The adapter.
The program cannot read a car without one. It is an ordinary part: dozens of companies make them, they are sold in car-parts shops and online everywhere, and not one of them is made for this program in particular. We do not sell them.
Which one to get
Two we recommend, both on Amazon. A plain USB cable: it plugs into the car and into the computer, with nothing to pair and no Wi-Fi network to join. Or a Bluetooth adapter: no cable to run to the computer, and you pick it inside the program, with nothing to pair in your computer’s settings.
The USB adapter on Amazon → (opens in a new tab) The Bluetooth adapter on Amazon → (opens in a new tab)
Ordinary parts, not ours. If you buy through either link, Amazon pays us a small commission and you pay the same price. The USB cable has a switch: leave it on HS unless you know your car needs MS.
The switch on the USB cable
The USB cable has a small switch marked HS / MS. Leave it on HS. MS is a second, slower network that some Ford models have; on any other car it makes the adapter look dead. The Bluetooth adapter has no switch.
- THE CAR’S SOCKETUnder the dash, driver’s side. Every car sold in the US since 1996.
- THE ADAPTERYou buy this yourself, anywhere. Any ordinary OBD2 one will do.
- YOUR COMPUTERWindows or Linux. The program runs here, not on the adapter.
Already own one?
Any ordinary OBD2 adapter that can connect to a computer works — by USB cable, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Connection by connection:
| Connection | What it is | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| USB cable | The ordinary OBD2 cable, sold everywhere. Plugs into the car and into your computer. | Tested on a car |
| Bluetooth (paired first) | An older Bluetooth dongle you pair in your computer’s Bluetooth settings first. It then appears in the program’s USB list — not the Bluetooth LE one. | Should work |
| Bluetooth LE | A newer low-energy dongle, the kind usually sold for phones. You pick it inside the program — not in your computer’s Bluetooth settings — and it recognises the common makes on its own. | Tested on a car |
| Wi-Fi | A dongle that makes its own Wi-Fi network. You join it, then connect to 192.168.0.10 port 35000. | Beta |
Tested means whole drives recorded on a real car. Beta means the connection works in testing, and the program says BETA next to it as well. Either way, the seven days are there so you can find out on your own car before you pay anything.
What it does not work with
Scanners with their own screen, adapters locked to one company’s app, workshop programming boxes, and cables built for one carmaker’s own software. The home page explains each one.
On Linux
Linux needs permission to read the USB port. Add yourself to the serial group — dialout on most distributions, uucp on Arch — then log out and back in.
Then try it free
Everything is open for 7 days, on your own car, before you pay anything.
Windows or Linux · version 1.1.6 · $9.99 to unlock, once · OBD2 adapter not included