As a car enthusiast and content creator at carw.store, I often get questions about car scanners, especially the Fixd Car Scanner. Many people are curious about how these devices work, what makes them different from cheaper alternatives, and why some features require an online connection. Let’s dive into the inner workings of the FIXD car scanner and explore the technology that powers it.
The Complexity Behind Modern Car Diagnostics
Modern vehicles are incredibly complex machines, far beyond the simple engines of the past. They are controlled by numerous electronic modules, each responsible for different systems like the engine, transmission, airbags, braking, and more. Communicating with these modules to diagnose problems is the job of an OBD2 scanner, but it’s not as straightforward as you might think.
Those inexpensive car scanners you find online, often priced around $15, typically offer a very basic level of functionality. They usually rely on limited, on-device databases of generic error codes scraped from public sources. These scanners often support only a single communication protocol and are primarily focused on engine-related issues. They may struggle with more complex vehicles or problems beyond basic engine codes.
The real challenge arises when you need to diagnose issues in modules beyond the engine, such as airbags, TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system), seatbelts, or the transmission. These systems often communicate using different protocols, requiring the scanner to switch between them mid-stream and negotiate communication parameters. Furthermore, each car make, model, and year can have unique communication requirements and data structures. Moving beyond simple hex-to-code parsing for basic engine codes quickly becomes a very intricate task.
Why FIXD Takes a Different Approach
Storing all the possible variations and complexities for every vehicle directly within a mobile app would result in an enormous, multi-gigabyte database. This is simply impractical for smartphone applications. Moreover, some diagnostic commands and procedures are proprietary and licensed by car manufacturers, making them inaccessible or expensive to obtain.
To overcome these limitations, FIXD car scanner employs a smarter, more dynamic approach. Instead of relying on a massive, static database, FIXD scans your specific vehicle to assess its communication capabilities. Based on this assessment, it downloads a customized command list tailored to your exact car. This on-demand approach ensures that the scanner has the most up-to-date and relevant information for your vehicle’s diagnostics.
This process is supported by a dedicated team of engineers who constantly work to expand FIXD’s vehicle coverage. They target specific modules, develop and test diagnostic scripts, collect data from real-world vehicles, and create custom parsers to accurately interpret the data. These updates are then regularly deployed to the app. Because these scripts are fetched every time you log in, your FIXD app is continuously updated with the latest diagnostic capabilities, even without requiring a full app update from the app store.
Addressing Connectivity and Premium Features
This dynamic, online approach is why FIXD requires network access for initial setup and to fetch the latest vehicle-specific scripts upon launch. While these scripts are cached locally for efficiency, the initial download and authentication process necessitates an internet connection.
We understand that login requirements can be a point of friction for some users. Initially, as a small startup, FIXD’s infrastructure was built around user accounts. However, we are actively working on streamlining the signup process, including implementing auto-account generation to make it more seamless.
Furthermore, we are excited to introduce “offline mode.” With this feature, if you’ve logged in successfully before, you can access the app even without an active internet connection, albeit with slightly reduced functionality. It’s important to note that “Live Data” within the app does not require network access once you are logged in. The network is primarily needed for authentication, fetching updates on launch, and for certain features like code scanning, which benefits significantly from the online database and processing.
For users concerned about network interruptions during scans, FIXD includes a network error prompt that saves your scan data. If your connection is lost mid-scan, you can retry once connectivity is restored, and FIXD will resume parsing your data and complete the scan.
Finally, let’s touch upon FIXD Premium. FIXD Premium is an optional subscription service designed to offer advanced features that incur ongoing costs for us. For example, the “confirmed fixes” feature is powered by a third-party service that pays mechanics for repair data. We pay them per API call to access this information. Similarly, features like issue forecasting involve complex data aggregation, machine learning analysis, and significant backend infrastructure. These advanced capabilities simply cannot be offered without a subscription model. We are committed to clearly communicating which features are included in the premium subscription and which are available in the free version of the app.
We appreciate your feedback and are dedicated to continuously improving FIXD car scanner. We have exciting new features planned for both free and premium users in the coming year. Stay tuned for updates and thank you for choosing FIXD for your car diagnostic needs!
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