TopDon Phoenix Smart vs Autel

Greetings. Did a search and didn't come up with anything. Hopefully, I didn't miss it.

Been using Autel since 2012. MaxiDAS DS708 and then MaxiSys MS908. Looking at the Phoenix Smart due to the rave reviews and looking for someone that has personal experience with these new tools. What's the pros? More importantly the cons? If not the Smart, which Autel would you get and why? Thank you for any insight you can share.

Also, Please let me know if there's any other forums, threads webpages that may have covered this topic.

Would love to know this myself. I already have a scope and older snap on scanner but looking for the best one between those two! Please someone chime in! Thanks

Guess nobody knows of hasn't seen this. One of the two.

Sorry. Wish I could add something useful for you but I've owned nothing but Snap On for at least the last 10 years...

Have a old snap on with scope just but it’s outdated. Just need something new as much as I can get for under 3 grand that will do keys, other programming etc without the 10 grand price tag and almost 600 a year in updates. Thanks for the reply though!

For what it's worth, I haven't bought an update for my Verus Edge since, well, ever now that I think of it.
Some keys it will program, some it won't (just like pretty much any aftermarket tool that isn't geared specifically towards keys), and I paid $1500 for the tool 4-5 years ago.
They're on EBay pretty often as low as $2500. I know Snap On isn't exactly "in fashion" like it used to be with some real contenders in the market now, and as much as I would like to buy an Autel or Launch for a back up, that's what it would be. A back up. I couldn't picture myself fixing cars with without a Snap On scanner. And trust me, I'm not "that guy". Everyone laughs at my multi colored Harbor Freight socket sets...

I have the TopDon Phoenix Smart.

My quick review is I think it is a great tool. I have a SnapOn Verus D10 so that would be my comparison. The topdon works great. Does support some programming / coding. I have only used that a few times so I don't have great experience with that function.

Warranty: IMPRESSED! My first Phoenix Smart I received I ordered from an online retailer that I can't recommended (UHS-Hardware). After about 2 or 3 months of using it, I went into the settings and noticed the storage on mine was 64 GB instead of 128GB. After some searching I confirmed the problem and the Phoenix Smart should have 128GB. UHS-Hardware didn't respond to my request. I contacted TopDon and within 24 or 48 hours I had a response and they even called me from their US branch. They had me send pictures of the unit and a hidden settings menu with the storage size. I think within just over a week, I received a NEW TopDon Phoenix Smart, and not just the tool, the entire case and kit. I was extremely impressed! At this point I was going to send mine back but this is when I started knit picking. The new one I noticed the contrast was not the same so the screen wasn't as bright. It was still bright enough for daylight, just not the same. So I contacted them again and they sent me ANOTHER TopDon Phoenix Smart Scanner Kit. I had 3 of them on my dinning room table. The new one they sent had the same screen contrast difference and decided it wasn't an issue. I think after an update it was a bit brighter (maybe). So I sent the 1st replacement back and I will shortly be sending my original back after making a short little video.

Data Acquisition: This tool has good data acquisition. Some other tools will lose any data it has recorded when you scroll through other PIDs. This tool keeps recording all the data. When i say "recording" I mean the span of time that is visible on the screen, not "history" after a certain point falls beyond the screen. You can "record" all of your data so you can go back in history, that is a separate function.

One thing I don't like is some data is improperly labeled or has the wrong voltage scale. For example, I was monitoring the O2 sensor our 2012 chevy sonic. In manufacture data, it shows the o2 ranging from around 120v to 360v. in global OBD, its normal 0-1v. Another example on a 2007 Volvo S40, the PWM % is labeled as RPM. On that same car, there is a battery voltage PID in the ECM that said 1.2 volts. I thought that was odd since the ECM worked just fine. I hooked up my Verus D10 and it showed over 12 volts, maybe even over 13v.

I did ask TopDonUSA about this issue and they said to take pictures or record data and go on their website and make a support case about it so they can fix it. I have not done that yet.

Bidirectional functions work just fine. There was a point on the chevy sonic while controlling the cooling fan, that I could pick what data list I wanted to see while controlling it. I don't know if this is vehicle specific since on the Volvo, I didn't see that option.

It comes preloaded with Google Chrome. Looks like it gets updated regularly even though I still get a message on my screen sometimes when using google drive (browser desktop version) that I am using an out of date browser. I use this tool like any other tablet. I can log into Mitchel1 Pro Demand and look up wiring diagrams, service info, etc. It connects to my phones hotspot. It does see 2.4G and 5G wifi. They did recently add some new features such as DLC Pin Check and battery voltage check engine off and engine running.

This tool has tons of manufactures from other countries that I don't need. You can "hide" them and some you can even "uninstall". Just be careful when doing this since other maintenance functions are listed as well. Since some china manufactures have 3 letters, its could be easy to think that DPF could be a manufacture in the list when its a function for diesels.

You can remotely control the scanner using TeamViewer. Lets say you own a shop and have multiple units or your a mobile business and your tech needs a hand. You can log into the tool using TeamViewer from any device and control the scanner 100%. Pretty cool.

The tool is heavy, over an inch thick and robust. I am thoroughly impressed with this tool. Its my go to tool. They are coming out with a software driver for your computer so you can hook up the vehicle communication device to your laptop and use it as a J2534 reprogrammer with factory software.

There is a ton to say about this tool that I haven't, I want to do a thorough review of the tool but until then, if you have any questions, you can ask me.

I recently bought the Topdon Elite and just beginning to use it...by far its a lot lot better than my old Launch one; I love the bi-directional control.

Hi to all. I just joined this website. I'd like to share my opinion with all of you, regarding the latest scan tools. As a former auto tech, I've used various scan tools, dating back to the time they were first introduced. I've been looking into buying the latest scan tool that can do programming. It's for my own use, for my BMW and Chev. Although people rave about the Autel, and how powerful it is, I will never buy from them. First of all, customer service is mainly in China and it is terrible. I purchased the Autel MS908 BT about 18 months ago, but returned it after trying it out. It was very slow and didn't do everything it was supposed to. Returning it was a major hassle, even though I had 30 days, they just ignored me and I had to file a dispute with PayPal to get it returned.
I purchased the Topdon Phoenix Lite 2 about 6 months ago and really love it. It's easy to use, and does everything I need, except programming. I was considering getting the Launch X431 Torque Link, which is located in Ontario, California, about 40 miles from where I live, so customer service will be really good. However, I used Topdon's customer service, and I can't tell you how excellent they were. They will go out of their way to help, even connect to a similar car that I was working on. I called then several times and their customer service has been exceptional. Therefore, I decided to buy the Topdon Phoenix Smart. With customer service like that, you just can't go wrong.
The scanners are pretty much the same, some have more features than others, it will come down to preference.
I hope this will help those who are in the market for a pro scan tool.