Replaced $100 Automatic Car adopter + App with $20 bluetooth obd 2 reader and free App.

I used Automatic gen 1 adopter for 2yrs and gen 2 for 1yr. I liked the idea of looking at mileage and the status of check engine light and email or SMS when a trip is completed or if air bag is deployed. Usually the lower mileage is an indicator that something is not OK. Could be tire pressure, air filter, engine problem....

What I never liked about Automatic was that it is says is driving and gives no other info like engine coolant temp, battery voltage level, real time MPG which older cars before 2010 or so may not have.

What I did not like at all with Automatic was that it was taking to long to recognize that car was started and pair to the phone. The newer gen 2 unit has GPS. So, it can record the trip using that GPS. What I found is that we do not want to replace a unit like this too often. You connect to OBD 2 once and then it is software upates. All the intelligence is in the App. We replace the phones more often.

So, I bought bluetooth obd 2 reader for $20 and a free App called Dash and the result is fantastic.

For Iphone there are other solutions like Carista. Just have to look.

Only thing which is constant in technology is change. Accept change or become obsolete!

Global Entry card. Experience in applying for it - Part 2

Our interview times were 6:45pm and 7pm on Sat Jul 16 th at SFO. We were then at 6:25pm. At 6:30pm, both of us and another person with interview time at 6:30pm were called. Essentially the questions we already answered on the application were asked and the original documents we mentioned in the application were required. Finger prints and photos were taken. We were told that we were conditionally approved and the email with official approval will come in 24hrs. The emails arrived 2 minutes after we walked out. We were told that the global entry cards would come in 3 weeks. They came in 3 working days on the following wednesday. We were told that the card is valid for 5yrs. I was pleasantly surprised that it is 5yrs from my birthday next yr. I guess I got bonus few months this one time. I was told that when may passport is renewed, I just need to stop by any of their offices and when they come to call people for interview, they will allow me to come in and link my new passport number and expiry date to the Global entry. Also, I was told that renewal is online and interview is required.

I will write a part 3 of this blog as a travel domestic and abroad and see how it helps.

Is Automatic driving assistant gen 1 unit unreliable in connecting to bluetooth?

It happened again. When the phone was in my left pocket and I was in the car, Automatic App did not indicate that I was driving when I pulled out of the garage. I unplugged and re-plugged Automatic gen 1 into the OBD 2 socket and it recognized that I was driving. Definite firmware bug in bluetooth pairing. I hope you fix the bug or recall gen 1 units and replace them with gen 2. Gen 2 unit works fine on Samsung Galaxy note 3 with lollipop. Gen1 unit seems to have reliability issue in connecting to Marshmellow or the bluetooth in LG G4.

I was promised a 20% discount on a gen 2 unit which sells for $89 it seems. Still waiting....

"Glad you got it working again! Sometimes the Bluetooth pair does fail and creating a new pairing by running setup will help. Careful with the Ebay Gen 2 purchases we hear all the time that those sellers send Gen 1s or simply buy from us and resell after a sale. Gen 2 adapters are $89 on our site right now and I am happy to send over a 20% discount code if you want."

The right thing to do is fix it as a firmware bug in gen 1 or recall the gen 1 unit and fix the problem.