OBDLink MX+ OBD2 Bluetooth Scanner Review

I've had an MX+ rattling around my glovebox for about two years now, mostly because I service more than just my own G20. Between my car, a mate's E92, and the odd F30 that rolls into the shop for a favor, having one adapter that talks to everything without me swapping dongles is worth something. That's the whole pitch here, and it mostly delivers.

What it actually is

The OBDLink MX+ is a Bluetooth OBD2 adapter, plug it into the 16-pin port under your dash, pair it to your phone, and it becomes the bridge between your car's computer and whatever diagnostic or coding app you're running. On paper it sounds identical to a dozen other dongles on Amazon. In practice it isn't, because the chipset and firmware inside actually support deep module access instead of just pulling generic P-codes off the engine bus.

Why this matters for BMW specifically

Any ten-dollar clone can read a check engine light. What most of them can't do is talk to your ABS module, your SRS airbag controller, or TPMS in any meaningful way. On my 330i I've used the MX+ with BimmerLink to pull live data off modules that a basic scanner just returns "not supported" for. That's the real value proposition, not the fault code reading, which every adapter does fine.

Where it gets more nuanced is coding. If your main use case is BimmerCode - hiding the seatbelt chime, enabling comfort turn signals, that kind of thing - the MX+ works, but it's noticeably slower to write changes than the OBDLink CX. I've timed it side by side. Nothing dramatic, we're talking seconds not minutes, but if you're doing a big coding session with a dozen changes queued up, you'll notice the CX moves faster because it's the adapter BimmerCode's own team actually optimized for and recommends.

Real-world use across chassis

I've run this thing on an E90, an E92, a F30, and daily on my G20, plus briefly on a friend's G05 X5. Older chassis like the E90/E92 are dead simple, no gateway to fight, connects instantly, reads everything. The F30 is similarly straightforward. Where things get more interesting is F-series-and-newer cars with the Secure Gateway module, and definitely anything G-series.

The MX+ does get through Secure Gateway traffic on G20/G05-era cars, but it's not the adapter built specifically for that fight the way the CX is marketed to be. It works, I've coded features on my own 330i with it, but I wouldn't call it the fastest route through gateway-protected functions if that's your only priority.

App compatibility and the iPhone problem

This is where I have my one real gripe. The MX+ uses Bluetooth 4.2 classic, not BLE. On Android this barely matters. On iOS, especially newer iPhones running current iOS versions, I've had pairing hiccups that just don't happen with BLE-based adapters like the CX. It's not a dealbreaker, usually a forget-device-and-repair fixes it, but it's an annoyance I don't get with newer hardware, and if you're an iPhone household doing all your coding through BimmerCode on your phone, it's worth knowing before you buy.

Compatibility beyond BMW

The multi-brand support is real and it's the actual reason to pick this over the CX. FORScan for Fords, Carista for Subarus and Toyotas, AlfaOBD if you've got an Alfa or Fiat in the family, DashCommand for generic performance monitoring. I've lent mine to a buddy with a WRX and it just worked with Carista, no fuss. If you're the person in your friend group who ends up diagnosing everyone's cars, this earns its keep fast.

Who it's for

Buy the MX+ if you've got more than one make of car in the driveway, if you want to read deep module data like ABS and SRS regularly, or if you see yourself becoming the go-to diagnostic guy for your circle of friends. It's a genuinely excellent piece of hardware and the firmware reliability alone is worth the premium over cheaper clones. For general fault code work across brands, see our guide to reading and clearing BMW fault codes.

Skip it if you own one BMW, your phone is an iPhone, and BimmerCode feature coding is 90% of what you'll ever do with it. In that specific and very common scenario, the CX is faster, cheaper, and built for exactly that job. I go deeper on this exact fork in the road in our CX versus MX+ comparison, and it's worth five minutes before you spend the extra sixty bucks.