Are you tired of manually reconnecting your OBD2 app every time you start your car? For those who utilize a dedicated display, like an old phone or tablet permanently mounted in their vehicle for OBD2 monitoring, this inconvenience is all too familiar. Fortunately, there’s a solution to Automate Obd2 connection, especially for Bluetooth OBD2 interfaces.
While devices like ScanGauge offer automatic connection, their screens are limited and tethered by cables. Apps like Torque attempt auto-reconnection by constantly running Bluetooth, which can drain your Android device’s battery. OBDLink and Fusion can auto-connect on fresh launch but often struggle to reliably reconnect in the background upon car restarts, particularly with the data-heavy sensors in vehicles like Toyota hybrids. The initial data loading delay further complicates keeping the app in the background.
The challenge partly lies in how classic Bluetooth devices operate, broadcasting availability for pairing, not continuous connection. Leaving OBD2 interfaces in pairing mode poses security risks. Devices like OBDLink LX and MX+ address this by entering pairing mode only when a button is pressed and transitioning to a low-power sleep state after inactivity, waking up upon car start. OBD software typically connects to pre-paired Bluetooth OBD2 interfaces but lacks the ability to proactively verify device presence via Bluetooth discovery.
For Android users, the free “Automate” app offers a robust solution, provided your device isn’t locked. Here’s how to automate OBD2 connections using Automate:
This automation “flow” performs the following actions when your car turns on:
- Enables Bluetooth.
- Brings the OBDLink app to the foreground.
- Waits for 1 second.
- Simulates clicking the ‘connect’ button within the app.
- Waits another second.
- Simulates clicking ‘connect’ in any subsequent dialog box.
- Waits for 8 seconds to ensure connection stability.
- Simulates clicking the ‘Dashboard’ button to view data.
- Monitors the power source to detect car on/off status.
Conversely, when the car is turned off, the flow executes these steps:
- Simulates the Android ‘back’ button press.
- Waits for 1 second.
- Simulates clicking the ‘disconnect’ button.
- Waits for 3 seconds.
- Disables Bluetooth.
- Sends the OBDLink app to the background, allowing the device to sleep and conserve battery.
- Continues to monitor the power source.
This method achieves truly automatic reconnection without manual intervention, assuming your MX+ (firmware v 5.6.24 or later) is plugged in before starting the car. However, variations in OBD apps (like OBDLink v 5.30.0 potentially reloading OEM data), timing discrepancies, device readiness, or starting the car in ‘ignition’ instead of ‘ready’ mode might require manual intervention to restart the flow. For instance, some vehicles may need more than 7 seconds for OBD and CAN reconnection; in such cases, adjusting the delay (e.g., to 8 seconds as in this example) ensures reliability. You might need to tailor the flow’s timing to your specific OBD app and device, but Automate makes this customization straightforward.
Automate is designed for minimal background power consumption. Note that older versions like v 1.35 may not directly detect Bluetooth SPP devices like MX+ in connection-waiting mode or directly connect via apps like OBDLink. Therefore, the described flow relies on simulated screen clicks, a workaround that may not be universally compatible across all Android devices due to variations in speed and screen dimensions. For enhanced accuracy, consider loading Automate extensions and enabling ‘native’ timing accuracy settings within the app. Prior to automation via Automate, configure your OBD app settings appropriately. For OBDLink, recommended settings include:
- Preferences > Communications > Connection Mode > Manual
- Preferences > General > Dashboard > Do not Start on Dashboard Page
While MX+ functions on both Android and iOS, Automate is currently Android-exclusive. An equivalent iOS solution might exist, although iOS restrictions on Bluetooth connections could pose challenges. If you’re an iOS user with a solution to automate OBD2 connections, your insights would be valuable to share!
