Accounts and DriveDecode Pro

This chapter is short because the answer is short. Almost everything in the app is free and stays free.

What is free

Reading trouble codes and clearing them. Live data and every reading your car publishes. Freeze frame. Readiness monitors. The battery, fuel trim and acceleration checks. Safety recalls. Reports as PDF and CSV. Sample data mode.

All of that works with no account, no sign-in and no subscription. That is not an introductory offer. Diagnostics are the product and they are free.

What Pro adds

One thing: AI analysis.

That is Analyze this scan on the Codes tab, which looks at all your codes together, and Explain in depth on a single code. Both cross-reference against your specific vehicle and your live data, and sort the answer into what is most likely, what is probably not it, and what to check next, with each check tagged DIY or Workshop.

It is genuinely useful when several codes are stored at once and the relationship between them is the question. It is not required to use the adapter.

There is a standing disclaimer on the analysis, and it is worth repeating: this reports what your vehicle says about itself. It is a diagnostic aid, not a substitute for a qualified technician. Confirm a diagnosis before paying for parts.

The months that came with your adapter

Buying a DriveDecode adapter includes six months of Pro with the M1. You redeem it with your order number, not a code on a card.

Go to Settings, then Redeem adapter order, and enter the order number from your purchase. The same option appears on the Pro screen as Bought a DriveDecode adapter? Redeem your order.

If you cannot find the number, contact support and we will look it up.

Signing in

Sign in with Apple, Google or your email address, from the Welcome screen or from Settings. An account does two things: it carries Pro across your phone, tablet, Mac and PC, and it lets the app email reports for you.

Continue with email needs no password. Enter your address and we email you a sign-in link and a 6-digit code. Open the link in any browser, on any device, and approve the sign-in, or type the code into the app. The waiting app signs itself in. The email expires after fifteen minutes; if it does, send a new one.

The same email address reaches the same account however you sign in. If you first signed in with Google or Apple, signing in with email at that address lands you in that account, Pro included. The exception is Apple’s Hide My Email: Apple gave us a relay address instead of your real one, so keep using Continue with Apple.

Restore purchases in Settings recovers a subscription on a new device.

If you subscribed and the app has not noticed, check you are signed in with the same account you bought it on. That is nearly always the answer.

Signing in on a Windows PC

The desktop versions come after the phone release. When you are running DriveDecode on a Windows PC, signing in works differently, because Windows has no app store to buy through. Subscribe in the app on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Android device, then sign in on the PC with the same account and Pro follows you there.

Signing in on the PC itself never uses a password. There are two ways, and the app opens on the first:

• Email. Enter your address, then approve the link we send or type the 6-digit code, exactly as on a phone.
• A code from your phone. For an Apple or Google account, or Apple’s Hide My Email, tap Signed in on your phone? Use a code instead. The app shows you a code and sends you to drivedecode.co/link, where you enter it while signed in on another device. The PC picks up the approval and signs itself in. Codes expire after a few minutes, and the app will issue a new one.

Signing out and deleting an account

Sign out leaves all the diagnostics working. You only need to sign back in for Pro.

Delete account permanently removes your account and the data attached to it. It does not cancel a store subscription: that is managed in the App Store or Google Play, and the app links you there.

What to do next

The last chapter is troubleshooting: what has gone wrong, in the words the app uses for it.