Just one example- I was about half-way going between Vegas and Reno and my friend's engine started pinging and stalling at low rpm about an hour after filling up. The nearest station was 50 miles away (found instantly with my phone's GPS).
Within minutes in the middle of the desert, I downloaded the service manual for his car and was able to get the ECU to flash me a hidden trouble code(similar to morse code). It was a faulty knock sensor combined with bad gas. We found exactly which jumper to pull to override the sensor and run the car at a safe ignition timing all the way to Reno .
It is fully programmable so the things you can do with this thing are only limited by the imagination.
That’s pretty cool.. If I was heading through the desert, I may need one.. as it is, I am 10 min without internet on the way to work, and when I go on trips, (mostly know my way) I like to use maps, I like plotting my own route.
I guess I just give up the extra capability of cell internet.. I have an hp pad if I hit a wifi hotspot.. but obviously wouldn’t have helped in your situation..