FORScan with Apple Silicon Mac, VMWare/Parallels, OBDLink MX+ & USB Bluetooth Dongle

[ktn]

Finally had some time to test this out and I didn't see a guide for this so I figured I'd write one up. I was going to buy a cheap Windows laptop but I figured I should try with a Mac I already had before that. I won't go into details on the Windows install but you can Google/YouTube for that. And yes, it does work. I read a lot of posts saying it's not possible but I have successfully changed many modules over the past week with this method and have had no issues of it disconnecting. Other virtualization software should work as long as you can mount USB devices but I've only tested with Parallels and VMWare.

What's needed:

• Bluetooth USB Dongle: $9
• Windows Key: Buy a key, generic testing key or use a trial/no key
• Virtualization Software:
  • Parallels: $99.99/year / $129.99 1-time purchase
    • Trial: https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/trial/
  • VMWare Fusion Pro 13 (Now Free)
    • Head to Broadcom’s Support page
    • Click Register in the top right corner and create an account if you don’t have one
    • When logged in, you can download Fusion 13 Pro here
    • Choose the top option VMware Fusion 13 Pro for Personal Use

Useful links I used:

• OBDLink MX+
  • Windows Software: https://www.obdlink.com/support/mxp/#win-mxp
• FORScan
  • Software: https://forscan.org
  • Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-8dKaS_Spu4Zw4hV_CrKC4tLoP9G8yejqegF1wxIqxY/edit
  • Codes
  • Module Backup

Setup Steps:

1. Download/Install VMWare or other virtualization software
2. Create/Setup Windows VM (choose get VM from Microsoft)
   1. Plug-in USB dongle
      1. Setup to mount in VM
   2. Disable Bluetooth sharing from Mac to VM (Parallels only - may not be required)
3. Install OBDWiz
4. Install FORScan
   1. Register License
   2. Setup in"Safe Emulation" mode
   3. Setup to use Bluetooth/Auto-Connect

Running FORScan:

1. Open OBDWiz and scan for OBDLink / Refresh / Connect
2. Press button to pair with VM (disable bluetooth on other devices that were previously setup with OBDLink so it doesn't auto-connect
   1. Windows will ask to pair
   2. OBDWiz will ask you to register (you don't need to do this but leave window open)
3. Open FORScan
   1. OBDLink should connect, if it doesn't manual try to connect.
      1. This can be finicky, try the following troubleshooting steps:
         1. Open/Close ODBWiz & Connect/Reconnect
         2. Open/Close FORScan after it's been paired / Connected in OBDWiz
4. Disconnect/Reconnect OBDLink from vehicle
5. After it's connected and load in FORScan it should continue to connect as expected

Other Notes/Tips:

FORScan does not support ARM Windows so you need to run FORScan in ARM "safe emulation" mode.

VMWare Tools
If using VMWare, you can Install VMWare Tools for more options like better resolution support and copy/paste between host/guest.


Auto-connect USB Dongle to VM - Parallels

Auto-connect USB Dongle to VM - VMWare

 

[Mach Turtle]

Thanks for the good and detailed documentation!

I wonder if anyone has tried almost the same setup using Oracle's VirtualBox®? It works well for Linux hosts and Windows™ guests, at least, and the price is right.

I've been using FORscan under Wine on an old (2014 era) Chromebook running Linux. Only for reading, though; not quite willing to trust it to modify anything.

 

[ktn]

Thanks for the good and detailed documentation!

I wonder if anyone has tried almost the same setup using Oracle's VirtualBox®? It works well for Linux hosts and Windows™ guests, at least, and the price is right.

I've been using FORscan under Wine on an old (2014 era) Chromebook running Linux. Only for reading, though; not quite willing to trust it to modify anything.

Yes, in theory it should work: https://osxdaily.com/2022/07/02/how-to-connect-usb-devices-to-macos-virtualbox-vm/

Someone should test it out

 

[The Weatherman]

Awesome setup details.

Takes me back to old days when I was installing and testing clinical software for the hospital industry.

And don’t ask how long ago that was.

 

[Monkey]

Can probably do this without the additional USB dongle when using VMWare, but may require editing your config files to secure the right access. …Or easier to just use the dongle. I’m wondering if we’ll ever get BootCamp again so we can boot the ARM version of Windows directly…

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to get it all up and running and test with it! I might play with it a bit, but I just use my old Dell laptop for this stuff.

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