PCM OS Update

[wristshot]

I searched the forum, and recently posted in another area of this forum, and can not find/get a definitive answer for this.
Hopefully someone here has done this and can confirm.

I have a 2015 F150 which has been tuned via HPT.

If I take it in for warranty work, and if Ford updates the OS/Strategy, can I install my original strategy by just doing a "Write Entire" without any issues?

Will this require additional credits to flash back since I have a license for original VIN/OS combo (I guess this is stored in the HPT dongle or in a laptop file)?

I know I can download, relicense, and tune the new strategy if I want.

Any insight will be helpful. Thanks.

[Jn2]

If you already licenses your VIN/Strat combo and then the dealer flashes a new file with the same VIN but different start you cannot write your old tune back on, HPT checks the VIN/Strat to make sure the combo is license before writing a file, so it will tell you that combo is not license. You will need to pull the new file out and license it

[wristshot]

If you already licenses your VIN/Strat combo and then the dealer flashes a new file with the same VIN but different start you cannot write your old tune back on, HPT checks the VIN/Strat to make sure the combo is license before writing a file, so it will tell you that combo is not license. You will need to pull the new file out and license it

So if I license the new VIN/OS combo, can I write my original VIN/OS combo back without additional credits?

[Jn2]

So if I license the new VIN/OS combo, can I write my original VIN/OS combo back without additional credits?

Yes, if you pull the new Strategy from the ECM, License it, and then flash your previous VIN/Strat file back in it WILL work. This is because it will pass the VIN/Strat check, which checks the VIN/strat in ECM and the one you are flashing and makes sure both are already licensed.

[GSLSE20B]

So if I license the new VIN/OS combo, can I write my original VIN/OS combo back without additional credits?

You don't need to pay to write your original vin/OS back after you get the car back . You will only need to use credits if you want to license the new OS .

[Jn2]

You don't need to pay to write your original vin/OS back after you get the car back . You will only need to use credits if you want to license the new OS .

You do if the VIN/OS on the ECM is not the one you licensed originally. HPT checks the VIN/OS on the ECM and the VIN/OS you are flashing(both MUST be licensed, which is normally not an issue when you are flashing back the same VIN/OS combo you read out of it), if both have been license, it will write the tune, that is how we change strategies.

For the OP's scenario, he asked if the Dealer re-flashed his ECM with a different strategy than what came on the car(the VIN/OS he licensed) would he then need to license that combo to tune it?

The answer is yes bc that VIN/OS is not currently licensed. When he goes to try and flash his original VIN/OS file into the car HPT will give him an error telling him he has not licensed it even if his original VIN/OS is licensed. This is how it works when you change strategies...

[wristshot]

Yes, if you pull the new Strategy from the ECM, License it, and then flash your previous VIN/Strat file back in it WILL work. This is because it will pass the VIN/Strat check, which checks the VIN/strat in ECM and the one you are flashing and makes sure both are already licensed.

I don't mind licensing the new OS/Strategy (2 credits). I just wanted to verify, with someone who's done it, that I could indeed go back to my original (I like it and have a lot of time invested in it) if I wish without spending more credits.

From what I have read, on this forum, some say it takes 6 credits to do a OS/Strategy swap and I think I understand why now --> 2 credits for the original VIN/OS in the car, 2 credits for the VIN/OS from the repository (i.e. not the same VIN) to write, and once written to the car 2 more credits for the final VIN/OS combo.

Sounds like after licensing the second, I can go between the two as I wish.

Thanks Jn2, this sounds logical now.

[Jn2]

I don't mind licensing the new OS/Strategy (2 credits). I just wanted to verify, with someone who's done it, that I could indeed go back to my original (I like it and have a lot of time invested in it) if I wish without spending more credits.

From what I have read, on this forum, some say it takes 6 credits to do a OS/Strategy swap and I think I understand why now --> 2 credits for the original VIN/OS in the car, 2 credits for the VIN/OS from the repository (i.e. not the same VIN) to write, and once written to the car 2 more credits for the final VIN/OS combo.

Sounds like after licensing the second, I can go between the two as I wish.

Thanks Jn2, this sounds logical now.

Correct, it would take 6 credits if you where changing strategies to one from repository, in your case it would take 4 since you only need to license the original and the one they put on the car, not a random one from repository. I ran into this when I changed strategies in order to get some of the emission related tables. I used 2 credits on my OEM file, 2 credits on different strategy, then 2 more to license my VIN with the new OS after I flashed it to the car...

[wbt]

Correct, it would take 6 credits if you where changing strategies to one from repository, in your case it would take 4 since you only need to license the original and the one they put on the car, not a random one from repository. I ran into this when I changed strategies in order to get some of the emission related tables. I used 2 credits on my OEM file, 2 credits on different strategy, then 2 more to license my VIN with the new OS after I flashed it to the car...

IMO this is a broken licensing model and I have said as much in the past. I can understand the 4 credits.....not the 6.

Imagine if you have a car that requires 4 credits to license (~$200) and want to change the strategy....

[Jn2]

IMO this is a broken licensing model and I have said as much in the past. I can understand the 4 credits.....not the 6.

Imagine if you have a car that requires 4 credits to license (~$200) and want to change the strategy....

oh I don't disagree...I totally forgot about the VIN/OS combo on ECM having to be licensed when I made a swap not long ago. Couldn't even write my stock licensed file back in bc the one on the car was a non-licensed OS, even though the VIN was. So I was forced to license the new VIN/OS in order to do anything...It becomes a non-issue though once unlimited licenses is reached. But yeah on Coyote's it's a $300 process...$100 for OEM, $100 for new OS, $100 for VIN/OS combo...how ever once you license the desired strategy you can keep using it on other cars(as long as its compatible) and then it's only a $200 process, which would be OEM VIN/OS and then the VIN/New OS combo, this cost I will pass along to the customer if a strategy change is needed