Review on 2021 thinkcar Thinkscan Plus S2 OBD2 Scanner: Advanced Vehicle OBDII Scan Tool with 28 Maintenance Services & 3 System Diagnosis by Carlos Chan

Basically an android based scan tool with some advanced features. I have 2 cars that I consider "project cars" and I need to keep an eye on the engine lights. I've used a bluetooth OBDii reader and an app on my phone to monitor it for ongoing emissions and other self diagnostics, but the tools are limited and sometimes I wish I had a more professional tool like the ones garages use a step forward, I was particularly interested in examining the CEL freeze frame data to diagnose an alleged exhaust problem and I was unable to access my phone's software. It also has some paid extras that can come in handy if you run a workshop, like the ability to reset service gauges and things that normal generic reading tools don't have access to. The device itself is quite well thought out. was surprised to see that underneath was actually an Android tablet with a case, which made me realize it was essentially the same as what I was already doing with my Bluetooth OBDii and phone, except it had more advanced software . But that doesn't matter - I liked that I was already familiar with how to connect to Wi-Fi for downloading updates and more, since it worked just like my phone. And it's definitely more durable, and built to handle what you'd expect in a mechanical situation (no "Oops, I dropped my phone!"). I was able to view some live graphics data and see various system codes and information about my machine, but to be honest I found it quite difficult to set everything up and figure out how to get it working. Once connected to my car, I had to select a lot of information I was unfamiliar with (e.g. select them one at a time until one worked). And while I could read codes and live data and whatever else could be done to diagnose the problem, I couldn't find the one thing I really needed (freeze frame data from the CEL moment). I even met a mechanic friend across the country and he couldn't help me either. I'm sure this is a super powerful tool for someone who knows how to use all its intricacies, but I was having a hard time figuring out how to do something I could do with my phone and the Bluetooth OBDii reader could not yet. For the price of this versatile device, I'd say the feature set is pretty solid. However, this is not very convenient for a home mechanic.