Quick answers to the most common questions. For step-by-step instructions see the user manual. For anything not covered here email info@vcdspro.cloud.
Pro (€199, perpetual) is for an individual technician or enthusiast. One Hardware ID, unlimited vehicles, lifetime v1.x updates. One rebind per 12 months if you change machine.
Workshop (€499 / year) is for a business — up to 5 active Hardware IDs at any time, customer database, invoicing, service history, cloud sync across the team, and priority email support.
Yes — Demo Mode is free, no signup, no card. It runs against our built-in 24-module ECU simulator so you can try every diagnostic and tuning feature against a virtual VW before you buy. It will not talk to a real vehicle.
The desktop app is gated by an activation key — once activated you have unlocked the full version. The 14-day EU right of withdrawal applies only if you have not yet activated the key. After activation we cannot offer a refund under EU Directive 2011/83/EU Art. 16(m). Use Demo Mode to evaluate first.
Yes — to one Hardware ID (HWID). The HWID is a hash of your CPU, motherboard and OS fingerprint. You can rebind to a new machine once per 12 months from the customer portal. Workshop tier lets you bind to up to 5 HWIDs simultaneously.
Workshop is a yearly subscription. Stripe automatically renews on the same date each year. You can cancel anytime from your customer portal or by emailing us — cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period (no pro-rata refund for the current year).
For 10+ workshop seats or educational use we offer custom volume licensing. Email info@vcdspro.cloud with your use case.
All payments go through Stripe. We accept:
Workshop subscriptions support card and SEPA only (iDEAL and Bancontact are one-shot rails). Crypto is not supported.
Stripe Tax determines the correct VAT rate based on your billing country. EU business customers can enter a valid VAT ID at checkout to apply the reverse-charge procedure — the invoice will show 0 % VAT and a note referencing your VAT ID under Art. 196 of EU Council Directive 2006/112/EC.
Yes — a VAT-compliant invoice is emailed immediately after a successful payment and is also linked from your post-purchase success page. Workshop subscriptions get a new invoice each renewal year.
No — your card / bank data is processed entirely by Stripe. We only receive the customer email, billing country, last 4 digits of the card and the Stripe customer ID. We never see your card number.
Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit), macOS 12 + (Intel and Apple Silicon), and Linux (AppImage runs on any glibc 2.31+ distribution). All installers are signed; macOS is notarised by Apple.
See the full supported-hardware matrix. Short list:
See the full supported-vehicles matrix. Summary: VW / Audi / Škoda / SEAT / Cupra / Porsche / Bentley 1996-2026, plus generic OBD-II on virtually every 2001+ petrol and 2004+ diesel.
Yes — once activated, VCDS Pro works without an internet connection for 30 days (the cached license grace period). Cloud sync, SFD unlock and VIN history features need internet.
On launch, the app checks vcdspro.cloud/api/version and shows a "New version available" toast if a newer build exists. Click Download update, install the new version over the old one, your license stays activated.
Follow the troubleshooting section of the manual. The 90 % cause is a missing or wrong driver. Install the vendor driver first, replug the adapter, then launch VCDS Pro.
Yes — for the ECU families on the supported-vehicles matrix. Reads work over OBD-II (UDS / J2534). Writes work over OBD-II for most pre-2018 ECUs, and via a bench-boot adapter (Scanmatik / KTAG / equivalent) for newer Bosch MD1/MG1 families.
VCDS Pro ships with seed map definitions and patch entries for common modifications (DPF/EGR/AdBlue, torque limit, boost target, immobiliser delete, etc.). The reference checksum corrector applies automatically. We do not publish ready-to-flash tunes — that's your workshop's IP and responsibility.
Yes, almost always. It also typically voids the vehicle's type approval and your motor insurance unless you re-certify the vehicle. We strongly recommend reading the legal notice and getting a TÜV / DEKRA / equivalent re-approval before driving a tuned car on a public road.
The Software can apply these patches because they are sometimes legitimate for off-road, agricultural, motorsport and emergency-recovery use. Running such a vehicle on a public road is illegal in most of Europe and the US. We refuse to sell licenses, and may remotely deactivate licenses, where we have reasonable grounds to believe the Software is being used to defeat emissions controls on public-road vehicles. That's your call to make, not ours.
Yes, within 14 days of purchase, as long as you have not activated the license key. EU consumer law (Directive 2011/83/EU Art. 16(m)) gives you a 14-day right of withdrawal for digital purchases that is forfeited upon delivery of the digital content with the consumer's consent — and clicking "Activate" in the desktop app is that consent.
To request a refund, email info@vcdspro.cloud from the address you used at checkout.
Yes — at any time from the customer portal or by email. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid year; no pro-rata refunds.
Local data on your machine stays under your control. Cloud-synced data (Workshop tier customer DB, tuning maps) is retained for 30 days after subscription end, then automatically deleted. You can request immediate erasure under GDPR Art. 17.
📧 info@vcdspro.cloud — typical reply within one business day. Workshop tier gets priority queue.
💬 Telegram @vcdspro for quick community help and announcements.
The desktop app writes crash logs to ~/VCDS_Pro_Data/crash_reports/ (Linux/macOS) or %USERPROFILE%\VCDS_Pro_Data\crash_reports\ (Windows). Attach the latest file when you email support.
Yes — the Telegram channel is the official community. We post release notes, tuning tips and incident notices there.
Live status at status.vcdspro.cloud. We post incident updates on Telegram first, then update the status page.