OnlineTool You start a check in ISTA, but the program says a token is required. It offers to save a request and shows how to provide a response. This is the procedure for a protected diagnostic function.
This guide explains the message and how to continue the check.
Why a token is required
ISTA is BMW diagnostic and service software. It reads faults, helps investigate their causes and provides service procedures. It also includes vehicle programming functions.
Diagnostics consists of individual diagnostic functions. Some need permission, called a diagnostic token.
When you start a protected function, ISTA creates a request file. Submit it to the service, obtain a response and return that response to ISTA. Once the program accepts it, the work can continue.
The token authorises the required action. The check results explain the fault, and repair addresses the fault itself.
Which file the service needs
The service needs the request saved by ISTA. It contains the data required to prepare a response. VIN alone or a screenshot of the message is insufficient.
Do not edit the request manually. Keep it and the response as two separate files in the same folder. This makes the right pair easier to find when working with several vehicles or checks.
A response is prepared for a particular request. A file from another check is not suitable merely because the vehicle model matches.
Choosing the appropriate service
Use the action being performed and the program's message as your reference. A protected diagnostic function requires an ISTA diagnostic token.
Other work may need other permissions: CBB for certificate and binding validation, KDS for restoring a protected component's link to the vehicle, SFA for protected features, or PPT Basic for programming protection in E-Sys.
A file created in ISTA is therefore not necessarily a diagnostic token request. A validation request after unit replacement, for example, concerns another task. Check what the program is requesting before submitting the file.
Example: ISTA requests a token
Identify the vehicle in ISTA and start the check. If a step requires a token for a protected function, proceed as follows.
1. Save the request
ISTA opens a window where you can choose the save location. Select a folder and save the request.
The program also shows instructions for providing the response. Save those instructions or capture the window so you can follow them when the file arrives.
2. Obtain the response
Prepare the saved request to obtain an ISTA diagnostic token.
Before sending, check that the file was created for the diagnostic function that requested the token. Then submit it for processing.
When the response is ready, save it in the request's folder.
3. Return the response to ISTA
Return to the check that requested the token. Provide the response according to the instructions displayed by ISTA.
Select the response for the request you submitted. If ISTA has created a new request, first establish which response it now expects.
4. Continue the check
Once ISTA accepts the response, follow its instructions. Wait for the function to complete and read the result.
Use the information it provides to continue diagnosis and decide the next action for the vehicle.
If something goes wrong
The service did not process the request. Check that you submitted the ISTA request, rather than an earlier response or a screenshot. Keep the exact message to investigate the rejection.
The response is ready, but ISTA rejects it. Check that it belongs to the required request and that you followed ISTA's instructions. Keep the exact ISTA message and version for investigation.
ISTA accepted the response, but the check failed. Read the diagnostic function's message to understand what happened during the vehicle check. Acceptance of the token does not establish that the equipment is working correctly.
When the token task is complete
Downloading the response is an intermediate step. Return it to ISTA, run the function and assess its result. Continue diagnostics or service work if further actions are required.
Obtain an ISTA diagnostic token
Check the saved request purpose before submitting it. Return the response to the original function using the instructions displayed by ISTA.
Orders are handled through the Telegram bot. Open the bot from the service page, check the selected service and follow its input instructions. Keep the result for the original procedure.