Recent Posts

1

Third-Party Apps / Re: IOS Third party app development connection issue

« Last post by Shawnf350 on Today at 05:08:22 pm »

Tom,  I've sent you an email.
Please respond to the email address that I've provided you.

Kind regards,
Shawn

2

Third-Party Apps / IOS Third party app development connection issue

« Last post by Tom34667 on Today at 04:07:33 am »

Hello ScanTool.net Support Team,

My name is Tom, and I am currently developing a custom iOS diagnostic application that communicates with OBD adapters over Bluetooth. I am specifically working to integrate support for the OBDLink MX+.

I am able to successfully detect the MX+ device using CoreBluetooth and initiate a connection. However, I am unable to discover usable services/characteristics or establish a stable communication channel for sending and receiving ELM327 commands. The connection typically times out or returns no usable UART interface.

From your documentation, I understand that the MX+ fully emulates the ELM327 command set over a UART-style interface once communication is established. My challenge appears to be at the BLE transport layer rather than the command layer.

To properly support the MX+ in my app, I would greatly appreciate any guidance you can provide on the following:

1. BLE Service and Characteristic Information 
   - Are there specific service UUIDs and characteristic UUIDs used for UART communication? 
   - Are these services hidden until a handshake or initialization occurs?

2. Connection / Initialization Requirements 
   - Is there a required handshake, authentication sequence, or wake-up command before services become available? 
   - Does the MX+ require bonding/pairing at the OS level prior to communication?

3. Protocol / MFi Requirements 
   - Does communication require the ExternalAccessory framework instead of CoreBluetooth? 
   - Are there specific protocol strings (e.g., com.obdlink.mx, com.obdlink.mxplus) that must be declared in Info.plist?

4. BLE Mode Clarification 
   - Does the MX+ expose a standard BLE UART (transparent serial) profile, or is a proprietary GATT implementation used?

5. Developer Resources 
   - Is there any available SDK, sample code, or developer documentation specifically for third-party app integration on iOS?

For reference, I am able to connect and communicate successfully with standard BLE ELM327 adapters using generic UART services (e.g., FFE0/FFE1), which suggests my implementation is functioning correctly for non-proprietary devices.

I would greatly appreciate any technical details or guidance that would allow proper integration with the MX+. My goal is to build a robust diagnostic app with a professional interface similar to existing scan tools, and full MX+ support would be a key feature.

Thank you for your time and support.

Best regards, 
Tom

3

OBDLink CX / Question about CX sleep

« Last post by wsanders on Yesterday at 09:25:57 pm »

Since the last upgrade to my preferred app, Car Scanner OBD, the CX doesn't seem to be going to sleep anymore. I am trying to figure out a workaround. Questions:

- What are the default sleep paramaters for the CX "out of the box?" The manual says voltage level sleep is disabled but the sleep parameters on mine are set as follows (output from STSLCS command):

CTRL MODE: NATIVE
PWR_CTRL: LOW PWR = LOW
UART SLEEP: ON, 600 s
UART WAKE: ON, 0-0 us
EXT INPUT: LOW = SLEEP
EXT SLEEP: OFF, LOW FOR 3000 ms
EXT WAKE: ON, HIGH FOR 2000 ms
VL SLEEP: ON, <13.00V FOR 10800 s
VL WAKE: OFF, >13.20V FOR 1 s
VCHG WA

- As far as I know, the app is not sending any parameters that would affect the CX other than a AT + ATE0 when it connects.

- Even when I disconnect BLE on the app, UART sleep doesn't seem to trigger after 10 min. Would activity from the CAN bus cause the UART to wake up? Are there any other conditions that would trigger UART activity when all apps are disconnected from bluetooth? After 10 minutes pass, the green LED is still on solid and the blue LED is blinking slowly.

- I think the 3 hr VL sleep paramater might be inappropriate for my Niro EV because the car wakes up at random every few hours when idle to do "stuff." What is does, I have no idea, but one of the things it does is top off the 12V battery charge from the HV traction battery, so this probably fires the VL wakeup.

- When the device goes to sleep, it should disconnect any active bluetooth connection - is this correct?

So - I used the OBDlink app to reduce UART sleep to 300s and disable VL sleep. This should make it faster to debug, and prevent the car from waking up the CX when it does "stuff".

4

OBDLink CX / Re: Would CX work with a 2023 Kia Niro EV?

« Last post by wsanders on Yesterday at 09:07:36 pm »

Yes, I purchased one and it works fine. The only issue is the CX doesn't seem to be able to read both K-line KWP2000 (pins 7/15)  and CAN  ISO 15765-4 (pins 6/13) at the same time, at least given the commands that Car Scanner OBD uses (the iphone app I use.)  The Niro may have multiple K-lines on other pins like some other Kias, but the CX will only read the ones on pins 7/15. These are not documented anywhere anyway, so it's not a big deal.

5

OBDLink LX Bluetooth / Re: Fimerware

« Last post by STN-Manny on Yesterday at 10:40:56 am »

La versión de firmware 5.6.19 es la última versión para el LX.

6

OBDLink LX Bluetooth / Fimerware

« Last post by fito55 on Yesterday at 10:26:44 am »

Hola hace unos años que tengo el LX con version de firmware 5.6.19 , quiero actualizarlo y me dice que esta es la ultima version, como puedo hacer para actualizar . Gracias

7

General OBD Questions / Re: Bluetooth connectivity

« Last post by STN-Manny on March 25, 2026, 01:43:19 pm »

Apologies for not responding sooner.

I see you also opened a support ticket.

We will respond there.

8

Developer Forum / Re: MX+ on iOS

« Last post by Shawnf350 on March 25, 2026, 03:12:47 am »

Pather,  I've sent you an email.

Kind regards,
Shawn

9

Developer Forum / Re: MX+ on iOS

« Last post by Pather on March 24, 2026, 09:03:32 pm »

Hi I'm developing an iOS App and I'm having trouble connecting to the MX+. Could you please email me the details as well?

Thanks!

10

General OBD Questions / Bluetooth connectivity

« Last post by Obdmansion on March 23, 2026, 06:20:42 pm »

I’m having trouble with Bluetooth connection restart after removing my phone from my car, then trying to get connected again. When I hit connect on the OBDlink app, It keeps giving an error message saying “A compatible Bluetooth device was not found in the list of paired devices. Yet on my phone, the Bluetooth tab says my OBDLink MX+ is “connected”. I went through the Wizard previously, so the profile should still exist. The vehicle editor still shows it. Why is Bluetooth so flaky? (It’s always been a pain in other devices). My iphone also supports CarPlay, which connects by Bluetooth. But Bluetooth is suppose to allow dual connections. I tried turning off the CarPlay Bluetooth connection, but still can’t get the OBDlink to pair with the phone app. I could probably go through the wizard again, but that is way too cumbersome to do each time.
-John