Looking for STAR
 

C3?? That's the old old multiplexer. Doesn't even work with newer software. What are your needs? Are you a shop? Personal use? Now a days even the C4 multiplexers are all crap. What vehicle years are you working on?

Interested as well. 2007 S550 here...personal use.

I bought a C4 from China and it has been great. Tried messing with personal installs of Xentry/DAS, downloading VMWare images, etc... then gave up and bought an entire hard drive from China with latest versions of everything installed.. Xentry/DAS/StarFinder/Vediamo/etc. The HD was under $100 and you have a choice of upgrading to an SSD instead of regular drive too which is much faster.

Look at Aliexpress and get a C4 and a hard drive.. has been working great for a year on 3 different MB's. Before that I had a C3 for 6 years which worked great too, but the wireless makes it SO much easier. Sit the laptop on the hood of the car instead of having lots of cables and wires going everywhere like I did with the C3

If you're working with newer versions of Xentry and Vediamo 5, you will need a C4 or greater MUX. I'm using a C3(called a compact C4 by vendors but doesn't have wireless) I purchased almost 5 years ago which works for my purposes. If I got a newer, 2015 or above model, I would spring for the C4 or C5 but I can do everything I need for my 2007 using the C3. A C3 system is going to cost you a lot less. I using Star/Xentry from 2014 and Vediamo 4.

Anyone had issues with systems or HDs from China coming in with viruses?

EasyPhil makes a good point. My C3 worked perfectly fine for a 2003 SL (R230), 2007 GL (W164) and 2007 S550 (W221). I haven't tried it on my 2014 SL. The C4 works great on those cars, it's just wireless.

If the C3 is a lot cheaper get that. If not, spring for the C4 because it makes life easier. Both work just fine.

As mentioned, if you have a 2015 or newer (or plan to get one soon) then you need a newer unit like C4/C5

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015...537557558.html
Here is the one I bought. Available in 320/360/500GB hard drives, or an SSD. I bought the SSD even though more expensive, it runs really fast.

I have personally never used Vediamo.. not sure what it does. But I have Star/Xentry from 2018 (I believe they update it regularly.. the link above is for Dec 2018) and it works great for everything I need.

I have used mine on an 07 W221 S550 and have also run it on a friend's 09 W204 C350 so it will work on your cars for sure :)

can this be put into any windows laptop by simply swapping the hdd ?

Vediamo allows you to do things like code a set of headlights without having to have an account with mercedes. It also allows you to activate and change many things you cannot do with Xentry/DAS like remove the speed restriction for editing addresses and such for navigation.

For me this is a non issue because the machine I have it on never connects to the internet.

another question, are you able to update all your car modules to the latest versions (lets say tranmission, command) etc with simply connecting it to internet and it grabbing the required files and then flashing offline?

It depends on what machine the hard drive came from, usually it's a Dell or a Thinkpad. If the OS on the drive is Windows XP, you're restricted to what type of machine you can put it in, meaning Dell laptop for Dell hardrive, Thinkpad for Thinkpad hard drive.

You can update your car modules but you have to configure your system to do offline coding and also acquire the firmware updates for the modules, ******* is a good place to find all of that stuff. I've updated Command, Audio, door modules, Keyless Go, radar sensors, telaid to mbrace, plus some other stuff.

Vediamo allows you to variant code without having an online Mercedes account. I replaced a set of headlights, they worked fine but the active curve function wasn't working and I would get an error indicating such every time I turned the car on. The dealer wanted $169 to code the lights and I wound up doing it myself with Vediamo and it took 15 minutes. You can also flash modules with Vediamo if you have the CFF files. I've haven't used Vediamo to flash any modules as I'm just getting used to using it. I have used it to remove the restrictions for enterning intormation while the car is in motion. I plan on adding two additonal radar modules to my rear bumper so that I can enable the Parking Guidance feature and do a Blind Spot Assist retrofit at a future date. I'll use Vediamo to enable those features once I have all of the hardware in place.

If all you need is to read codes/clear codes/actuations and so on....... you can use Xentry Passthru. It is used with J2534 devices (passthru). I have used many passthru devices to include the Tactrix Openport 2.0. It's $169 directly from the company and it works good with Xentry Passthru. Xentry Passthru is good for 2006 and up vehicles. It will not work with older ones. I have even programmed online with it. If you are needing it to code modules and make system changes then you will need Vediamo, Monaco and so on.

Are you saying that Tactrix openport 2.0 is also compatible with Vediamo ? Is it Vediamo 5.0.1 version?

I've used the Tactrix with Vediamo 4 and it should work with 5.0.1. (Edit: Tactrix doesn't work with Vediamo 5)