For basic lookup and with some pre-existing knowledge of how vehicles work apps like OBdFusion. dash commander, OBD2 and a pile of others ( I prefer OBd fusion ) I’ve used the following scanner tool for over 12 years and have one in each vehicle glove box just incase of a warning light on a road trip. It honestly works great. Now, that said. With today’s technology vs 20yag you can google code 1234 myyear - mycar - my model and get pretty accurate repair results. More and more places rely on “what the code reader says” and not on basic mechanical skills. I’m from days of tuning carburetors and setting timing and dwell angle manually, so a basic code reader works along with knowledge and understanding and I can figure it out from there. The basic ELM327 along with OBD fusion gives stuff like real time data and being able to read sensor data in real time ( like O2 sensors ) and MAF and injectors can easily pinpoint a failed part like a sluggish O2, restricted cats, temp sensors failing, injectors not working properly. But even the “best” most sophisticated scan tool is nothing without the ability to decipher the data. A sophisticated scanner can say “right downstream O2 sensor bad” but a cheap ( like the ELM327 ) and OBD Fusion will also say “lean condition bank 1” and you then look at the O2 live stream data and see “oh, bank 1 sensor 2 is out of voltage range and laggy compared to the others. Boom, there’s your problem.

So, some problem solving skills, some knowledge and and a little time will net the same results as a high end scanner. Of course the higher end the scanner, the more ability to have less actual knowledge of how things work and also the ability to program or reset modules or activate car functions manually which is nice.

Without some skills and basic car knowledge all the data and information in the world isn’t always useful. If you get data like “1-2shift solenoid error” can you actually repair that?

The one I use, they make a BT version also. I prefer the WiFi one - it seems faster, but older BT was much slower and buggier than today’s.

WiFi ELM327 OBD2 Adapter Scanner Reader for iOS iPhone and Android Phones OBD2 to WiFi OBD 2 ELM 327 Adapter Scanner Diagnostic Scan Tools OBDii ELM327 Interface Code Readers for Ford GM Chevy etc https://a.co/d/07VopZlx