The Connection screen opens from the connectivity card on the home screen, or from the Connection row in Settings. This is where the adapter is found, paired and saved.
When you open the screen with no active connection, the app starts scanning on its own.
Choose the connection type
The tabs show the connection types your phone supports. On Android there are four: Bluetooth, BLE 4.0+, Wi-Fi and USB. On iPhone there are two: BLE 4.0+ and Wi-Fi.
The absence of the other two on iPhone is a limitation of iOS, not of the app. Classic Bluetooth adapters, the ones that ask for a PIN such as 1234, do not work with an iPhone.
Authorize Bluetooth
On the first tap on refresh, the app explains why it needs Bluetooth and only then opens the system request. Tap Allow on both screens.
On the USB tab Bluetooth is not requested, because a cable connection does not depend on it.
Scan and connect
Tap the refresh icon to the right of the list. The scan takes about twelve seconds on Bluetooth and on BLE. Devices already paired come first, marked Paired, and new ones show up as Not paired as they are found.
Tap the adapter you want. On classic Bluetooth, if it is not paired yet, the app pairs it there and then and waits up to thirty seconds. The default PIN is usually 1234 or 0000.
Accept the requests that come after connecting
Once the connection is established, the app requests what starts to make sense at that point: location, with the Allow all the time and While using options, and notifications.
Choose Allow all the time. That option keeps the trip recording going with the screen off and saves where the car was parked.
On Wi-Fi, connect through the phone first
The Wi-Fi tab shows no device list. Join the adapter's network from the phone's Wi-Fi settings first. On Android there is a button that opens that screen directly; on iPhone the path is Settings, Wi-Fi and the adapter's network.
Back in the app, check the IP Address and the Port and tap Connect. The fields carry examples, such as 192.168.0.10 and port 35000, and the app tries the most common addresses on its own, filling the field in when it finds the right one.
The tab itself warns about the limitations of this kind of adapter: it does not allow automatic connection, and the phone may treat the adapter's network as having no internet access and block mobile data while connected to it.
On USB, use an OTG cable
Plug the adapter into the OBD port and connect the cable to the phone through an OTG adapter, which is essential on phones with USB-C.
Baud rate stays on Auto, which tries the common speeds and remembers the one that works. The Advanced section, with VID (hex), PID (hex) and Driver, is only needed when the adapter is not detected; leave the fields blank for automatic detection.
When Android asks which app to open, select the option to use it by default: that is what makes the app open on its own the next time the cable is connected. With a cable the phone powers the adapter and does not charge; on long trips, use a powered Y cable plugged into a 12 V socket.
Turn on the automatic start when you get in the car
A feature available on Android only, from version 8 onwards. On the Start the app when the car turns on card, tap Select your car's Bluetooth and choose your vehicle's stereo from the list.
The list carries only audio devices already paired with the phone. If your car is not there, pair the phone with it in the Android Bluetooth settings and come back to this screen.
The app marks this feature as Experimental. If it does not work on your car, create a routine on the phone itself to open the app when the vehicle's Bluetooth connects.
Check what was saved
The card at the top starts showing Saved OBD-II adapter with the device name. Auto-reconnect to adapter comes switched on, and it is what connects the app from then on.
On Android, also turn on Disable battery optimization. Without that exemption the system can end the recording in the background.
- Refresh
- Icon to the right of the list. Restarts the scan. The icon does not spin while scanning: the progress indicator is the list filling up.
- Blue information button
- Sits next to the saved adapter. Opens the adapter page, with technical data, OBD protocol and fine tuning.
- Bluetooth
- Classic Bluetooth, Android only. It is the most common and cheapest kind of adapter.
- BLE 4.0+
- Bluetooth Low Energy. Works on both platforms and tends to be more stable on current phones.
- Wi-Fi
- Works on both platforms. The adapter creates its own network, so the phone has no access to mobile data while connected to it.
- USB
- Android only, and only on phones that support USB host. Requires an OTG cable. It is the most stable connection and the least practical.
- Baud rate
- On the USB tab. Auto tries the common speeds and remembers the one that works.
- Advanced, on the USB tab
- VID, PID and Driver. Only needed when the adapter is not detected; left blank, detection is automatic.
- Start the app when the car turns on
- Requires Android 8 or later. Ties the car's stereo to the app, so that it wakes up when the vehicle is turned on. Once set up, the card shows Active and offers Disable. The screen itself marks the feature as experimental.
- Reactivate
- Appears when the automatic start was set up on another phone. The link is local to each device and has to be confirmed on this one too.
- Auto-reconnect to adapter
- On by default. Turning it off requires confirmation, because connecting becomes manual every time.
- Disable battery optimization
- Android only. Opens the system dialog. Without that exemption, some manufacturers end the trip recording in the background.
- Swipe the adapter card
- Reveals the delete button. Tap it and confirm to remove the saved adapter. The automatic start is not affected, because it is a separate setting.
- Disconnect and scan new adapter
- Takes the place of the list while a connection is active. Ends the connection and restarts the scan.