A USB to OBD2 cable is the most common method and will interface from a laptop to a vehicle’s OBDII port. If the OBDII dongle is used, make sure the laptop or PC is Bluetooth enabled. The laptop must be connected to the OBDII port using a compatible cable or Bluetooth dongle. How Do You Use a Laptop as an OBDII Scanner? As long as the laptop is online, an error code can be looked up and perused through the many online forums that provide an overview of what others have done to solve the problem. One of the great things about using a laptop when scanning OBDII codes is the ability to quickly search for answers online.
Using a laptop to scan OBDII engine codes is an easy task and might even be one of the better options.