to this problem has been very poor to date. There is a table on the website that will tell you what it's capable of with what car/model: https://www.foxwelltool.com/ext/support-fun-list.html I'd suggest looking at it before ordering so you're not surprised with the lack of some function you might think should be there.
Last edited by deilenberger; 05-12-2021 at 09:13 PM.
05-13-2021, 06:33 PM
#438
Rennlist Member
I have pretty much the same feelings now toward the iCarScan - and I'm the one who started this thread several years ago. I have not succeeded in getting it to work with Android-10. I have to keep an old Android-7 phone around to use it.
You may want to consider the Foxwell NT530. It's a stand-alone unit, cable connects to the diagnostics head which has a screen and some buttons.
The software appears excellent for the 955 series, quite capable looking and can do component read/writes and good stuff like that. Ditto for use on the 987 series Boxster/Cayman. The software for the 958 series Cayenne isn't quite as advanced, but it does have some nice functions like an oil-fill tool that tells you exactly how much oil to add to the engine to bring it up to full (really needed for engines with no dipstick like the later model Porsches), and a function to pump out the air-suspension air-spring for any wheel and pump the nitrogen into the nitrogen reservoir, and then after replacement/repair - refill the replacement air-spring from the reservoir.
I have used it for ABS bleed on my Boxster and it worked fine.
Cost is around $155 with the Porsche software. Supposedly software updates are free for life once you've purchased a manufacturer. You can find out more at: https://www.foxwelltool.com/ - message Sales from that page and ask for the "best price" - that's how I got the $155 price for it.
My only dissatisfaction with it is - the battery coding routine for the 958 Cayenne doesn't work (takes all the data then tells you the function isn't available) and their response to this problem has been very poor to date. There is a table on the website that will tell you what it's capable of with what car/model: https://www.foxwelltool.com/ext/support-fun-list.html I'd suggest looking at it before ordering so you're not surprised with the lack of some function you might think should be there.
You may want to consider the Foxwell NT530. It's a stand-alone unit, cable connects to the diagnostics head which has a screen and some buttons.
The software appears excellent for the 955 series, quite capable looking and can do component read/writes and good stuff like that. Ditto for use on the 987 series Boxster/Cayman. The software for the 958 series Cayenne isn't quite as advanced, but it does have some nice functions like an oil-fill tool that tells you exactly how much oil to add to the engine to bring it up to full (really needed for engines with no dipstick like the later model Porsches), and a function to pump out the air-suspension air-spring for any wheel and pump the nitrogen into the nitrogen reservoir, and then after replacement/repair - refill the replacement air-spring from the reservoir.
I have used it for ABS bleed on my Boxster and it worked fine.
Cost is around $155 with the Porsche software. Supposedly software updates are free for life once you've purchased a manufacturer. You can find out more at: https://www.foxwelltool.com/ - message Sales from that page and ask for the "best price" - that's how I got the $155 price for it.
My only dissatisfaction with it is - the battery coding routine for the 958 Cayenne doesn't work (takes all the data then tells you the function isn't available) and their response to this problem has been very poor to date. There is a table on the website that will tell you what it's capable of with what car/model: https://www.foxwelltool.com/ext/support-fun-list.html I'd suggest looking at it before ordering so you're not surprised with the lack of some function you might think should be there.
02-11-2022, 11:26 AM
#439
The V8 Porschephile
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Reviving an old thread based on the fact that my X431 no longer functions; especially when needing it the most on a recent chassis fault issue that popped up.
This company has done everything it possibly could to make the user's life difficult. I've experienced forced software updates smack in the middle of a given crucial diagnostic; followed by the usual crash. Continuous bumping and forced password changes have always been the norm. Lastly, I originally purchased five brands for the different vehicles our family owns; only to have four of them stop working and requiring me to re-purchase them from Golo. Now, the software just doesn't allow me to use the unit.
Don, you had recommended the Foxwell NT530 as a good unit. Are there forced updates with this unit as well? Also, has anybody purchased the Schwaben Pro Scan Tool from Pelican at $237? I'd be willing to pay more for something that actually works and also have some support if needed.
This company has done everything it possibly could to make the user's life difficult. I've experienced forced software updates smack in the middle of a given crucial diagnostic; followed by the usual crash. Continuous bumping and forced password changes have always been the norm. Lastly, I originally purchased five brands for the different vehicles our family owns; only to have four of them stop working and requiring me to re-purchase them from Golo. Now, the software just doesn't allow me to use the unit.
Don, you had recommended the Foxwell NT530 as a good unit. Are there forced updates with this unit as well? Also, has anybody purchased the Schwaben Pro Scan Tool from Pelican at $237? I'd be willing to pay more for something that actually works and also have some support if needed.
02-11-2022, 01:18 PM
#440
My experience with X431 echoes yours and i gave up on it (i hated my experience and it didn't feel like i could trust the tool in a pinch). I have only done the most basic maintenance on my '16 panamera s e-hybrid., but I did move on to the Schwaben tool (Mfg Part #018656SCH01A) a couple of years ago, purchased on sale from ECS Tuning. Because it was a self-contained unit, it did provide a better sense of reliability. it is a bit old school clunky on the interface vs. the x431. It seems to perform fine for the basic stuff that i have done, with the exception of the procedure to change the e-hybrid clutch fluid. i don't know if it was user error, but i couldn't get the x431 to initiate the procedure at all, and could only get the Schwaben tool to get me partially through the procedure, though the procedures on both tools were essentially the same as those i found online to do the procedure using a piwis 2. who knows.
I have also since purchased the piwis 3 clone from one of the online Chinese stores, but haven't yet tried it on the cluid fluid change...that will happen this next December. Good luck to you.
I have also since purchased the piwis 3 clone from one of the online Chinese stores, but haven't yet tried it on the cluid fluid change...that will happen this next December. Good luck to you.
02-11-2022, 02:59 PM
#441
The V8 Porschephile
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thanks for the input. I think that any device that can be prevented from calling home and updating itself (against your wishes) is already a step in the right direction.
I'm hoping that a wired handheld device like the Schwaben or the Foxwell will do just that. My experience with an old Autel VAG code reader was always a good one, as it has always worked and still works today on the older VW's; despite it's old school "clunkiness".... ;-)
I'm hoping that a wired handheld device like the Schwaben or the Foxwell will do just that. My experience with an old Autel VAG code reader was always a good one, as it has always worked and still works today on the older VW's; despite it's old school "clunkiness".... ;-)