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The KorheX and Flex bench tooling we open posted-in ECUs with

Home › ECU unlocking › By post

ECU unlocking by post

Send us your ECU
from anywhere in the UK

You do not need to be anywhere near Warrington. Take the ECU out, post it to us, and it comes back unlocked, with your original file saved.

£249BMW & Alpina
£549Audi, VW, Skoda, SEAT
2020–2025the locked years
Post your ECU inIn-house unlocking

Why post it

Distance stops being the problem

One job, once. After it the ECU behaves like any pre-lock unit.

Manufacturers started locking ECUs from around 2020. If yours is locked, nobody can write to it — not us, not your local tuner — until it has been opened on a bench. That is a one-off job, and the car does not have to be there for it.

So if you are three hours away, or the car is off the road, or you simply want it opened before it goes to whoever is tuning it, post us the ECU on its own. It comes back unlocked with your original file saved — see below for which tools can write to it afterwards.

What it costs

Priced by make, plus the return you choose

£249

BMW & Alpina

Every BMW and Alpina ECU, whatever is printed on the label. Open to any standard OBD tool afterwards.

£399

Peugeot & Citroën

The Bosch MD1CS003 units. Written with Magic tooling afterwards — a Flex or KorheX, not any OBD tool.

£549

Audi, VW, Skoda & SEAT

Plus Cupra, Porsche and every other make we unlock. Written with Magic tooling afterwards — a Flex or KorheX, not any OBD tool. A listed Bosch part number drops the price to £249; the order form works it out as you type.

+£50

Twin-ECU V8

BMW N63 and S63 carry two units, so there are two to open.

Unlock fee, inc VAT. Covers 2020 to 2025 vehicles, unlock only.

Tracked return, your choice of cover

£30Royal Mail · cover £500
£34DHL · cover £500
£64DHL · cover £1,000
£94DHL · cover £1,500

Royal Mail Special Delivery or DHL Next Day, both tracked. This is the return leg only — sending it to us is arranged and paid by you, and we would always insure it for what the ECU costs to replace rather than what the postage costs.

Afterwards

Check what your tuner runs

The one thing to check before you take the ECU out.

BMW

Any standard OBD tool

Every BMW and Alpina ECU we open is left open afterwards, so whoever tunes it next can write to it with whatever they already own.

VAG

Magic tooling — Flex or KorheX

Audi, VW, Skoda, SEAT and the rest of the group are written with Magic tooling after a bench unlock, not with any OBD tool. Worth checking before you post it.

PSA

Magic tooling — Flex or KorheX

Peugeot and Citroën are the same: opened and written with the Magic tools.

How it works

Four steps, and three of them are yours

1

Take the ECU out

It is usually four bolts and a couple of plugs. If you are not sure, your local garage will have it out in minutes. Photograph the label before it goes in the box — we need the part number.

2

Send it to us tracked

You arrange the delivery to us and insure it for its replacement value. Keep the tracking number until we confirm it has landed. We are closed Wednesdays and Sundays.

3

We open it on the bench

Direct processor access with the Flex and KorheX tooling, which is designed to avoid flipping the board. Some units still need desoldering, and we will tell you if yours is one of them. Your original file is saved before anything is written.

4

Back to you, tracked

It goes back by the service you picked, tracked and insured, with your original file saved.

If we cannot open it

You are not out of pocket for trying

We tell you before we charge for anything we cannot do.

Some ECUs cannot be opened yet, and we would rather say so than take the money. If yours turns out to be one of them we refund the unlock fee in full and post it straight back to you.

The return postage is not refundable, because the ECU still has to travel back either way. That is the only part you cannot get back.

Questions

Before you take it out

Do I have to be near Warrington?
No. That is the whole point of this page. Take the ECU out yourself, post it to us, and it comes back unlocked and tracked. We have customers sending ECUs from all over the UK.
Which cars can you open?
Cars from 2020 to 2025, which is the locked-ECU era. Anything older was never locked in the first place, so it does not need this at all — give us a ring and we will tell you straight.
What does it cost?
BMW and Alpina are £249. Peugeot and Citroen are £399. Every other make is £549. A twin-ECU V8 (BMW N63 and S63) is £50 more because there are two units to open. On top of that you choose a tracked return service, from £30.
Who pays to send it to you?
You do, and you arrange it. We recommend DHL, tracked, and insured for what the ECU would actually cost to replace rather than what the postage costs. The fee you pay us covers the return leg back to you.
What if you cannot open it?
We refund the unlock fee in full and post it straight back. The return postage is not refundable, because we still have to send it to you either way.
Will you have to desolder anything?
Usually not. The Flex and KorheX tooling is designed to reach the processor without flipping the board, which means less handling of your ECU. Some units do still need desoldering though, and we will tell you if yours is one of them.
Will it still be unlocked if I get it tuned somewhere else?
Yes, and that is what most people order this for — but check what your tuner runs. A BMW or Alpina ECU comes back open to any standard OBD tool. An Audi, VW, Skoda, SEAT, Peugeot or Citroen ECU is written with Magic tooling afterwards, so whoever tunes it next needs a Flex or KorheX, not just any OBD tool.
Can you tune it while you have it?
Not from a posted ECU on its own — a custom map is written on the dyno with the car in front of us. If you want it tuned as well, bring the car and we will do both in one appointment.

Ready to send it?

The order form asks for the car, the ECU part number and where to send it back. It takes two minutes.

Post your ECU in