Support

• Check the adapter is plugged all the way into the car's diagnostic socket and its light is on.
• Keep your phone or tablet within a few feet of the adapter (inside the car).
• Turn Bluetooth on, and allow Bluetooth for AutoLingo (its name in the device's Settings).
• Don't pair the adapter in the device's Bluetooth settings: the app connects to it by itself. If you paired it there before, remove it (see "It hangs on connecting").

Then tap Connect again. The connect page shows each step and the one thing to try next.

Don't pair the adapter in your phone's Bluetooth settings. AutoLingo for BMW connects to it by itself. If you paired it there before, remove it:

• On Android: Settings → Connected devices → the adapter → Forget.
• On iPhone: Settings → Bluetooth → ⓘ → Forget This Device.

Then tap Connect again in the app.

Switch the ignition on, not just accessory: the dashboard lights on, the engine can stay off. Check the adapter sits fully in the socket, then tap Connect again.

Car from before 2003? Check under the hood first: if there's a round 20-pin socket, you must use it with the 20-pin cable, even if your car also has a socket under the dashboard.

The E30 3 Series (1988–1994), E32 7 Series (1988–1994), E34 5 Series (1988–1996), E36 3 Series (1992–1999), E38 7 Series (1995–2001), E39 5 Series (1996–2000, some early 2001), Z3 and early E46 3 Series have a round 20-pin diagnostic socket in the engine bay, usually under a round screw-on cap. Car from before 2003? Check under the hood first. If there's a round 20-pin socket, you must use it with the OBD2 to round 20-pin cable, even if your car also has a socket under the dashboard: on many of these cars the socket inside reaches only the engine.

We sell the cable with the adapter, or on its own if you already have an adapter (autolingo.app/purchase). It's the cable we test AutoLingo for BMW with; other OBD2 to 20-pin cables may work, but we can't confirm them.

The adapter takes one connection at a time. Close other diagnostic apps, and disconnect any other phone or tablet that's connected to it. If it still won't take the connection, unplug the adapter for five seconds and plug it back in.

Each adapter belongs to the account it was bought with. Sign in to the app (☰, Account) with the email address you ordered with. If someone gave you their adapter, or you bought it secondhand, contact support with its serial (the part after AutoLingoBMW- in its Bluetooth name, or on its label) and we'll move it to your account.

No. The app works with the AutoLingo for BMW adapter only: its firmware speaks BMW's own diagnostic protocols (not just generic OBD2), and the app checks it's a genuine one before connecting.

AutoLingo for BMW covers BMW E and F chassis cars. The compatibility page shows what works on yours (faults, live data, each service function), by model and year or from your VIN: autolingo.app/compatibility.

G chassis (2017 and newer models), MINI, Rolls-Royce and motorcycles aren't supported.

Yes, on many. In the US, cars from before 1996 have no OBD2 (they're often called OBD1), so generic code readers can't read them at all. AutoLingo for BMW talks to them in BMW's own protocols: it reads many modules on the early E36, E34, E32 and E31, and some on the E30.

Most cars from those years have a round 20-pin socket under the hood, and need the 20-pin cable. Check your car on the compatibility check at autolingo.app before you buy.

Yes: tap Try the demo on the app's welcome or Connect page. It plays recordings of real cars (an X3 E83, a 3 Series E90 and an X5 M F85), so you can see every screen with no adapter needed. The compatibility page shows what works on your own car (autolingo.app/compatibility), and you can return the adapter within 30 days of delivery for a full refund if it isn't right for you.

A fault that's still there (a sensor unplugged, a bulb out, a voltage too low) is set again by the module as soon as it checks, sometimes right away and sometimes on the next drive. Clearing removes the record, not the cause: fix what the fault text points to, then clear it again.

The app says why when a module refuses, and what to do: most often the ignition must be on with the engine off, the parking brake released, or the battery charged enough. Do that and run it again. If it still fails, use Contact support in the app: it sends us the log of what the module answered.

Many 2006–2014 BMWs (E70, E71, E72, E82, E84, E88, E89, E90, E91, E92 and E93 in the US) have a footwell module BMW covers with an extended warranty of 15 years / 240,000 miles (Service Information Bulletin SI B01 20 16). AutoLingo for BMW reads it without restarting it, and it checks and asks before any change to it.

On E-chassis BMWs, the Coding tab shows how each coded module is set up (the options the car was built with, how the lights and locks behave) in plain English, and which settings differ from the factory's.

Changing coding is in development and not complete. Today the app can change settings on module versions we've confirmed on a real car, and on versions that use the same write method as one of those. Each model's page on autolingo.app lists its popular settings and marks the ones confirmed on a real car. Coding on F-chassis BMWs comes in a free update.

Yes. Before every change, the app reads the module again and keeps a backup of its coding on your phone (the newest 20 for each module). Nothing is written until you confirm the change.

To go back, open the module on the Coding tab and tap Restore a backup.

After writing, the app reads the module back. If it doesn't hold the change, the app writes the backup back, reads it again, and tells you the module is as before.

If the connection is lost partway (the phone too far from the car, or the app closed), the old coding is still saved on your phone. The next time the app connects, it tells you and offers Restore now: with the ignition on and the adapter plugged in, tap it to put the old coding back. If that doesn't work, use Contact support in the app.

To avoid that:

• Ignition on, engine off, and keep the phone near the car until it says it's done.
• A charged battery: before a change to the engine, transmission, chassis, brake, steering or airbag modules, the app checks for at least 12.2 V and that the engine is off.

We open a module's changes only once its write method is confirmed on a real car, so some modules show their coding but can't be changed yet. You can help: on the Coding tab, tap "Help unlock coding for your car". The app reads every module's coding (nothing is changed) and sends it with your session's results (Send results on, in Settings). That shows us module versions we haven't seen. More settings open in free updates.

There's no password: enter your email address in the app (☰, Account) and open the link we email you on your phone or tablet, or type the code from the email into the app. Use the address you ordered the adapter with, so the app finds your adapters.

You can delete your account in the app (☰, Account, Delete account) or at autolingo.app/account/delete. Your adapter will stop working with the app: if you come back later, contact support with its serial and we'll link it to your new account. Selling or giving it away? Contact support first and we'll move it to the new owner's account. Our privacy policy says what we keep for tax and accounting (your orders) and what's deleted.

The adapter ships free within the US by USPS Ground Advantage, usually in 2 to 5 business days. When it ships you get an email with the tracking number.

The app is free, with free updates and no subscription; you buy the adapter once (its price is on the order page, autolingo.app/purchase). Prices don't include sales tax: orders shipping to California add California sales tax at checkout, shown before you pay.