How do you tell if a VCDS/VAG Com cable is fake?

[Gti3]

Hi All

I've seen some ads on Gumtree for the VCDS software and Hex V2 cables ranging between R700 and R1200 for versions 17.8 to versions 18.2.

On the Ross tech site however the pricing is almost triple. I assume these cables that are on gumtree are 'fake'?

How do i know if its original? and finally - even if it is 'fake' - do they still do the job ?

[Shygolf]

They are fake cables.

The original cable is black in colour, most fakes are in blue.
The original cable, the version is upgradeable whereas the fakes cannot be upgraded.

[BdtDSG]

Hi All

I've seen some ads on Gumtree for the VCDS software and Hex V2 cables ranging between R700 and R1200 for versions 17.8 to versions 18.2.

On the Ross tech site however the pricing is almost triple. I assume these cables that are on gumtree are 'fake'?

How do i know if its original? and finally - even if it is 'fake' - do they still do the job ?

They are fake yes. Genuine VCDS cables are activated online and will cost much more than that. There is an 'Enthusiast' cable that limits you to 3 VINs for about R4k IIRC.

The other option is to get an ELM327 obd2 bluetooth dongle on BOB (+- R300) and use the Torque app to view live data from your phone or android radio, only problem is it only shows generic error codes in my experience.

OBDEleven is another option as well...



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Gti3]

Thanks guys, yes been looking at the obdeleven as well, but for some reason I can't download the app on my fone

[OettingerTDi]

Genuine VCDS cables are activated online and will cost much more than that. There is an 'Enthusiast' cable that limits you to 3 VINs for about R4k IIRC.

I bought a VCDS from Hex Diagnostics about a month ago, the 3 VIN cable. Paid R3 150, including courier costs.

By registering a VIN number you have full access to the car's ECU, but you have the option to not register a VIN, but then you can only scan and clear codes. That way you can help someone identify issues, which is what the majority of folks actually require.

The genuine item allows for software updates, which the non-genuine cable doesn't.

Check out Ross Tech's web page and look for the full package or something called VCDS Lite.

[amstel18]

If you wanna check if it's fake, take a laptop along and test it.
Connect to the internet and hit update.

Then try do an autoscan. My fake cable bombed out a long time ago when I was trying to do a scan in the garage and didn't realise my laptops wifi was connected.

[Gti3]

thanks for the feedback guys!

[Belix]

Fek sakes, these new clones are something.
Borrowed VCDS-V2 from a friend to kill auto-stop/start.
The cable looks 100% legit. I mean exactly the same.
I can download VCDS and it runs with the cable. Issues are:
- that it does not communicate with modules that V2 should by now
- says that there are part numbers it does not have files for
- auto-scan bombs out half way.
- Interface type is showing as "Ross-Tech HEX-USB+CAN" when it should show as "HEX-V2"
- Copyright shows as 2014, when HEX-V2 was only introduced in 2017

Interesting thing is that these don't seem to have issues being connected to the internet any more - the option to update just does not work,

And i spent the better part of the afternoon trying the get the bloody thing to work.