Ross-Tech Cable HEX-V2 FAKE???

golfhappy said:

My genuine cable on ebay for sale https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ross-Tec...869309?hash=item2159c2f37d:g:E5kAAOSwXLtczqsg no longer required.

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Genuine ones bring a good price!

-Uwe-

I bought a mk2 escort mexico in November and it's been bleeding me dry since....did have a look but couldn't find an OBD port anywhere on the car!

golfhappy said:

I bought a mk2 escort mexico in November and it's been bleeding me dry since....did have a look but couldn't find an OBD port anywhere on the car!

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A Mk2 Escort probably doesn't have ANY electronics, and certainly pre-dates the requirement to fit an OBD port in the UK.

golfhappy said:

I bought a mk2 escort mexico in November and it's been bleeding me dry since....did have a look but couldn't find an OBD port anywhere on the car!

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That sounds like a challenge... RETROFIT TIME!

There are any clones of HEX NET on the market?

As far as I know no and I'm very happy about that.

I got a bad cable too...it was given to me my a retired mechanic of all things....... and when I sent to ross tech to register it or I wondered why I could not register it and buy software at ross tech cust service said I was pirated their stuff....but how are you to know its pirated..yeah has Ross tech right on it...ok they can copy the sticker too...but the case plastic is stamped with Ross tech so their manufacturer of the blow mold covers is like...what....selling to the chinese!!!!!!!

I mean we all seen knock off stuff..but its usually a different color or other items to set it apart..these look no different that the real deal right down to Ross tech imprinted on the case!!!!

tried to insert image of mine but I have it on hard drive put pics want urls...like photobucket or something.

2wheelgnnr said:

.but the case plastic is stamped with Ross tech so their manufacturer of the blow mold covers is like...what....selling to the chinese!!!!!!!

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Nope, we've looked at a bunch of these; they are not made from our molds. China, Inc copies the parts and makes their own molds for them, but they are never quite 100%. However, they are quite shameless when it comes to trademark and copyright infringement.

-Uwe-

I am actually quite surprised they are messing up the mold . I ve seen some that i could ve swear they were genuine , they had the new hex screws...the new usb port with the screw ..the only thing missing was the VCDS logo printed on the usb cable.. Most of the time the give away is the fact that they come with an installation CD..

Uwe said:

Nope, we've looked at a bunch of these; they are not made from our molds. China, Inc copies the parts and makes their own molds for them, but they are never quite 100%. However, they are quite shameless when it comes to trademark and copyright infringement.

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This blatant manufacture of fakes by Chinese companies is not a new thing and not only targeting Ross-Tech.

During my 40 years as an electronics & software designer I've seen Chinese rip-off copies of several of the products I've had a hand in designing, over time these have gone from very visibly obvious with no real attempt to match the aesthetics but in recent years you often have to be an expert to spot the rip-off fakes.

In almost all cases the electronics and firmware 'give the game away', and as @JMR says with VCDS an English CD supplied with the cable is a very good clue that the cable is not genuine.

JMR said:

I ve seen some that i could ve swear they were genuine ,

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Yes, we've also seen a few that are physically pretty decent copies, where based on a photo alone, you might wonder if it was genuine, but these are by far not the majority. Now even with rather rare really good ones, if you open them up and compare the tooling marks inside the connector shells with ours, it's obvious they are not made from our molds, so we are 100% confident that our injection-molding vendor (who is located in Philadelphia) is not making extra parts and selling them to China.

-Uwe-

Uwe said:

Yes, we've also seen a few that are physically pretty decent copies, where based on a photo alone, you might wonder if it was genuine, but these are by far not the majority. Now even with rather rare really good ones, if you open them up and compare the tooling marks inside the connector shells with ours, it's obvious they are not made from our molds, so we are 100% confident that our injection-molding vendor (who is located in Philadelphia) is not making extra parts and selling them to China.

-Uwe-

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Yeah thats too bad...but makes sense they would go to those lengths to dupe the average consumer and profit off your hard work. But man from my research sounds like ALOT get duped on this one......alot of dissapointed people and lost revenues for you and the crap to go through to try and stop them im sure is futile!!!

but again now I know......and I think the best way to NOT get duped is to by directly from your store.... Right from the hen house.
then you KNOW the productc is good and genuine.

I know thats what Im gonna do. Smashed the fakey and threw out... one less out there...now 14 million to go!!

JMR said:

I am actually quite surprised they are messing up the mold . I ve seen some that i could ve swear they were genuine , they had the new hex screws...the new usb port with the screw ..the only thing missing was the VCDS logo printed on the usb cable.. Most of the time the give away is the fact that they come with an installation CD..

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now with a little more research ive seen what I can only guess to be fakeys as not sold by ross tek or certified distributor that have you download the software directly from the site.....So ok thats one way to know right if they send you or want to send a cd with your orders as the genuine ross-tech is always downloaded from the site.
are these not fake as they refer you to ross tech website.....?? I dont want to break any rules if I post a line to what i think might be fake but refers to ross tech site to get software..they are not I dont think on the certified dist list. I will have to check again. OR can we assume anyone that refers to ross-tech for software is legit??

People who sell copied hardware aren't really concerned about what they tell you to get your money. People who buy VCDS on the cheap aren't generally concerned about authenticity and simply want something that works for as little money as possible. If the fake doesn't work and the seller provides a fix by sending a copy of the software then that's really all the buyer wants.... Until something goes wrong with their car and they want advice on how to fix it, then they turn up here expecting help, and are somewhat amazed and insulted when that help is refused.

yeah ....you can get in trouble if you dont really know what your doing or push it so to speak. NICE...no clean back up and then you screw your car up so when you hit the the right turn directional your wipers turn on..hehehehe

Then expect help for it.....Love it. Even if you screwed it up with the genuine stuff you can call and get tech support..thats whats its for.....but yeah you can get into trouble if you go messing in these your not 100% sure what they....I mean..you also buy the real deal so you get support..there more than just software a cable to it all..........Oh thats funny they come groveling here to see how to fix mess ups.....ouch.

I like that the enthusiast version gives you a couple VINS as I have two passats so I have room to expand and use it on other car or others vws I may get along the way.

Yeah....I worked at a place that didnt usethe proper software for a program in construction and when it got messed up they say who do you have to call..and I said no one..you didnt buy the support package I told you it was worth it in case....well here we are...in in case mode........they it costs MORE for a per hour basis with tech support that just buying it when you got they system in the first place......

and somehow it was my fault.............It never does anygood to smash through shortcuts and crap as you are NOT saving any money in the long run...that insurance with support is very very valuable......

and resource of this whole community behind you as a legit user.......some people never learn.....

Price is first clue... CD is next clue.... then there are the subtle differences that the guy responsible for buying the plastics and working with the plastic vendor has no intention of sharing. There are a number of ways the bear on the tractor can tell if its a fake or not without opening. Once open, there are far more ways to know.

One asks why doesn't Ross-Tech tell the world how to spot a clone? Simple answer: then there would have to be new ways to spot a clone because the gap will close further.

Bottom line: if the price is well below Ross-Tech's retail price, it is likely a clone. Most searches will show the Ross-Tech products.

When consumers decide to buy on price, they enable the clone makers. RT tries to build the product for the least cost price. Our last generation products ran for 14 years without a price change. We need to make money to be here but we try hard not to charge a premium price. We have been told by professionals we charge too little - that our tool provides more value than tools costing 5x our retail price. We choose our model and we fight to keep it.

We fight the knock-offs everyday around the world. There are far too many to wipe them out but we keep the fight going. We could do things right now that would make the clones of little value but in doing so, we would hurt our long time customers who have not upgraded their tool to the current generation hardware. We are unwilling to hurt those users.

What happens if it is a Chinese clone at original Ross-Tech price? I guess there is no way to add a S/N checker on the website.

If someone tries to sell a clone at the same price as a genuine VCDS cable. Why would you buy from them versus buying from an authorised Ross tech distributor ?

Used price and not new price.

1975 Kombi said:

I guess there is no way to add a S/N checker on the website.

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I believe doing so would be pointless. If we did that, the clone makers would just start printing random serial numbers on their product labels rather than the four or so they currently like to use (none of which actually match the electronic serial number inside their clones).

-Uwe-