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Not merely has BMW electrical architecture adjusted around the final 10 years, but so has the machines to provider them. The products has modified, the interfaces have transformed and likewise the complexity of setup and use. More info BMW Repair Salt Lake.
Early tools
Back while in the 1990's, the Group Tester A person (GT1) was launched. There were some versions, like DIS As well as (stationary setup), even so the GT1 is considered the most frequent and is what's going to be referenced here. The GT1 is a portable unit which contained a rechargeable battery. It's got a touchscreen display for simple use. It contained software for Diagnosing as well as experienced software package known as TIS (Technological Data Display) which can be the Support & Repair Facts. Early variations of Diagnostics also contained software package known as Coding, Programming & Individualization (CIP). So from the same tool, you could Diagnose the problem, look up how to replace the component and then perform the needed initializations for the new part. Two interfaces were being used: EDIC (yellow interface) and the OPS (orange interface). Later variations of the OPS had been referred to as OPPS, since they carried additional diagnostics for the Byteflite system and they ended up also yellow, but much bigger than the EDIC. Authentic GT1s are on the portable touchscreen unit. There are many "cloned" units out there, adapted to work on a PC. Either genuine or cloned, the interfaces work the same and connect via an Ethernet port.
Later versions of the GT1 program removed CIP, and moved it to a separate computer (for storage), but still accessible from the GT1. This new software package was identified as Progman (short for Program Manager). This new program contained all of the CIP functions and added new features like multiple car programming and dual channel programming for each car (DIAGBUS and MOST bus simultaneously).
Third Generation tools
Fast forward to about 2008 when the Third Generation (3G) of products was released: ISIS. The contents of ISIS are so large, that dedicated servers are installed at the dealership. An online version is available to the aftermarket for a fee, termed OSS. It can be found at BMW's tech website. With the introduction of ISIS comes a new interface, named ICOM. Previous interfaces (EDIC & OPS) won't work with ISIS. ISIS consists of a handful of parts, since it completely replaced GT1 & Progman. The main part of ISIS that is used inside the shop is known as "ISTA", which can be further broken down into two parts: ISTA/D for Diagnosing vehicles and ISTA/P for Coding, Programming & Individualization.
Comparison
GT1s can be found just about anywhere, including eBay for very cheap. BMW realized that the tool was easily cloned and sold worldwide. Many levels of security have been put into the creation of ISIS to prevent this, in both resident servers and online variations. This makes it much harder for non-dealer shops to work on the newer cars. 1 would think that since the GT1 was discontinued in 2009, you could just keep using that for several more years until the newer system became more available, even so, BMW stayed one particular step ahead! Whenever a car is programmed with the new ISTA/P, it upgrades the program beyond the level of what Program can recognize. That means, once a car has been updated with ISTA/P, you can NEVER use Progman on it again, rendering the "cloned" versions useless on that particular car. Also, when a new module is installed, the software package that is pre-installed on that module is also newer than what Program can recognize, which can stop the entire programming process, forcing the car to be programmed by ISTA/P.
