Tag Archives: erase

fixed : budget friendly OBD2 dongle for my car

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Question :

My car’s on-board computer system sometimes gives unexplained, rather random, error messages. Up until now, I went to the dealer garage to have my car’s on-board computer system be analyzed and reset. Recently I heard that I could buy an OBD2-dongle myself and read and erase error messages myself. That would be a real time (and money) saver.

Is there any budget-friendly OBD2-dongle that I can use with my iPhone ?

 

Answer :

Yes there are several OBD2-dongles available that can do the job for you. Just make sure that you keep these things in mind when choosing one :

  • make sure the OBD2-dongle is compatible with iOS (as some are only compatible with PCs or Android-devices)
  • make sure the OBD2-dongle’s connection is over Bluetooth LowEnergy a.k.a. BLE (since that’s the only way to be able to connect your iPhone to your regular WiFi-network (internet) and to the OBD2-dongle at the same time)
  • make sure the OBD2-dongle is based on the original ELM327 chip (most cheap Chinese knock-offs are based on problematic, unreliable clone chips)
  • make sure the OBD2-dongle is compatible with the software you are planning to use with it (not every OBD2-app connects equally good to every OBD2-dongle & if you need to erase the error messages, most FREE versions won’t do so you will usually need the Pro version)

One of the cheapest reliable OBD2-dongles I’ve found is the TONWON OBDII Pro Bluetooth BLE4.0 for about €26,- ;

buy it on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.de

And do not forget to get an accompanying iOS-app :

most interesting for the budget-wary is Car Scanner ELM OBD2 Pro for about €5,50

(or the more expensive OBD Fusion at about €11,- or even the €20,- OBD AutoDoctor that even has an additional Mac-version)

…so buying into this DIY-solution is cheaper than having your car’s on-board computer system reset only once !

enjoy !

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fixed : quickly clear all personal data from your old iPhone before donating it to your child

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Question :

I just got a new iPhone, and now I want my child to have my previous iPhone. However, I want to clean out all my content before giving the iPhone away, so my child can start with a clean new iPhone.

Is there an easy way to do that ?

 

Answer :

Yes, doing so is rather easy, but it can only be done this simply if you can access the iPhone using the previous owner’s login (to prevent stolen iPhones from being erased before they can be traced).

For a quick ‘clean install’ of your iPhone (or iPad), just do this :

  • login to the iPhone using the previous (or actually still ‘current’) user’s login-pin or fingerscan
  • open the Settings app
  • in the Settings page that opens, scroll down a little and click on General
  • in the General page that opens, scroll down to the bottom an click on Reset
  • in the Reset page that opens, click on “Erase All Content and Settings”
  • now follow all directions given on your iPhone, then wait while it’s being reset
  • finally, the iPhone will reboot and you will have a ‘virgin-like’ iOS

Now, your child can start with a clean iPhone 😉

BEWARE : if you are donating your iPhone to charity or to someone you don’t know too well or to someone your don’t trust 100%, do not use this simple method to clean your iPhone ! as it does not fully protect you from people still being able to get some of your old data from your iPhone… (…and steal your photo’s, credit card info or even identity) ; in that case, hook your iPhone up to a computer and erase it’s memory with multiple overwrites (7 or more overwrites is considered ‘safe’) before doing a new install of iOS ; note that you might need extra software to do so

enjoy !

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