OBDeleven is the first Third-party diagnostic tool that allows real-time SFD unlocking.

Volkswagen AG has introduced new security changes intended to identify the users who use SFD secured functions and as a result, they restricted the functionality of devices that are not approved by the manufacturer. Voltas IT fulfilled the strict security requirements of Volkswagen AG that enabled OBDeleven to communicate directly with Volkswagen servers for unlocking control units. This provides the possibility for all OBDeleven PRO, ULTIMATE, and One-Click-Apps users to unlock the SFD protection without any additional cost – no need to purchase a GeKo account or buy SFD unlock tokens.

What is SFD?

Vehicle Diagnostic Protection (also known as SFD – Schutz Fahrzeug Diagnose) is an additional security layer that requires authorization between the vehicle and manufacturer. It may help to protect people from any fraud, by providing the information on who and when has made modifications to the control unit. This protection applies to the models manufactured from 2020 with the MQB Evo (VW Golf 8, Škoda Octavia IV, Seat Leon IV, Audi A3 8Y, etc.) and the MEB (VW ID.3, ID.4, Škoda Enyaq, etc.) platforms, restricting such features as adaptations, coding, parametrizations. Control units protected by SFD: Engine Electronics, Central Electrics, Instrument Cluster, Gateway, Multimedia Unit, etc.

How does OBDeleven unlock SFD protected control units?

OBDeleven can automatically detect that the control unit is locked by SFD protection when the modifications are being tried to perform for Long coding, Adaptations, or One-Click Apps. Trying to modify it for the first time the application will direct the customer to authorize the SFD unlock procedure and ask to update the personal data. OBDeleven has SFD auto-unlock feature which makes SFD protection almost invisible.

At our first Hackathon “Hack the Car” we invited programmers to learn more about the innovative automotive software.
24 IT enthusiasts gathered in the office at the Magnum Business Center (Kaunas) and tried to extract specific car information by combining hardware and software capabilities.

Five teams were assisted by mentors – Voltas IT founders, R&D, Android and iOS programmers, who helped to prepare the prepared tasks: to find out the information of control units, analyze the data, scan and change coding data, scan and clear errors and display them in the mobile app. To implement the task participants used the OBDeleven device.

“It was nice to meet so many different people – students, a wide range of IT professionals, and other engineers and to observe their way of thinking – how they looked for different solutions and how they worked in a team. The teams did very well – most of them understood and learned the basic principles of how to communicate with the car. And if they got stuck – we came to help. We are happy to receive a lot of good feedback – it really motivates us to organize more of such events, ”- said one of the mentors, Lead R&D developer Gytis Kvedaravičius.

The participants of the event themselves noticed that there is a lack of such events in Lithuania, especially with the hardware. Mentors received a lot of positive feedback for their active involvement:
“The process itself was interesting because we had to complete the given task. The mentors were very attentive, fun to work with, very motivating, especially if we got stuck in certain places, ” – commented one of the teams.
All participants received OBDeleven prizes and the best performing team won OBDeleven devices.

In the automotive industry, the software is playing an increasingly important role and there is a particular lack of talent capable of combining industry, technology and method competencies. Therefore, we are planning to organize these Hakatons periodically to bring together these talents.