Support & FAQ

EvmetricsOBD is an OBD2 diagnostics app for iPhone, iPad and Mac that works with both electric and petrol/diesel vehicles. It connects to a standard ELM327 adapter and gives you live sensor data, battery telemetry, charging graphs, fault-code (DTC) scanning, a vehicle audit and professional diagnostic reports — across 17 vehicle-specific templates.

It reads diagnostic data only. It never changes anything in your car.

Two things: a supported vehicle and an ELM327-compatible OBD adapter (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or USB). Plug the adapter into your car's OBD2 port, open the app, go to the Dongle tab and tap Connect.

No account, no sign-up and no proprietary hardware required.

Yes — the core is free: the live sensor dashboard tailored to your model, charge session logging, the PID scanner and CAN monitor tools, and the compatible-dongle guide with a Bluetooth checkup.

Advanced tools — the trouble-code scanner, diagnostic reports, vehicle audit, CarPlay, journeys, workshop, fleet and more — are part of EvmetricsOBD Pro.

iPhone, iPad and Mac. The same app scales from a quick check on your phone to a full workshop session on a Mac.

Yes, after the first connection. The very first time you open the Dongle tab and tap Connect yourself, so the app never races the iOS Bluetooth permission prompt. From then on it automatically reconnects to your last adapter whenever it comes back in range — over Bluetooth this costs essentially no battery.

Retries back off sensibly so an adapter left plugged in overnight won't be hammered, and tapping Disconnect pauses auto-reconnect until you connect manually again.

Any ELM327-compatible adapter. Ones we've tested and recommend include the Vgate iCar Pro, OBDLink CX / MX+ / EX, Veepeak BLE+ and Carista.

See the full adapter guide for picks by connection type and vehicle.

All three work over ELM327:

• Bluetooth LE — the default and most convenient on iPhone and iPad.
• Wi-Fi — connects to the adapter over your local network.
• USB serial (FTDI, CP210x or CH340 adapters) — the most stable for long, uninterrupted workshop sessions on a Mac.

Pick whichever your adapter supports.

Try these in order:

• Make sure the adapter is plugged in and the car's ignition is on.
• Grant the Bluetooth permission when iOS asks.
• Run Bluetooth Checkup in the app — it verifies Bluetooth is on, permitted and working.
• Check the adapter's name: the app looks for OBD adapters whose name contains obd, elm, link or carista. A generic device advertised only as “Battery Monitor” is filtered out on purpose.
• Some adapters need to be un-paired in iOS Settings first — ELM327 dongles connect directly through the app rather than through iOS Bluetooth settings.

When you first connect to a Wi-Fi adapter, iOS shows a Local Network permission prompt — you must allow it, or the app can't reach the dongle.

Then join the adapter's Wi-Fi network and confirm its IP address and port match the adapter's manual (many use 192.168.0.10 : 35000). You can re-enable the permission later in iOS Settings › EvmetricsOBD.

First check whether you disconnected explicitly — after you tap Disconnect, the app deliberately won't silently reconnect on its own until you tap Connect again. Otherwise auto-reconnect keeps trying with sensible backoff, and if the link is flapping (dropping within seconds of connecting) it slows down on purpose.

The Dongle tab keeps a Connection History of your last ten sessions — each one records how it started and why it ended (dropped link, failed handshake, manual disconnect), which usually points straight at the culprit.

Use the built-in Connection Test. It runs the ELM327 handshake step by step and shows a live log, so you can see exactly where a connection succeeds or fails — useful for diagnosing a flaky adapter or an unusual vehicle.

Deep, model-specific support today covers the Jaguar I-Pace (2018+) and JLR petrol/diesel models — Jaguar XF, XJ, XK/XKR, F-Type, F-Pace and XE, plus Land Rover Range Rover (L405), Velar, Range Rover Sport, Discovery and Defender V8.

On these you get manufacturer-specific data like HV battery health, module temperatures, oil temperature and level, boost and gearbox temperatures. See the vehicles page for the full list.

On the Jaguar I-Pace the app reads State of Charge and State of Health, individual cell voltages, and a live charging graph of power against SoC. The Battery Cell Modules scan goes deeper: per-module voltage, two temperatures and state of health for all 36 pack modules, colour-coded against the pack average.

It's read-only telemetry straight from the vehicle — nothing is written back to the pack.

Yes for the universal data: on any ELM327-compatible vehicle the app reads the standard OBD2 modes ($01–$09) — live sensors, fault codes, freeze-frame and readiness monitors.

Deep, brand-specific templates for Hyundai/Kia E-GMP, VW MEB, Tesla Model 3/Y, Ford, Stellantis e-CMP, Volvo/Polestar, Porsche and Rivian are in development and shipping over time.

Yes — the Trouble Codes scanner is part of Pro. It reads diagnostic trouble codes across every ECU it can reach, names them from a database of over 2,000 codes bundled with the app (no internet needed), lets you clear them, and can optionally run AI research on a code you select — likely causes, symptoms and recommended actions.

Clearing only resets the stored code and warning lamp — it doesn't fix the underlying fault, so if a code returns it's telling you something.

A read-only catalogue (in Tools, part of Pro) of dealer-activatable features your JLR could receive — things like Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, Configurable Dynamics, adaptive cruise and ambient lighting. The app probes the car and marks each one Active, Hardware present, Not equipped or Check availability, with typical pricing.

EvmetricsOBD never codes or activates anything itself — the advisor tells you what's possible and refers you to a JLR specialist for the actual work.

Yes. Both the PID scanner and the Full Vehicle Scan save their progress, so an interrupted session — a dropped connection, the car going to sleep, or you just stopping for the day — can be resumed where it left off instead of starting over.

It's read-only for anything that matters. EvmetricsOBD reads diagnostic data and, at your request, clears stored fault codes.

It never modifies, unlocks, re-flashes or resets manufacturer security or control systems. It can't brick or reprogram your car.

Pro adds the professional toolkit:

• Trouble Codes — read and clear DTCs across every ECU, with offline code names and optional AI research
• Diagnostic Reports — shareable PDF/HTML reports
• Vehicle Audit — including odometer-rollback detection
• Battery Cell Modules — per-module voltage, temperatures and state of health
• Cylinder Misfire scan on petrol/diesel models
• Vehicle Timeline and Backups (daily on-device snapshots)
• Garage — multiple vehicles with diagnostic history
• Full Vehicle Scanner and the CAN Buses view
• CarPlay Power Monitor
• Journeys — automatic drive logging with PDF/GPX export
• Workshop checklists and Fleet cost tracking with a 12-month forecast
• the Feature Advisor and Reverse Engineering tools

EvmetricsOBD Pro is £24.99 per year, an auto-renewing subscription billed through your Apple ID. Everything runs on-device — there's no separate account to create.

If you reinstall or switch to a new device, open the paywall and tap Restore Purchases. That re-checks your Apple ID entitlements and reactivates Pro.

Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID you bought it on.

Subscriptions are managed by Apple, not in the app. On iPhone/iPad go to Settings › your name › Subscriptions › EvmetricsOBD; on Mac it's App Store › your name › Subscriptions.

Cancelling stops the next renewal, and Pro stays active until the end of the paid period.

Yes — it's in development. The Mac edition will be a one-time purchase sold directly from evmetrics.co.uk (through Lemon Squeezy, not the Mac App Store), with no subscription: every feature is included, including wired USB adapters for workshop use.

Email hello@evmetrics.co.uk if you'd like details.

Yes — CarPlay is a Pro feature. You get a dongle picker and a Power Monitor screen that refreshes about every two seconds, with power, range and charging trends drawn as compact inline sparklines.

Because CarPlay uses Apple's standard driving-safe templates, it shows key figures rather than full graphics, and State of Charge is intentionally left off the CarPlay screen. You can connect over Bluetooth, USB or Wi-Fi from CarPlay.

Yes — eight of them: Garage, Charge, Journey, Power, Battery Pack, Temperatures, Tyres and Climate. Each shows the latest data the app captured and taps straight through to the matching screen.

Widgets can't talk to the dongle themselves — launch the app (or CarPlay) to wake the connection and refresh them. You can also pin up to four Quick Actions to the app icon's long-press menu in Settings.

Not your vehicle data. EvmetricsOBD has no user accounts and no advertising, and the diagnostic data the app reads from your car is processed and stored on your device — never sold or shared for marketing.

The iOS app collects anonymised usage analytics (which screens are used, whether connections and scans succeed — never VINs, locations or sensor readings) to help improve the app. You can turn this off any time in Settings › Privacy › Share anonymous usage data. See the full privacy policy.

Almost never. The app goes online for three things: looking up your VIN in the US NHTSA vPIC database (make, model, year), the optional AI research on a trouble code you select, and anonymised usage analytics — which you can turn off in Settings.

Everything else works offline, right next to the car — including trouble-code names, which come from a database bundled with the app.

With your permission the app uses location to record journeys (route maps and distance) and to keep logging power, charge and temperature while your phone is locked during a drive or charging session.

Location history stays on your device and is never sent to us. The app works fine if you deny it.

Optional. If you turn it on, your Garage vehicles, Workshop checklists, Fleet costs and journeys sync through your own private iCloud container, protected by your Apple ID. We have no access to it, and it's off by default.

To keep logging while the phone is locked — during a drive or a charge — the app needs Location set to “While Using the App.” Grant that and capture continues in the background; power, charge and temperature keep recording until you disconnect.

Occasionally you'll see a value that can't be real — a temperature of −50 °C, for example. This is often a sign of a low 12 V supply or a brownout during cranking rather than a genuine sensor fault: when voltage sags, ECUs report sentinel or garbage values.

Check the 12 V battery first. Our use cases walk through real examples of exactly this.