IM508/KM100 first start up with VPN active (Part 2)

I was loathed to find out that my new Autel IM508 tool did not have the features that made the tool as popular as it is today. It should be noted that any American based tool will eventually lose its value due to lawsuits and future NASTF registration requirements. That being said... there are not a lot of Chinese options immune to these regulations that are even on the same level as the Autel tools. Many require tokens and fees based on every single car or even every single key you generate even if you are making multiple keys for the same vehicle. Until such a time as these tools become irrelevant due to government regulations/interference they are still the best in the field. If you can keep all the features and get all the updates now before the true revolution of these tools what can you do? Well here I am trying to define that...

If you do not know why I talk about Chinese options then I will break it down for you. In the united states you need something like "Auto Auth" in order to access gateway vehicles like modern Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep/Nissan vehicles (at the moment). It is a subscription based service that allows you to access OBD data from all the computer systems. In the united states you need a subscription even for something as simple as installing a new TPMS sensor in a dodge vehicle. Outside of the US all computers can just access the information without any special subscriptions. It is 50 dollars a year for up to 5 devices which is not the end of the world but its strange that it is only required here. Just another way to take money on us for being an American? Doesn't seem right to me...

Long story short (IM508): I tried the Nigerian account from a Nigerian VPN server though my travel router only to find out that the device I purchased, through a toolweb.com supplier, is region locked. NO matter what I do (and I tried swapping some files from my KM100 that has AKL for everything to no avail - the .txt, .so, .xml files cause a error on program start up when copied over as they likely have the serial number of the device written into them grr) I wont be able to get access to the features it does not have. Luckily it has only lost Toyota AKL abilities not Chevy/GM/Ford which is nice. My KM100 has Toyota AKL which has made me realize why did I even buy a IM508 & XP400 Pro to begin with?

Long story short (KM100): This story is ONLY possible because I backed up the unit as soon as I got it. Turns out this tool came from a supply network that has non-region locked hardware (I ordered it on the Matco truck). I was able to set it to African market from the default China market it had, log into my Nigerian VPN travel router, and clicked update. Now I figured it would have the AKL feature for everything like nothing changed. Too bad I forgot I registered the device with a North American Autel account damn.... You can switch accounts and do a cache/factory backup that I still plan to do but I cant remember the email password so I can get the authorization code to switch accounts... I already did the Operating system update and the vehicle update... losing AKL features on Chevy, Ford and Toyota in the process. Damn...

I was able to figure out in the next couple of hours if I restored the data from my backup before doing all this that I could get those features back. Like the new update doesn't get rid of the ability to do all keys lost on these vehicles but merely removes the option from the menus in the app. I copied some old data back onto the KM100 and AKL features are returned for all three manufacturers YAY! (I tried to use these files to add AKL features to my IM508 but in the end I had to restore it from backup since I made the software unstable enough to crash after being turned on for only 5 minutes.

The moral of the story.... maybe the Nigerian VPN/account/update feature will work so long as the device is not region locked. I don't know if any seller would be able to confirm the units they sell are not region locked without calling to see what they would need to be able to ship units to Africa for use lol. I have narrowed down what files might need to have their serial numbers modified so that the adding features form the KM100 to the IM508 should I ever figure that out...