Ever since OBDII vehicles became the norm, anyone interested in repairing them must have a scan tool at hand. Some people refer to those devices as scan tools, diagnostic machines, or OBD dongles. In most cases, they refer to the same kind of object, but not all scan tools are the same.
In the case of vehicles made by the Volkswagen Group, the traditional solution was VCDS, which is still available today. Many refer to it as VAG Com, and it involves a dongle that hooks up to the OBD II port of the vehicles, and it has licensed software that needs to be installed on a laptop that must be connected to the scan tool.
Later, the makers of VCDS, which are Ross-Tech, developed a device called HEX-NET, which is a version of their device that also works wirelessly. Moreover, it can be connected to a smartphone instead of a laptop, but it also costs more money than the former, which is called HEX-V2.
The good news about these devices is that many can be used as scan tools for vehicles made by other brands, although they do require a different kind of software to be able to perform at the height of their functionality.
If you are looking for something like that, you might be better off with an interface that has an OBDII port on one side and a USB port on the other, and then all you need is software.
Mind you, universal scan tools exist, and some of them are high-quality tools, but these VAG-specific ones in the video below can do a bit more than the universal code readers.
Those who are interested in even more functions, such as accessing certain modules of a vehicle, not just the engine, may get additional adapters for their OBDII connectors and scan tools.
There are also Bluetooth-enabled scan tools that work with Android devices or laptops, but not with iPhones, as well as devices that only connect to an iPhone or a laptop, so be sure to check out the description and instructions before buying anything.
Charles, who is a certified Volkswagen technician with over a decade in the workshop, has prepared a comparison test between the HEX-NET, which is commonly referred to as a VAG COM scanner, and the OBDEleven device, which is a scan tool that is dedicated to VAG vehicles, and some even have extended connectivity to other makes, but not to all.
Watch Charles below to see what might be the best scan tool for you. If you do not own a vehicle made by the Volkswagen Group, you will need a different kind of OBDII reader, so be sure to ask who sells it if it will work on your vehicle, and check the return policy just to be sure you can get a refund if it does not.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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