HELP please - Novice requires support for VCDS

[ramonford]

I am considering the purchase of VAG Diagnostics VCDS Cable & Software (Version 10.6 & 908/912) from VAG *********** Ltd

****************************

This is for use on my Octy 1.4 TSI - year 2010

Please could someone advise me on this product and what are the limitations on using it.

Will I have to register the software and pay extra to use it?

This product is priced at £75.95 where as the Ross- Tech system seems to start at around USD 249

Whats the difference in features and operation and what is there extra in the Ross-Tech system?

The reason why I want the VCDS is to be able to read fault codes and change various settings

ie. DRL's, Rear fog lights, cornering lights etc etc.

Advice please

What should I buy and where from?

Thanks for any advise/help forthcoming.

Edited 15 February, 2011 by DGW
Link to illegally cloned products plus name of seller removed.

[RobinSLXi]

For a CAN-based car like the Octavia II, unfortunately the option of a cheap K-line interface and registered VCDS-lite won't work, so your only option would be to buy a genuine interface from Ross-Tech or their authorised dealers which includes the license/activation for the full VCDS. I for one would thoroughly discourage giving any money to dodgy folks with a distinct lack of contact details selling illegal cloned cables.

Having done a little digging, I am mildly amused by the 'specialist' Swedish web-hosting company being used, and the fact that they have 'news' on their site from a couple of weeks before the domain name was registered...

Edited 14 February, 2011 by RobinSLXi

[Dana@Ross-Tech]

The cracked price should speak for itself. The linked product is an Illegal Clone of our copyrighted product.

The Genuine article can be purchased directly from us or any of our Authorized distributors:

http://www.ross-tech.com/distributors.html

-Dana-

[ramonford]

For a CAN-based car like the Octavia II, unfortunately the option of a cheap K-line interface and registered VCDS-lite won't work, so your only option would be to buy a genuine interface from Ross-Tech or their authorised dealers which includes the license/activation for the full VCDS. I for one would thoroughly discourage giving any money to dodgy folks with a distinct lack of contact details selling illegal cloned cables.

...

Thanks for your reply much appreciated. I am trying to get my feet on the ground on this one so please bear with me if I ask the obvious

I thought the product being offered by VAG Diagnostics was in fact a fully compatible registered VCDS system with software to

VCDS 908, 908.1, 912, and 10.6. Is this system different to the cheap K-line interface and registered VCDS-lite .

You state the company is "dodgy folks with a distinct lack of contact details selling illegal cloned cables"

Could you please expand on this as I would not want to be part of anything associated with this.

So far I have been unable to find anything to support this statement.

Having read up on a lots of postings on VCDS it would appear that there is a strong anti-feeling against anything that is not from RT

Any further comments appreciated.

Edited 15 February, 2011 by ramonford

[David 8]

.

You state the company is "dodgy folks with a distinct lack of contact details selling illegal cloned cables"

Could you please expand on this as I would not want to be part of anything associated with this.

So far I have been unable to find anything to support this statement.

Having read up on a lots of postings on VCDS it would appear that there is a strong anti-feeling against anything that is not from RT

Any further comments appreciated.

The cable doesn't say rosstech on it for a start, there too cheap as well.

Ross tech work hard to make the cable and software, if you created something then someone clearly ripped it off and made copies would you be happy ??

[DGW]

You state the company is "dodgy folks with a distinct lack of contact details selling illegal cloned cables"

..................

So far I have been unable to find anything to support this statement.

I suggest you read this comment from Ross-Tech again.

The linked product is an Illegal Clone of our copyrighted product.

Apart from not being listed on the Companies House website, their website has no registered company number listed, no Head Office address, nor any phone numbers.

[ramonford]

The cable doesn't say rosstech on it for a start, there too cheap as well.

Ross tech work hard to make the cable and software, if you created something then someone clearly ripped it off and made copies would you be happy ??

Thank you for the reply.

May I comment as follows.

I wouldn't expect the cable to have Ross Tech on it as they are not supplying it.

The other side of it being too cheap is that possibly the other is too dear.

Undoubtedly RT have worked hard and long to develop their products and their prices reflect their market position.

Of course no one wants to be ripped off and assuming they have patent protection then they should actively peruse any counter fitters.

I can understand why having purchased a RT cable + software there is resistance to anyone purchasing a clowned copy.

How many could hold their hand up and say they have never downloaded or copied a disc and not paid for it.

All am am trying to do is to understand the market position for this non RT product, so please keep the comments flowing.

[RobinSLXi]

Having read up on a lots of postings on VCDS it would appear that there is a strong anti-feeling against anything that is not from RT

And quite rightly so, because the VCDS system (hardware and software) is the work of Ross-Tech and Ross-Tech alone. They offer a software-only legacy system (VCDS-lite) which can be used with 3rd-party hardware, but unfortunately it is not compatible with your car, as I said.

Don't get confused by the cable issue: The point is that Ross-Tech are the authors of VCDS, so they (and their authorised distribution network) are the only people who can legitimately sell you a license to use their software. Let me put it this way: if I explicitly stated I had no affiliation with Microsoft (as VAG Diagnostics state they have no affiliation with Ross-Tech), then offered to sell you a license code for Windows that wasn't even on an authentic Microsoft sticker, would you be interested?

Building and selling a cable which is hardware-compatible with a certain piece of software is perfectly legitimate - I'm quit happy to say I use a £7 generic K-line cable with VCDS-lite. The Ross-Tech CAN cables, however, contain firmware which is effectively a part of the VCDS software, and it is this firmware (which contains the activation and licensing for VCDS) which has been illegally cloned, not the hardware of the cable itself.

It is hardly unreasonable that if you want to use Ross-Tech's system, then you buy Ross-Tech's system - if it's 'too dear' for you then you should consider another system, or do without. If you insist on wanting a ripped-off illegal copy, then a: don't post about it here, and b: get one from the source (China) yourself for a lot less without encouraging some 'dealer' with a huge mark-up profit.

[DGW]

There is relevant feedback and discussion about this 'company' on other motoring forums, including more detailed comment from Ross-Tech who are pursuing the company in the USA and UK. Briskoda does not condone the use of cloned hardware or counterfeit software, both of which involve infringe copyright infringement, nor will we allow advice to be published on how to use such products. I suggest that ramonford reads the feedback I found via Google then takes his discussion elsewhere. Thread closed.