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"I read it on the internet...it must be true". If you google counterfeit tech 2 scanner you will also get a good deal of info showing how to spot a fake 'Vertronix" tool.
Pretty much a throwaway for a couple of hundred bucks and it dies. Hopefully it doesn't smoke a BCM or ECM in the process. Read a couple of FAQs on one of those Chinese sites asking what to do if the tool starts smoking.....
It's illegal ( even if your in China) to claim a tool is made by a given company, if it is not made by that company... The company where I purchased my Tech 2 has been in business for 6 years, and has claimed there tool to be a Vetronix tool for 6 years.. So I would say since they haven't been sued or had to change their advertising claims that they are telling the truth about who makes the unit.. Also if you do a search of people that have actually purchased a Tech 2 recently, you will find that there are very few that aren't totally pleased with their purchase..Almost everyone on this site that has purchased one ( and there are quite a few) had nothing but good to say about the units they bought.. The one guy I remember that did have something go wrong with his unit, said they replaced or repaired it without any problems ......WW
Several users over on C5 have bought them and reports are positive from what I saw...
It looks like the better ones to get would be the SP23 -BC (cardboard box), or the SP23B (with plastic case). They mention they are the 'best' and have more stable electronics. For a few bucks more it would probably be worth it.
I am going to take a picture of mine when i get home , authentic down to the gm markings , quality of the cables and connectors and even the discs it comes with
I am going to take a picture of mine when i get home , authentic down to the gm markings , quality of the cables and connectors and even the discs it comes with
Dave
Dave,
Did yours have the stickers applied to the tool, or did it come on a separate sheet like the pics on the forum post and as also shown on a couple of the Chinese sites?
Here's a couple of links that WW7 listed earlier, but it shows the sticker sheet separately, and the data CDs are just regular cds with a stick on label on the one.
Did yours have the stickers applied to the tool, or did it come on a separate sheet like the pics on the forum post and as also shown on a couple of the Chinese sites?
Here's a couple of links that WW7 listed earlier, but it shows the sticker sheet separately, and the data CDs are just regular cds with a stick on label on the one.
Not having the stickers on the product when it is shipped out of China has to do with the fact that the product isn't originally made for the US market and there is no repairs or warranty work performed in the USA for these specific items.. You can put the stickers on yourself , but they aren't allowed to put them on.... Let me give you an example.. I buy a lot of Nikon cameras and lenses made in Japan that are labeled (Gray Market items), they come directly from Japan and have no stickers on them, also no manuals or warranty cards inclosed in the package. I get these Cameras and lenses at a big big discount because of being Gray market items .. They are still made by Nikon, and are exactly the same as the cameras made at Nikon for distribution in the USA, but since they are Not sold by "Nikon USA" they are sold without stickers or any of the cards or manuals that are in the boxes of the Nikon USA products.. Nikon USA also will not do warranty work on the items... These Tech 2 units are also "Gray Market" items , they are made by the Vetronix company to the same standards as the USA models that GM uses , but are not made specifically for the US market , so they don't have stickers or manuals or warranty cards , just like the Gray Market Nikon items that I buy...That's why you have to put the stickers on yourself , and why you have to download the manual off the internet, and also why you have to send them back to China for warranty repair,, they're not made specifically for, or licensed for the US market.......WW
Not having the stickers on the product when it is shipped out of China has to do with the fact that the product isn't originally made for the US market and there is no repairs or warranty work performed in the USA for these items... Let me give you an example.. I buy a lot of Nikon cameras and lenses made in Japan that are labeled (Gray Market items), they come directly from Japan and have no stickers , manuals or warranty cards inclosed in the package. I get these Cameras and lenses at a big big discount because of being Gray market items .. They are still made by Nikon, and are exactly the same as the cameras made at Nikon for distribution in the USA, but since they are Not sold by "Nikon USA" they are sold without stickers or any of the cards or manuals that are in the boxes of the Nikon USA products... These Tech 2 units are also "Gray Market" items , they are made by the Vetronix company to the same standards as the USA models that GM uses , but are not made specifically for the US market , so they don't have stickers or manuals or warrenty cards , just like the Gray Market Nikon items that I buy...That's why you have to put the stickers on yourself , and why you have to download the manual off the internet, and also why you have to send them back to China for warranty repair,, they're not made specifically for the US market.......WW
Pretty much the same with Hikvision security/surveillance cameras and NVRs. Grey market ones are much cheaper, but NO support from Hik, and none of the firmware updates work if downloaded from Hik website. That's the price you pay for less cost.
I'm still having a hard time believing these are actually made by Vertronics, Bosch, whatever. Especially when you see direct comparisons of actual GM/Bosch/Vertronics units vs. Chinese. With the way the Chinese reverse engineer things and market them at an alarming rate, the old saying "if it seems too good to be true"....
I'd also be curious if the 'Serial Numbers' on every sticker sheet they ship out is the same exact number & if you call the phone number listed on those stickers, if anyone from Vertronics would answer.
I would think that any time you plug in a scanner into your car, there would always be a chance of smoking a component.
With a tech 2, can you save parameters of your car then reload those saved parameters if necessary?
Pretty much the same with Hikvision security/surveillance cameras and NVRs. Grey market ones are much cheaper, but NO support from Hik, and none of the firmware updates work if downloaded from Hik website. That's the price you pay for less cost.
I'm still having a hard time believing these are actually made by Vertronics, Bosch, whatever. Especially when you see direct comparisons of actual GM/Bosch/Vertronics units vs. Chinese. With the way the Chinese reverse engineer things and market them at an alarming rate, the old saying "if it seems too good to be true"..I'd also be curious if the 'Serial Numbers' on every sticker sheet they ship out is the same exact number & if you call the phone number listed on those stickers, if anyone from Vertronics would answer. ..
I can understand you being skeptical.. But the way they are doing their sales on the internet, is exactly the way the Gray Market items I have purchased over the years have been done.. It makes sense to me, but I could be wrong.... ...I should be getting my Tech 2 in a few days, maybe one of the guys on here that has one from this company will let us know what his serial number is so we can compare.. I could also call the phone number to see who I get..... WW
Did yours have the stickers applied to the tool, or did it come on a separate sheet like the pics on the forum post and as also shown on a couple of the Chinese sites?
Here's a couple of links that WW7 listed earlier, but it shows the sticker sheet separately, and the data CDs are just regular cds with a stick on label on the one.
Not having the stickers on the product when it is shipped out of China has to do with the fact that the product isn't originally made for the US market and there is no repairs or warranty work performed in the USA for these specific items... Let me give you an example.. I buy a lot of Nikon cameras and lenses made in Japan that are labeled (Gray Market items), they come directly from Japan and have no stickers on them, also no manuals or warranty cards inclosed in the package. I get these Cameras and lenses at a big big discount because of being Gray market items .. They are still made by Nikon, and are exactly the same as the cameras made at Nikon for distribution in the USA, but since they are Not sold by "Nikon USA" they are sold without stickers or any of the cards or manuals that are in the boxes of the Nikon USA products.. Nikon USA also will not do warranty work on the items... These Tech 2 units are also "Gray Market" items , they are made by the Vetronix company to the same standards as the USA models that GM uses , but are not made specifically for the US market , so they don't have stickers or manuals or warrenty cards , just like the Gray Market Nikon items that I buy...That's why you have to put the stickers on yourself , and why you have to download the manual off the internet, and also why you have to send them back to China for warranty repair,, they're not made specifically for the US market.......WW
I agree but ... you dont need to download the manual , its on the data disk
I would think that any time you plug in a scanner into your car, there would always be a chance of smoking a component.
With a tech 2, can you save parameters of your car then reload those saved parameters if necessary?
There is .... when i loaded my tune there was an checksum error ... thought i bricked the ecm . Lucky i was able to restore it from the backup
I have not gotten into anything on the tech two that i would need to save the orginal file so I don't know . Reset VIN in nav radio , reset my TCM , used the parameter to display each cylinder in order to track down an intermittent miss i was seeing on the tech II
A couple of questions for you guys with one of these scanners.
What software came installed on the unit ? Ie. GM, Ford, etc.
Could you choose to install other Mfr software at the time of purchase ?
Is there any functions that you have not been able to access with the unit ?
I have a Solus unit that I need to update, but the price of those updates has gotten out of control. If one of these scanners includes the same software as the update for less money it might be the way to go. I am mainly looking for GM/Ford read/write capability, other makes would be nice but not necessary.
Thanks
The stickers did come in a bag , very high quality ...
But the data CD's look like the real thing and not some knock off with a ink jet label ....
Dave
Originally Posted by WW7
I can understand you being skeptical.. But the way they are doing their sales on the internet, is exactly the way the Gray Market items I have purchased over the years have been done.. It makes sense to me, but I could be wrong.... ...I should be getting my Tech 2 in a few days, maybe one of the guys on here that has one from this company will let us know what his serial number is so we can compare.. I could also call the phone number to see who I get..... WW
Thanks for looking Dave.
WW7, I agree that's exactly the market they're going after and it really is a great deal for the guy who wants to scan a few codes and do more than the average 'code reader' can accomplish.
Hell, a few trips to the dealer for their 'diagnostic' fee will pay for one of these units. I'm not discounting their need to charge a fee mind you, I have to pay for the updates on my SnapOn scanner...and they're not cheap (around $1200). Stuff like that will have to be passed on to the customer, same with the dealer, GM doesn't give them anything.
I've seen a lot of good reviews here from guys that have bought them and been able to get their car troubleshot and running again with them. Sometimes after a dealer had already looked at it and failed to fix it properly
There is .... when i loaded my tune there was an checksum error ... thought i bricked the ecm . Lucky i was able to restore it from the backup
I have not gotten into anything on the tech two that i would need to save the orginal file so I don't know . Reset VIN in nav radio , reset my TCM , used the parameter to display each cylinder in order to track down an intermittent miss i was seeing on the tech II
Dave
Loading a tune was from HPTuners though?
With smoked GM modules (ECM, BCM) they usually need reprogrammed from files downloaded from GM. You need to subscribe to ACDelco to get the calibrations.
Yep I agree ... you need to hack the TECH II clone to get the updates , there are several websites that will show you , I don't need them because I was told that mine has the latest software
Thanks for looking Dave.
WW7, I agree that's exactly the market they're going after and it really is a great deal for the guy who wants to scan a few codes and do more than the average 'code reader' can accomplish.
Hell, a few trips to the dealer for their 'diagnostic' fee will pay for one of these units. I'm not discounting their need to charge a fee mind you, I have to pay for the updates on my SnapOn scanner...and they're not cheap (around $1200). Stuff like that will have to be passed on to the customer, same with the dealer, GM doesn't give them anything.
I've seen a lot of good reviews here from guys that have bought them and been able to get their car troubleshot and running again with them. Sometimes after a dealer had already looked at it and failed to fix it properly
That is the exact reason why I bought it , I paid $125.00 for a scan that took 5 mins and did not find anything , yet when I scanned it I saw exactly what I had to do .....
A couple of questions for you guys with one of these scanners
What software came installed on the unit ? Ie. GM, Ford, etc.
My unit says GM to 2013 with CANBUS adapter
Don't think you can use it on a Ford
Could you choose to install other Mfr software at the time of purchase ?
I only specifly was looking for one that would work with our Corvettes
Is there any functions that you have not been able to access with the unit ?
So far no , a quick google search gets me the directions for everything I have tried .... its pretty easy to use
I have a Solus unit that I need to update, but the price of those updates has gotten out of control. If one of these scanners includes the same software as the update for less money it might be the way to go. I am mainly looking for GM/Ford read/write capability, other makes would be nice but not necessary.
Thanks
OK ladies and gentlemen , here is the moment that you all have been waiting for , PICTURE TIME
The unit itself ....and the software CD's ... pretty good knockoffs lol , I think its like the others stated , it is a TECH II but grey market
and here is the CANDI unit and cables ..... pretty high quality stuff along with one of the 12 volt adapters
And another shot of the data disks .. as you can see the labels were not made with an INK JET printer ... and the a second cigarette lighter 12 volt power cable
and ....every cable and cable end you would need to connect to any GM car
but wait, if you act today there is more .....
Yep I agree ... you need to hack the TECH II clone to get the updates , there are several websites that will show you , I don't need them because I was told that mine has the latest software
Dave
That has my interest piqued.... send them my way or steer me towards them. (you can email or PM them if you don't want to post)
Joe
EDIT: this guy said the serial numbers were the same as ones he saw elsewhere, plus it has trouble scanning trucks. I did see on one or 2 of the sale sites something about not working on trucks. I figured it meant GM Medium truck though...
02-26-2017, 03:07 PM
...WW
But the way they are doing their sales on the internet, is exactly the way the Gray Market items I have purchased over the years have been done.. It makes sense to me, but I could be wrong....
