[F87source]

Credit: Bimmer Geeks (image from the Google Play Store) https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...hl=en_CA&gl=US


Introduction and Quick Overview:

In this product review I will be taking a look at Protool - the best BMW coding and diagnostics app currently available on the Google play store; I will also explain why it is a must have for any BMW F series, G series, E series, and I series owner. Another thing to note is that Protool is split into 2 parts: A diagnostics license ($89.99) and a Coding license ($79.99), so you are free to buy whichever you want and you can expand later - or you can get both of them together in the form of a Master License ($149.99 which is a $19.99 savings). To learn more visit the Bimmer Geeks website: https://www.bimmergeeks.net/

Like the title suggests, this is THE BEST Bmw coding app currently available on the market, and why do I say this? Well because it is literally a mobile ESYS, that’s right - this app can code ANYTHING that ESYS can code (so yes it can FDL and VO code - more on this later). The only thing that Protool cannot do that ESYS can do is flash ECU’s. So what does this all mean for the end user? Well that means you can code anything you want on a BMW such as windows up down with the key fob, disabled disclaimers, etc. Or you can code more advanced things like the steering feel (EPS module), the differential (GHAS), the traction control (EURO mdm) - so any former Thor flasher users that want to change these settings can once again do so with Protool.


Guide on how to use Protool to Code:

EPS module: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...4#post29968214
DSC module: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8#post29968208
GHAS module: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...7#post29968227

So overall coding wise (at the time of this review), Protool has significantly more capabilities than any of the other mobile coding apps, and this is what makes Protool the best BMW coding App on the market - and the only one that you should spend your hard earned money on. This app is so capable that it will literally eliminate the need for ESYS for the vast majority of Bmw owners.


Diagnostics wise, Protool has the ability to scan for actual Bmw codes (not just generic OBD2 codes), and this allows you to properly diagnose your BMW. Protool also has the ability to properly code and register batteries - this means you can either replace the battery with a stock capacity one, or even have the ability to code and register a smaller/larger battery capacity (which is super useful if you want to switch to a lightweight lithium ion battery).


So these two abilities of Protool (coding and diagnostics) really makes this a must have App for any Bmw owner.

Now on with the indepth review!



Disclaimer:

Damage/Injury Disclaimer: Any information, guidance, technical advice, coding advice, tuning advice, datalogging advice, installation instruction, calculation, experiment, safety information, or product installation demonstrated in my reviews is to be consumed and or done at your own risk. I will not be responsible for personal injuries, injuries to others or any living being, or any damage to your car, or any property damage.

Monetary disclaimer: I do not make commission, or profits or any kind of monetary gain from the sale of the Protool coding software by bimmergeeks.

Sponsorship disclaimer: The way my reviews work is that I determine what product that I want to buy and actually use on my own car, and during this process the product that I end up choosing is what I believe is the best option on the market. I then reach out to the company offering the product and ask them if they would be willing to sponsor me in a review, if the answer is yes then I write a review, if the answer is no I would end up buying the product (sometimes at a later date) but I wouldn’t complete a detailed review about it (I might write something, but not to the same extent as my standard reviews). But the critical thing is that I reach out for a sponsorship and not the other way around, this means that the products I am reviewing are actually things I believe in and would use on my own car. This also means that I am not being paid to review something I do not care about. Would I do a review if a sponsor reached out to me? The answer would depend on if I believed in the product, and I would make it clear in my review if this were the case. But at the time of writing this review, such an interaction has not occurred yet.


Time of writing disclaimer: everything I am writing about in this review is described at the time of writing and may not be updated in the future, so there is a potential that things are no longer accurate in my comparisons as parts are changed and upgraded as time passes.


Bias and comparison disclaimer: Throughout this review I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible while drawing comparisons to other products.


Mistakes and Inaccuracies Disclaimer: Throughout my review I will try to be as factually accurate as possible, but there are always chances that I make mistakes and write things that are incorrect/false. If this is the case please point it out to me and if indeed it is true that I am incorrect, I will correct these mistakes and apologize for them. Afterall I am only human, so mistakes can and will inevitably happen.


Subjective Disclaimer: Please note, these reviews are also written in my own opinion, so when I am comparing different products to determine what I see as the best, there are many factors that I go through to form this opinion. Obviously there will be disagreements between people, so I will do my best to objectively determine what I deem to be the best, but at the end of the day it is still just my own opinion whether it be right or wrong. Take whatever I say in my reviews with a grain of salt.


Information Disclaimer: I read a lot of material over the years just out of sheer interest or to make these reviews. I also accumulated a lot of knowledge over my many years of education that are really relevant to cars (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics). That being said, my reviews are mostly based on this accumulated knowledge and I cannot always cite these sources due to the original source material possibly being lost to time, or there being so much knowledge compiled to make a single point. So, when possible I will cite my source(s) (for example data on tensile strength of a metal, or peer reviewed research). There are cases when I get information from blog posts, youtube videos, or forum posts I may not cite it, because I go through a lot of these sources only to use the gained knowledge in a small section of my review and it is not feasible to list them all. So pretty much what I am trying to say is I am not citing “common knowledge” - I will cite peer reviewed research and photos though (if applicable or used), or really explicit user experiences (if applicable or used).



Image Credits:

Images and videos used in this review are all property of their rightful owners as credited below each image, I am just using them for the purpose of this review but if you (the owner of the image) would like them removed please let me know via pm. Otherwise thanks to the respective image owners (I made sure to credit your online name and link where I found the photo) of the photos, without you this review would be so much more bland.



Review Disclaimer:

First and foremost I would like to thank Bimmergeeks for agreeing to sponsor me for this review. Despite this I will remain as unbiased as possible during the review. Please note, the dynamics of this relationship was that I reached out for a sponsorship review and not the other way around. This should demonstrate how I truly feel about Protool - in the sense that I truly believe it is the best coding tool you can get at the time of me writing this review. In fact I actually have alot of coding changes done to my own m2 using protool, and I really like coding features such as M2CS DSC, M2CS GHAS, and M2CS EPS that I couldn’t code with other apps or the free versions of ESYS.







What is “Coding”:

So what is coding? Coding in the context of BMW’s is the act of changing certain parameters on the ECU’s (electrical control units: eg GHAS control unit, EPS control unit, DSC control unit, FEM etc) in a BMW to enable and disable features already present in the software from the factory. This is not the same type of coding that a software developer would do - i.e. you are not creating new source code in C or Java for instance, instead think of it like you are turning on and off a light switch that is already there. So this is completely safe to the extent that these features were created and programmed by BMW (with the ability to enable them or disable them already built in), we are just enabling and disabling them however we see fit. Now a disclaimer is that while the coding itself when done correctly will not harm your car and is safe, there is always a chance something can go wrong if you do not know what you are doing (letting the battery die which can brick the ecu, coding traction control to a more relaxed setting and thus losing control of your car etc) so make sure you fully know what you are coding and how to code before doing any new coding.


There are also 2 types of coding that you can do on your BMW, and those are: FDL coding and VO coding.

VO coding is also known as vehicle order coding and this type of coding is to enable predetermined settings from BMW for each of the ECU’s. Each car will have a predetermined list of VO codes already added to the cars computer forming the “genetic identity” of the car and enabling the car to have a certain list of features (this is all determined by your option sheet when the car was specced and built). This can be easily thought of as enabling and disabling features based on the original vehicle’s option sheet, and are denoted by a few digit codes. However you must remember that VO codes are different for each and every model, and not all VO coding will work for a particular car - especially if you are missing hardware. This type of coding is really good for retrofitting, and its use should be limited to this - unless you really know what you are doing.

For example the popular option 6NS - this is the enhanced USB and bluetooth option from the factory which costed around $350 USD (for applicable models only). This allows BMW’s to have 2 phones paired, and have 2 microphones (passenger and driver side) and additional USB ports, and iirc allow your music cover art to be displayed on the idrive display. Cars without this will have a 6NH VO code, and therefore the car will automatically disable all of these features from the applicable ECU’s based on this VO code that is programmed into it. So lets say you have retrofitted the additional hardware required for 6NS, now you can go into the list of VO codes that the car has, then remove 6NH and replace it with 6NS. After you code the car and active the ecu to let it know that there is a new VO code, your car will now automatically code all the individual ECU’s to have the correct parameters on and off to support these new features. It is super convenient and saves alot of time from having to FDL code all the individual ECU’s to the correct parameters.



FDL coding is also know as Function Data Line coding, and this type of coding is extremely powerful. The reason why it is so powerful is because you are able to go into each ECU individually and turn on and off parameters as you see fit, you are no longer constrained by how BMW’s specific VO parameters. For example lets say you want 6NS features but you don’t want to retrofit the additional hardware. With FDL coding you can actually do this, you would first VO code 6NS, and then you can enter the individual ecu’s with FDL coding and set the number of USB ports and microphone back to 1. This now will allow you to have most of the features of 6NS (multiple phones can connect, album artwork etc) without requiring the hardware. You can also disable and enable features that were not an option from BMW’s VO codes - such as disabling idrive disclaimers and seat belt chimes. These options are available in the ECU’s but BMW never intended to have them done so they were never put into the VO codes, but with FDL coding you can alter them as you see fit.


You may now be asking why does coding exist on BMW’s? The short and simple answer is that it is cheaper for BMW to make cars from as many shared parts as possible (because engineering different parts that do different things, and then creating the tooling for them is much much more expensive than creating one part and designing software to alter its features), and then disable features via software to meet a certain trim or model level. This means that even though 2 cars may share the same components, for example power steering racks, an M model will have it coded differently to offer a better sharper steering feel. Fortunately for us, this means that we will be able to code the steering feel from a non M BMW to an M BMW for example (if your software supports it and the hardware is the same), or from different one M model to another (M2 to M2CS or M4GTS steering feel - as these cars have the same steering rack and the software supports it).


So now that we know what coding is, what do we use to code our cars?


Tips on how to code safely:

Before we start talking more about coding, I would like to give some tips on how to code your car safely:

Make back ups before you code, this way if something goes wrong you are able to revert your car back to factory settings.
Make sure you know exactly what you are doing before you code. This means doing plenty of research on what coding you will be doing, what the changes itself does, what ecus need to be coded and how to make the changes, and of course if the coding you want to do is available for your car.
Make sure you have an appropriate (and good quality) battery charger to keep your car powered while you code, because if your battery drops below a certain voltage while coding your car will shut off and this can leave the car bricked. For some coding you can leave the engine running while coding, but do not drive while coding.
Use quality cables/wireless adapters - cheapo adapters/cables are slow and can fail part way through the flashing process. In the past I have purchased cheap enet cables from aliexpress, and while on the outside they look clean and good quality. When I opened the obd2 shell I saw how terribly put together they were, the wires were stripped extremely poorly and the cables had patches of exposed copper all over the place. This could lead to a short if the adjacent exposed wires touched, and that would be bad news for the car.



What is ESYS:



Credit: mev2630 https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...76&postcount=1

Now we move on to what tools you can use to code your car.

A popular tool that you may have heard of before is ESYS. ESYS is a BMW developed program that allows you to both FDL and VO code your car, along with flash ECU’s with new software. With this program you will require: a windows laptop with alot of ram (since some cars with alot of ECU’s require alot of memory to code, therefore a 4gb ram surface tablet will likely not cut it), up to date ECU data files (PSdZData files), an ENET cable, and a launcher (only if you FDL code so it can dynamically remap all the trimmed CAFD files) like Launcher pro from Token master or Bimmer utility.

With all of these things you will be able to code the car.

The only cons with this method is the price to obtain all of these items, a laptop is required, coding time tends to be longer than an app due to more complicated menu system and coding procedure, and that it can be quite intimidating for beginners to code with ESYS. For instance check out this video from Token master on how to code with ESYS:

Protool:

Another tool to code your car is Protool. This is a mobile application that can be run on any android device with android version 4.1 or higher (at the time of the review - hopefully they will add IOS support for any iphone and ipad users).

Quick Overview:

Lets quickly gloss over protool and all of the important things you should know about it.

1. There are 2 different licenses (as mentioned in the overview): A diagnostics license ($89.99) and a Coding license ($79.99), you are free to buy whichever you want and you can always buy the other license later on - or you can get both of them together in the form of a Master License ($149.99 which is a $19.99 savings).

2. Updates to the app (at this current moment) are free for the lifetime of the app. So the app will always be updated by Bimmer Geeks to support newer cars - which may not be the case with ESYS and older launchers.

3. The app is not vin locked to your vehicle, so you can use it on as many cars as you desire. It is only locked to your Google account.

4. You are able to download the app and connect it to your car and check if the features you want to code are available - absolutely for free. You only need to pay when you want to code those features in. This is an absolutely incredible feature for those that want to explore what is available for their cars before paying/investing in purchasing the app.

5. A really nice thing about protool is that it is extremely flexible in terms of what adapters/connection devices can be used to connect it to your car, this means there is a strong likelihood you will not have to spend money to buy a different adapter just to code your car. But note, you should use high quality cables and or wireless interfaces to ensure that coding doesn’t fail part way through - which could be catastrophic for your car. If you want good quality cables Bimmer Geeks sells some on their site, and they have an optional lifetime warranty option on alot of their own products, so that’s a pretty good testament to how they feel about their products. My personal preference would be to purchase a cable/adapter that could also be used for tuning as well, so when/if you decide you want a tune in the future you won’t require a different connection device. So I personally have the black MHD enet wifi adapter, I like this adapter because it has an ethernet jack on it so you can attach an ethernet cable to it and effectively turn it into an ENET cable and use it with ISTA.


At the current time of writing this review protool supports:

1) USB K+ DCAN cables (through OTG connections) for the E series cars.

Credit: Bimmer Geeks (click on this link if you want to buy a quality K+ DCAN cable directly from bimmer geeks) https://www.bimmergeeks.net/product-...eeks-pro-cable

2) The bluetooth bimmergeeks adapter

Credit: Bimmer Geeks (click on this link if you want to buy their bluetooth adapter)
https://www.bimmergeeks.net/product-...etooth-adapter

3) The Thor wifi adapter

Credit: Bimmer Geeks (click on this link if you want to buy the thor adapter)
https://www.bimmergeeks.net/product-...p-wifi-adapter

4) The orange MHD wifi adapter

Credit: Mashimarho (this orange adapter is discontinued now) https://mashimarho.com/products/mhd-...32241903861859

5) Enet cables (with an OTG ethernet adapter)

Credit:https://www.amazon.ca/OHP-Ethernet-D.../dp/B07V3C47YD
(warning: I just used this image as an example, I have no experience with this enet cable so I do not know if it is any good, I do know it has good reviews but that is it, so tread with caution)

6) MHD’s black enet wifi adapter

Credit: Mashimarho (click on this link if you want to buy an MHD black enet wifi adapter) https://mashimarho.com/products/mhd-...32241903894627

7) And there is a strong chance they will try to support MHD’s newest wifi adapter. But for the time being this adapter is not confirmed to be supported yet, so be aware of that.

Credit: Mashimarho (click on this link if you want to buy an MHD black enet wifi adapter) https://mashimarho.com/products/mhd-...32241903894627


8) BM3 new wifi adapter

Credit: Protuning freaks (creator of BootMod3, click on the link if you want to buy their wifi adapter) https://www.protuningfreaks.com/prod...-flash-adapter

I personally own one and it works perfectly with protool!


6. Finally if you want more specific details about the app you can always just download the app and press on the hamburger menu button (three vertical dots in the top right corner) and click “user guide” to read the pdf manual about this app. Or feel free to pm me and I will be happy to help you the best I can.


Features/Abilities of Protool:

Now lets move onto the more interesting things that most of you probably want to know, and that is what can protool do? The answer to that is alot!


Like all other coding apps protool can code popular features, such as: windows going up with the lock on your keyfob, folding and unfolding the mirror when the car locks and unlocks, disabling disclaimers and or warning chimes. But where protool completely obliterates the competitor apps is that it can code anything ESYS can, so like I hinted at before you can code things like the DSC module and obtain m4 gts MDM mode, you can code the steering feel (EPS module) and get things like F87CS steering, and you can code things like the differential (GHAS) and get things like F87CS differential coding. So for anyone who was previously using the Thor flasher before it shut down, you can once again make changes to your steering, dsc/mdm, and differential settings once more with protool. I will elaborate more on this in the section to follow. Protool can also FA/VO code as well which makes retrofitting and large feature coding extremely easy.


Protool also features back ups and save profiles. What this means is that you can take a full backup of every single parameter currently coded to your car and this creates a profile. This means you can have multiple different profiles for your car - each with specific coding values. So for instance you can have a stock profile where all the parameters are stock and then you can have a different profile where the car is coded as you desire, (or maybe you have different steering/diff/dsc profiles) then you can easily switch between these profiles using protool to “restore” a save profile. This is an extremely nice thing to have especially if you require the ability to switch profiles extremely often.


Other features that protool has is data logging and diagnostics capabilities. With the diagnostics functions it is not just simple BMW specific code reading and resetting, protool has the ability to do things other apps can only dream of. Protool can: code batteries to a different capacity and register them, code in new injectors, and even reset adaptations/trigger recalibrations on various modules like the GHAS (differential) which is essential when you code in new GHAS settings. There is also the ability to prompt hardware on your car to “move” under the control tab. This the same thing as in ISTA where you can command parts on the car to activate so you can diagnose issues with it, such as putting the G8X rear all in one brakes into service mode so it can release and allow you to change the pads. Here is a video by Kies motorsports (9 min mark) demonstrating this:

With data logging protool can log essentially every single parameter that a normal tuning app can do, so you could essentially use this as a stop gap if you want to have gauges and data recording abilities but are not ready for a full on tune yet.


Finally last but not least an extremely nice feature protool offers is remote backups which allows you to store your profiles/backups, datalogs, and diagnostic codes online (accessible through bimmergeek’s website). This makes it extremely easy to view logs from your computer, and it also means even if your device gets damaged you will never lose your profiles/backups - so you will always have the means to restore your car back to factory spec.


And below here are some images of Protool’s interface (you will notice I have my theme set to red instead of the stock green, I have done this because I feel red matches my m2’s ambient lights better):


Credit: F87source, here is an image of the main menu screen. From here you can see all the main categories of ecus available.



Credit: F87source, again here is the next section of the main menu



Credit: F87source, continuing with the menu



Credit: F87source, here is a submenu that would come up if you were to click on an ecu. From there you have the option to read errors, clear errors, see functions available within the ecu (recalibrations etc), see live data - which is super nice if you want to diagnose an issue and want to see if a part is working for eg. water pump duty cycle, access the control module, and finally do some coding.


If you want to see more about the actual coding please refer to my links above in the overview, or the same links below in the advanced coding section where I teach how to code the GHAS, EPS, and DSC.


Protool vs. ESYS:

Finally we end the review with a quick comparison between ESYS and Protool, and just some basic things I noticed after using both tools:

1) Protool is far far far easier to use, it is a really friendly mobile application that is very straightforward to use. The menus are laid out in categories that make it easy to find things, and the common coding features are laid out in a sub menu which is readily accessible and easy to find. There are also no traps that if accidentally pressed could damage your car.

With ESYS even though I have been using it for the last ~8+ years (starting with my m235i) it is still quite complex and unforgiving, especially if I haven’t touched the software in awhile. The reason why this is the case is because the menu system on ESYS can be very overwhelming if you have never used it before. Everything is on the same main screen and there are tons and tons of options everywhere and that can lead to a sense of nervousness and can be overwhelming. Another terrifying thing about ESYS is that you must be extremely careful with what you press, because it may not mean what you think it means. For example “code default” on ESYS sounds friendly, it sounds like it will clear your ecu’s back to factory conditions right? Well not exactly, this is one of those things I call a “trap button”, this is because if you click it it will wipe the ecu clean all the way back to a blank state with no software on it. This will completely brick the car and you will have to have it towed to the dealer to have it repaired (unless you have the capabilities to reflash that individual ecu or reflash the entire car with a new ISTEP). So this is what makes ESYS alot more difficult/risky to user vs. Protool, since no such “Trap button” exists in protool.

2) Protool is linked to your Google account so you can move it from device to device without any issue, just download the app from the Google play store and log in and you are set. You can even run it on multiple devices simultaneously - for instance I have protool on my phone and my in car tablet.

With ESYS it is a different story, because you require a launcher for ESYS to function. The problem with this is that ESYS launchers are typically tied to your computer (I believe with launcher pro you now have Google authentication and can move it from machine to machine) and you cannot move them from machine to machine, so you are stuck with it on a single computer. Some of these licenses are also not lifetime and you will have to pay for a new subscription every few years (Launcher pro is a 3 year license iirc, and bimmer utility is lifetime).

3) Protool is significantly cheaper compared to ESYS + a launcher.

So lets calculate the cheapest options you can possible go for:

Protool: ~$80 (cheap android tablet) + ~$30 (for an ENET cable + OTG ethernet adapter) + $80 (for the coding license) = ~$190.

ESYS: ~$50 (for launcher pro) or ~$100 (for bimmer utility) + ~$25 (Enet cable) + ~$300 (for a cheap windows laptop that has a decent amount of ram, storage, and processing power to run ESYS) = ~$375 - $425

*Note most ESYS launchers will not run on a VM so mac users can’t use bootcamp or something similar to run it on windows.

This is about $185 more than Protool, and with the Protool route you can use the tablet in car for gauges, whereas the cheap laptop might just be sitting around collecting dust waiting for your next coding session- because IMO those cheap bottom tier laptops are really crap. The screen sucks, the track pad sucks, the keyboard sucks and they really aren’t that good to use.

3) Protool is ultra portable, you can bring it around with you anywhere as it is a mobile app, whereas with ESYS you need to bring around a bulky laptop. This means if you want to change settings quickly (say you’re on the track and want a different GHAS setting), you literally can do it in minutes with Protool. But with ESYS it might take you upwards of 10-15 mins to pull out your laptop, connect it to the car, navigate esys’s menus correctly. Then switch to ISTA to re calibrate your diff.


So with these 3 things considered, I personally believe for the beginner-average-advanced category of coder like myself, ESYS is just not needed and protool is more than a suitable replacement. If you are an expert or professional coder who flashers your ecu’s alot and does alot of remote coding, then you would likely need ESYS.





Advanced Coding:

Now that we have learned about coding and Protool, lets talk about what this powerful tool can do. In this section I will be talking about coding in context of my 2017 BMW M2, on ISTEP level F020-19-07-539, so what I may be able to do might be different to what you will be able to do as there is a difference in vehicle and software version.



Please refer to the links below to learn how to code the:

EPS module: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...4#post29968214
DSC module: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8#post29968208
GHAS module: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...7#post29968227

[F87source]

Reserved for future posts.

[F87source]

I just wanted to let you guys know I just recieved my BM3 wifi adapter in today and tested it with protool, and it works perfectly! So if you were looking to buy a wifi adapter I would highly recommend the BM3 wifi version over the currently available models (review coming soon which will explain exactly why).

[WretchedRefuse]

F87source , your original post implies that the Thor adapter no longer works. Is that correct, and if so do you know what happened? Protool lists Thor as a supported adapter but I haven't been able to make it work.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by WretchedRefuse

F87source , your original post implies that the Thor adapter no longer works. Is that correct, and if so do you know what happened? Protool lists Thor as a supported adapter but I haven't been able to make it work.

The third flasher itself doesn't work anymore, not the adapter.

I'm not sure why your Thor adapter doesn't work, did you select the correct interface for connection? Probably reach out to protool for help because I'm not familiar with the Thor adapter.

[overcooked]

Can this enable anti dazzle and VLD through VO coding? Any directions? If it works I am buying one tonight.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by overcooked

Can this enable anti dazzle and VLD through VO coding? Any directions? If it works I am buying one tonight.

I'm not too familiar with the G30 platform, but if it is doable through ESYS then it is doable through protool. So you'd have to find a guide on the forum for ESYS then pretty much just follow that guide using protool. You could ask the protool guys (facebook or email) if they know how to do it.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but I don't know this platform too well.

[overcooked]

Originally Posted by F87source

I'm not too familiar with the G30 platform, but if it is doable through ESYS then it is doable through protool. So you'd have to find a guide on the forum for ESYS then pretty much just follow that guide using protool. You could ask the protool guys (facebook or email) if they know how to do it.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but I don't know this platform too well.

Thanks, I chatted with them on facebook and they confirmed I just need to remove 5AP and 8S4 from VO and protool will automatically recode the needed modules. And they also confirmed that protool works with latest universal MHD adapter. I just bought an adapter and will try to code the anti dazzle and VLD once it arrives.
Not sure why anyone would pay a coder to do this, seems like a fairly easy process.. I also have VCDS and an Audi, coding on Audis are very easy as well, never paid anyone to do it.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by overcooked

Thanks, I chatted with them on facebook and they confirmed I just need to remove 5AP and 8S4 from VO and protool will automatically recode the needed modules. And they also confirmed that protool works with latest universal MHD adapter. I just bought an adapter and will try to code the anti dazzle and VLD once it arrives.
Not sure why anyone would pay a coder to do this, seems like a fairly easy process.. I also have VCDS and an Audi, coding on Audis are very easy as well, never paid anyone to do it.

Glad you figured out what was needed to code the car!

Yeah protool is amazing! I'm glad they gave me an opportunity to review it, it's so much more powerful than the other apps available.

I'll update the review later on to include the MHD adapter as compatible.

[WretchedRefuse]

Originally Posted by overcooked

... Not sure why anyone would pay a coder to do this, seems like a fairly easy process..

Each model car is done a little differently. I was told, although I've never verified, that my model G30 requires more than just VO coding for this feature.

Separately, I'd be interested in how ProTool re-codes each module after VO coding. Does it restore each module to factory FDL coding for the chosen VO codes? If so, does it "know" the factory values for each I-Step or does it just use some standard values? Regardless, you would need to re-apply any FDL codes that you have previously coded to those modules.

If ProTool doesn't restore the modules to factory spec after VO coding, how does it determine what FDL code values to use?

[rphunting]

I notice that a prior post I made pointing out that Protool was not compatible with macOS has been removed. I have no idea why.

I apologise if I offended anyone. It was unintentional. I recall asking if there was some similar software for people who are not Android users.

Perhaps Major General F87 should re-entitled his review "...and The best BMW coding and diagnostics app available"-- to -- "...and The best BMW coding and diagnostics app available for Android users", in the interests of transparency?

Or was my post pulled because my question about similar systems to Protool suitable for macOS was too hard to answer?

BTW, I have a copy of THIS post in case a similar fate befalls it, as seems to have happened to the last one.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by rphunting

I notice that a prior post I made pointing out that Protool was not compatible with macOS has been removed. I have no idea why.

I apologise if I offended anyone. It was unintentional. I recall asking if there was some similar software for people who are not Android users.

Perhaps Major General F87 should re-entitled his review "...and The best BMW coding and diagnostics app available"-- to -- "...and The best BMW coding and diagnostics app available for Android users", in the interests of transparency?

Or was my post pulled because my question about similar systems to Protool suitable for macOS was too hard to answer?

BTW, I have a copy of THIS post in case a similar fate befalls it, as seems to have happened to the last one.

What this post?
https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=27

You posted it initially in the G20 section and now you've posted it in the G30 section, so I'm not sure what you're getting at.... Maybe you should be more familiar with how the forum works before making accusations.

But like I said before, there is no comparable app to protool, the only thing out there that can match protool is esys. But esys isn't an app nor is it apple device compatible.

Btw macOS is a desktop platform, there are no mobile apps compatible with macOS, and esys isn't compatible either. In terms of mobile apple platforms (iOS) there is nothing close to protool.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by rphunting

I notice that a prior post I made pointing out that Protool was not compatible with macOS has been removed. I have no idea why.

I apologise if I offended anyone. It was unintentional. I recall asking if there was some similar software for people who are not Android users.

Perhaps Major General F87 should re-entitled his review "...and The best BMW coding and diagnostics app available"-- to -- "...and The best BMW coding and diagnostics app available for Android users", in the interests of transparency?

Or was my post pulled because my question about similar systems to Protool suitable for macOS was too hard to answer?

BTW, I have a copy of THIS post in case a similar fate befalls it, as seems to have happened to the last one.

BTW this was my response: https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1&postcount=28

and this was your final reply: https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2&postcount=31


BTW bimmercode likely will never catch up, I and many others have spent years begging them to add support for more ecu's (not even fully replicate esys which is an even bigger challenge in an of itself), but the bimmercode team keeps saying they don't think they could do it due to Germany's liability laws (something that isn't an issue in the US where protool is located). So for any Apple users, you likely will have to do what alot of others have done, and that is get a cheap android device + a cheap windows laptop. Because even the factory BMW tools like ISTA and ESYS were developed strictly for windows and not Apple, the reason why is likely to do with Apple's reliance on proppriatry everything (even the coding language) and extremely strict app store polcieis. If you don't want to do that, then you will have to wait for protool to port the app over to IOS, which I was told is part of their future plans.

[rphunting]

I accept responsibility for posting in the G20 stream. Which means, I conclude, that F87's Protool review appeared in both the G20 and G30 streams? Since I have a G30 I am a bit surprised I posted in the G20 stream to begin with, but apparently I did, in error.

As for making any accusation, I absolutely deny doing any such thing, except for concluding my message must have been pulled, since it wasn't where I thought it was -- namely in the G30 stream.

As for the alleged difficulties in making a macOS version, from out of a pool of ignorance, I thought Apple used a unix-based system these days which would make inter-operability much easier?

So back to Bimmercode for now.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by rphunting

I accept responsibility for posting in the G20 stream. Which means, I conclude, that F87's Protool review appeared in both the G20 and G30 streams? Since I have a G30 I am a bit surprised I posted in the G20 stream to begin with, but apparently I did, in error.

As for making any accusation, I absolutely deny doing any such thing, except for concluding my message must have been pulled, since it wasn't where I thought it was -- namely in the G30 stream.

As for the alleged difficulties in making a macOS version, from out of a pool of ignorance, I thought Apple used a unix-based system these days which would make inter-operability much easier?

So back to Bimmercode for now.

The reason why the smaller companies dislike making anything for apple devices is because:

1) you have to code using apples proprietary language swift, which is super annoying when Android devices generally uses java (a super popular language that pretty much every developer will learn at some point on their education, the same cannot be said about swift).

2) proprietary everything, every connector that connects to an apple device must have some BS apple chip or else it fails to work. This makes custom cables and such incredibly hard to create. A lack of ports doesn't help either... This is nothing more than a money grab by apple.

3) apple heavily restricts their app store for no reason (well they do it to prevent malware from getting onto the store, but I much prefer the android approach where it is easier to get things onto the app store and to prevent viruses google checks and certifies popular apps to be virus free. The low download count apps will not have Google certifications so you have to trust the developers. But this has allowed things like jbv1, highway radar, rdtest, protool etc onto the Google play store and not the iOS store), making it hard for developers to publish apps. In some cases it completely discourages publishers from even attempting to publish onto the iOS store.

So that's just what you have to deal with when you buy an apple device. You have to jump through apple's arbitrary and completely stupid hoops.

4) apple may use a unix style os, but everything else is so different the complied machine code wouldn't be the same.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by rphunting

I accept responsibility for posting in the G20 stream. Which means, I conclude, that F87's Protool review appeared in both the G20 and G30 streams? Since I have a G30 I am a bit surprised I posted in the G20 stream to begin with, but apparently I did, in error.

As for making any accusation, I absolutely deny doing any such thing, except for concluding my message must have been pulled, since it wasn't where I thought it was -- namely in the G30 stream.

As for the alleged difficulties in making a macOS version, from out of a pool of ignorance, I thought Apple used a unix-based system these days which would make inter-operability much easier?

So back to Bimmercode for now.

The reason why the smaller companies dislike making anything for apple devices is because:

1) you have to code using apples proprietary language swift, which is super annoying when Android devices generally uses java (a super popular language that pretty much every developer will learn at some point on their education, the same cannot be said about swift).

2) proprietary everything, every connector that connects to an apple device must have some BS apple chip or else it fails to work. This makes custom cables and such incredibly hard to create. A lack of ports doesn't help either... This is nothing more than a money grab by apple.

3) apple heavily restricts their app store for no reason (well they do it to prevent malware from getting onto the store, but I much prefer the android approach where it is easier to get things onto the app store and to prevent viruses google checks and certifies popular apps to be virus free. The low download count apps will not have Google certifications so you have to trust the developers. But this has allowed things like jbv1, highway radar, rdtest, protool etc onto the Google play store and not the iOS store), making it hard for developers to publish apps. In some cases it completely discourages publishers from even attempting to publish onto the iOS store.

So that's just what you have to deal with when you buy an apple device. You have to jump through apple's arbitrary and completely stupid hoops.

4) apple may use a unix style os, but everything else is so different the complied machine code wouldn't be the same.

[rphunting]

All I can say is that in my experience publishing educational and academic material, Apple has been so far ahead of alternatives it isn't funny. For example, 15 years ago I was able to embed video clips in my books in macOS, and only now can you do so in Kindle books, but still not in Google.

Badmouthing Apple is de jour for folks that don't use macOS for whatever reason -- possibly in some cases justified. People schooled in Windows systems have been, it seems to me, very good at pouring sh*t on Apple, but where is Windows now?

Apple operating systems and products are preferred by the arts and science (including mathematics) communities.

You have forced me to make some remarks in defence of Apple to give some balance to your (F87) dedicated commitment to your preferred environment. Each to their own at the end of the day. Just bear in mind which way the tide has been running over the last 20 years. MacOS users now make up a significant chunk of the computer-user world despite your objections. Perhaps you need to disclose what, if any, pecuniary benefit you obtain from Protool or its related products? As Shakespeare once said from Hamlet "The lady doth protest too much, methinks".

[F87source]

Originally Posted by rphunting

All I can say is that in my experience publishing educational and academic material, Apple has been so far ahead of alternatives it isn't funny. For example, 15 years ago I was able to embed video clips in my books in macOS, and only now can you do so in Kindle books, but still not in Google.

Badmouthing Apple is de jour for folks that don't use macOS for whatever reason -- possibly in some cases justified. People schooled in Windows systems have been, it seems to me, very good at pouring sh*t on Apple, but where is Windows now?

Apple operating systems and products are preferred by the arts and science (including mathematics) communities.

You have forced me to make some remarks in defence of Apple to give some balance to your (F87) dedicated commitment to your preferred environment. Each to their own at the end of the day. Just bear in mind which way the tide has been running over the last 20 years. MacOS users now make up a significant chunk of the computer-user world despite your objections. Perhaps you need to disclose what, if any, pecuniary benefit you obtain from Protool or its related products? As Shakespeare once said from Hamlet "The lady doth protest too much, methinks".

Lol ahead? The only thing apple is currently ahead of is with their M series chip, everything else they can't even hold a candle to the competition. I have a MacBook pro, and all I can say is I hate the Mac os experience, when you use an apple device it controls you. There is little to no customization. When you use an Android device or PC you control the device, you can do whatever you want and if you can't then you can root it to remove the disabling function.

The fact you keep saying macOS instead of iOS and Android software should work on apple devices because it's a unix style os, is pretty evident you don't understand computers or software.

Mobile phones:
1) does apple have under screen finger print sensors? No.
2) Does apple have foldable phones? No.
3) Does apple have reverse power sharing? No.
4) Does apple have the best camera - No, tests have shown it to be android phones that have the best camera. In particular the pixel series.
5) Does apple have the best display, not even remotely close. They don't even have a 120hz display, they're still stuck on 60 hz. They actually still use Samsung pannels.
6) still no USB c, apple insists their archaic lightning port still be used.
7) multiple accounts per device.
8) you can access the entire internal storage when you plug it into a PC.
9) full device customization with launchers, custom roms, etc.
10) on Samsung devices you can run multiple copies of the same app. For instance I have 2 Facebook apps and 2 Facebook messengers.
11) always on display, I don't even think apple has this yet.
12) run customized apps from some of the best homebrew developers in the world. For instance I have YouTube revanced which is a free YouTube premium, can't get that on apple devices. I also have a system wide adblocker, again cant get that on apple devices.
12) you don't even have real split screening on iphones, but you do on Android.

So where exactly does apple come ahead? Go on I challenge you to give me legitimate examples of where apple comes ahead because In the past apple may have been the innovators, but now they are nothing but behind in every aspect.




You said that apple computers are preferred by the scientific world, lol you're crazy. What kind of computers do mathematicians use to calculate the largest primes in the world? The answer isn't a Mac, it's a PC running Linux, more specifically a super computer - and super computers generally run Linux. What computers do people use when they serious need power? The answer isn't a Mac, it's a PC running crazy hardware and crazy cooling that you can't even get on a mac. What kind computers are used for crypto mining? The answer is not a Mac... What kind of computers run the back bone of the internet? The answer is not macs it's server computers running either Linux or Windows server edition. What kind of computers do F1 teams use for CFD simulations? It's not a Mac. It's actually windows.

Apple devices are for creators or people who have fallen into the "ecosystem", people who are looking for serious performance and looking to do serious work don't go with apple because they don't have the solutions needed.


Take a look at the situation, chances are when people are really into computers they don't buy a Mac, they build a PC.


Desktops:
1) zero customization, or repairability, everything is soldiered to the logic board. Hard drive dies? You're screwed. Ram dies? You're screwed. You bought a spec that lacked storages because you didn't have money? You're screwed.

With a windows laptop you have upgradeable everything, down to the wifi cards. You can add as much ram as you want, you can upgrade battery capacities, you can add 2 hard drives on models with dual m.2 slots.

2) cooling. Apple devices have absolutely garbage cooling. I have never seen such a powerful device cooled so fricken poorly. While PC gaming laptops have vapor chamber cooling, 8 heat pipes, dual massive fans, multiple heat exchangers, liquid metal thermal paste. Apple has a pathetic single heat pipe cooling system. This is the dumbest shit I have ever seen period. Every apple laptop I have ever used for gaming or render will thermal throttle and never get maximum rated performance for extended use cases. With my hp omen 15, I'm able to push over 100 watt TDP's on the CPU running at 4.5 GHZ sustained + an over clocked GPU. That's near desktop level performance, and I'm not thermal throttling. Under these conditions I'm at 92C on the CPU and 67C on the gpu. Try doing that on a MacBook pro, oh wait you can't, all apple cares about is thinner thinner thinner, even when it costs performance. All the specs on a MacBook are optimistic at best because you'll never be able to hold them for long.

If I don't want to run maxed out I can dial the CPU in at a lower frequency, and then I can game while temperatures at sub 75C. Meanwhile apples always run hot.


If I wanted to, the heat exchanger system on my laptop is so robust I can run fans off and still stay below 50C. If I chose to leave them on low, then regular use will leave me at 30C temps, something a MacBook user can only dream of.

3) future proofing, with a PC you can upgrade components year in year out. With a Mac you have to buy a new one.

4) there are also so few Io ports on an apple device you have to run dongle after dongle. Oh yeah, and they have to be apple proprietary dongles meaning even less customization and after market goodies.

5) you can natively dual boot or multiple boot os's on windows, off multiple drives. With macs it's a much more contrived operation, especially if you want Linux (aka the scientific community).

6) hardware, apple only cares about thinner thinner thinner. As a result they sacrificed their keyboard from what used to be the best keyboard I have ever felt on a laptop (2011 and similar MacBook pros) to this stupid butter fly nonsense switch which feels like tapping your fingers on a wooden table because there's not enough travel. People who type extremely fast keep complaining these MacBook pros make their fingers feel numb and hurt because the keys don't have the travel to cushion their fingers. Not to mention these keys catch dirt and debris and just stop working completely. So good job apple... Meanwhile on windows laptops you have excellent keyboards, with the gaming laptops bringing in mechanical keyboards into the mix. So it's not even a comparison anymore.


But go ahead tell me what apple computers can do that is so good. Because you can't game, there is a much larger software library available to windows vs. apple - a simple example would be just starting with BMWs own factory tools like ISTA and esys.




I already disclosed my affiliation with protool in the full review. At the end of the day you're nothing but a trouble maker, you come into the thread right after you already had your questions answered in another one but somehow you completely forgot, then you expect someone to somehow find a solution for you despite the answer not changing since last time, then you make another snarky quote. Like I said before, if you use an apple device you'll have to wait for the protool team to develop for iOS.

[rphunting]

Noted. Each to their own.

[overcooked]

Update: I removed 5AP and 8S4 from VO and protool default code BDC and HU. That changed vehicle color to brown in ID7 and I had to manually change it back to match my car.
Other than it works great. Took a night time drive and high beam was on almost all the time. I can also see it creates a tunnel and/or turn off high beam partially when needed.
Everything else on the car still works fine. I am pleased.
My car is on the 03/2023 firmware.

[WretchedRefuse]

overcooked That's interesting, thanks for posting. I'm glad to see that worked. I've been tempted to try that myself, except that I've coded lots of other things to the BDC that I'd have to redo. Did you consider also removing 8TR? I'm not sure exactly what that removes though.

[mimoon]

can i add SLI? , i have entrynav2 without navi so only with kafas. I have 5AT, 5AC