What's the hot setup for BMW DIY diagnostic and coding tools? (E92 specific)

posting this question here *is* my research.

after spending the price of a battery to get the battery coded to the car, I say berkeley that, never again.

so I need the tool, and the connection to the vehicle, to do these things myself.

i've got a sweet ThinkPad laptop with plenty of available storage. i drink the iPhone kool-aid so no Android capability at this time, but I'm probably going to get an Android tablet so i can run ALDLdroid in MonZora.

GO!

I've used BimmerCode and BimmerLink with a wireless OBD adapter on my cars. 
 

Those are iPhone apps

This is the OBD adapter I use--
https://a.co/d/d9jYfmO

I'm hardly an expert, but there are several paths as I understand it: apps, scanners, and factory software. I've never messed with apps, so no input there. I have this scanner, which is capable of coding (it's actually capable of a lot, but it's poorly documented, which seems a common issue with these sorts of things); there are many similar options. Probably the most comprehensive is BMW's ISTA, which you can set up on your Windows laptop, but it is not always easy to get running properly.

Funnily enough, I just replaced the battery in my 128i, so I'm very familiar with the procedure. If you replace with an identical battery, there's no coding, just registering the new battery. If you switch to a different Ah rating or go from lead-acid to AGM (or vice-versa), you have to code the ECM to tell it what it's dealing with. I did the first step easily with my scanner, but then I struggled to find the proper coding function, so I ran down to my BMW indy. He handed my his new $4,000 Autel scanner and told me to figure it out, which I did; subsequently, I was able to locate the function on mine once I knew the terminology (it's ambiguously located under "Retrofit") to look for.

I think I started a thread on this a while back?

I went with a free download of INPA on a spare Win10 laptop.  The cable (USB to OBD) I got from Amazon for like 15 clams.  The thing works great!  But it is in German, so it helps if you can read German.  Mostly, I can figure it out, and since the internet exists, it's easy to get English descriptions for the codes. 

Found the thread, if anybody cares:  https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/e39-530i-170k-miles-codes-p0441-and-p0313-fuel-pump-vacuum-leak-thoughts/245046/page1/

Karacticus said:

I've used BimmerCode and BimmerLink with a wireless OBD adapter on my cars. 
 

Those are iPhone apps

This is the OBD adapter I use--
https://a.co/d/d9jYfmO

These will do what you need. I use them most of the time. 

You can also get a Foxwell 510 scanner, they are somewhat cumbersome to use, but it will allow you to do quite a few things, including the battery registration.

Slippery said:

Karacticus said:

I've used BimmerCode and BimmerLink with a wireless OBD adapter on my cars. 
 

Those are iPhone apps

This is the OBD adapter I use--
https://a.co/d/d9jYfmO

These will do what you need. I use them most of the time. 

You can also get a Foxwell 510 scanner, they are somewhat cumbersome to use, but it will allow you to do quite a few things, including the battery registration.

But not the coding part, if required.

I have the Foxwell 510, and it's actually easier to use for some things than the more capable scanner, particularly maintenance resets and such; I keep it in the car as a backup in case I need to diagnose something on the road.

The gold standard is the factory INPA or ISTA software with a cheapo dongle.   I read that the newer ISTA+ software is an issue because it will want to update all the modules in the car, which you typically want to avoid.   It isn't user friendly - there's a learning curve and in some cases no safety net.  Don't program anything unless the car has a full battery and is on a charger.  There are tutorials on how to do everything with it on YouTube.  Be aware that it takes 2TB of hard drive space, if you're trying to use an older laptop.  I needed to add a piggyback drive to my trusty old Lenovo T520 for ISTA.

In reply to Tyler H :

Yeah, 14.4v minimum for coding. The scanners I've used have very specific warnings about this; I'm sure ISTA does as well.

"Mikes easy INPA" + cheap cable. (K + d-can) + cheap/free laptop.

Not too bad to set up, powerful, makes you learn some German.

I have an older version of the launch scanner 02pilot recommended. It does 90% of what you will need.  The hacked versions of ista D & ista P are nice to have for guided troubleshooting & control module replacement.