Is there any way of finding a genuine vs fake cable. I know someone selling a cable with software and want to check its genuine. The cable looks genuine with the lights and ross tech moulded into it but unsure

Look at the screws (should be torx head) and serial number (many fakes are all zero’s) the price is usually a big clue as well as what version of software they are running.

It def has torx screws not sure about number and the software is 19.6.0. Got to admit looking at it it looked the same as ones I've seen on ross tech site. He said its unlimited vin and wants £150. Is there any way in the software to check

The current software is 19.6.2, so if it’s not on that then try to download it.

 

I assume it is a HEX+CAN interface? if so then they are all unlimited VIN as it’s a discontinued cable, it is still good for anything pre-2015 though, after 2015 it then starts to be limited on which controllers they work on.

 

£150 is about right IMO as the current HEX-V2 starts from £225 (3 VIN) and will work on all VAG cars to date.

 

The info is also under the about page once you have opened up VCDS (with the cable plugged in):

 

This is mine hxn = HEX-NET

as you can see there is a fair bit of info on there that can be useful.

 

You could also email Ross-Tech with the serial number to check it’s legit if you want.

 

Any cable that comes with the English version of VCDS on a CD is quite likely to be a fake - since neither Ross-Tech nor their distributors use CDs for the English version of VCDS.

 

Agree with all the above - there have been many fakes seen recently on the Ross-Tech forum most areas to spot from the things mentioned above.

 

Plus the simple question to ask is "does this seem too cheap compared to the real thing?".

1 hour ago, Gizmo said:

£150 is about right IMO as the current HEX-V2 starts from £225 (3 VIN) and will work on all VAG cars to date.

I think that is actually a very good price as quite a few people can get taken in with the unlimited part and pay more - even though it’s, as Gizmo said, the earlier cable.

If you are able to get the cable before purchase, why not install the official download and see they work together?

8 minutes ago, john999boy said:

I think that is actually a very good price as quite a few people can get taken in with the unlimited part and pay more

 

Agreed it is a fair bit cheaper then some are selling for, but personally I think they are way overpriced considering you can get a HEX-V2 for less than some are willing to pay for an almost 5 year out of date interface.

 

A fair few people simple do not have a clue exactly what they are buying and it’s limitations though.

 

Don’t forget ANY s/h interface that has been registered will require a one off $99 to register it in your name if you wish to get any support from Ross-Tech.

38 minutes ago, Gizmo said:

Agreed it is a fair bit cheaper then some are selling for, but personally I think they are way overpriced considering you can get a HEX-V2 for less than some are willing to pay for an almost 5 year out of date interface.

It's important to remember that if you plan to use the cable on a 2019 or later car you NEED either a HEX-V2 or HEX-NET, the older HEX-CAN just won't work on them because of the many changes that VAG have made to the messages used over the CAN bus mean it's not possible to make the HEX-CAN work with just a software/firmware upgrade.