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R
Rank 1
RM84
Rank 1
March 17, 2023
Solved

Preconditioning settings like pre-heat from my BMW EV app not working due to clashing with OVO's Charge Anytime?

  • March 17, 2023
  • 109 replies
  • 4110 views

Good Morning,

 

I’ve recently added Charge Anytime to our account, however as our charger (Zappi v2) isn’t compatible, I’ve gone down the route of linking the Charge Anytime app directly with the car itself (BMW i4), which is where the problems have started.

 

So to provide context, before we added Charge Anytime, I was using the My BMW app to control the charging, preconditioning and vehicle preferences. In my case I had a schedule set up, so the car would precondition the batteries and warm the cabin prior to departure, however since the Ovo app ‘took over’, the preconditioning functionality has gone haywire.

 

It appears that the schedule I had in place (Mon-Fri 7am departure), keeps being replaced with bizarre times of the day and night (I had a random 3am departure scheduled the other night) and no matter how many times I go back to reset, it keeps happening.

 

Somehow the Ovo app is clashing with the manufacturers app and essentially rendering the preconditioning functionality useless, which is a problem. If the Ovo app does need to be the dominant app for controlling the car, it needs more functionality. Did any issues arise during testing, Ovo? I’d be interested to know.

 

Has anyone else experienced anything like this yet? If this continues I’ll probably uninstall it, as in my opinion, essential vehicle functions shouldn’t be compromised as a trade off for having a cheaper electricity rate to charge your car.

 

Any help and advice would be appreciated.

    Best answer by Tim_OVO

    Updated on 14/04/26 by Abby_OVO

     

    Hi @RM84 @KC1986 and thank you for coming together hear to flag this. Since July 2025, zappi have integrated compatibility with Charge Anytime, check out the topic below for more on this:

     

     

    Who can get Charge Anytime?

     

    There are now two ways you can get Charge Anytime:

     

    You must have an eligible EV or Smart Charger, we’re constantly looking into ways to broaden eligibility of this product so if your technology isn’t currently on this list keep an eye on our page for updates!

     

    I’m told that for some vehicles, including BMW & MINI, our Charge Anytime smart charging control automatically overwrites any existing pre-conditioning schedules.


    Our technical analysts are working hard to try and rectify the issue, but it might take some time given how our smart charging control currently operates.

     

    If anyone’s affected by this issue, please make our team aware. You can do this by getting in touch with the Charge Anytime team directly via your preferred contact method on the topic below:

     

     

     

    The following topic may also be helpful:

     

    109 replies

    Show previous replies
    Shads_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    Shads_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    October 4, 2024

    Hi @NeVeTaS,

     

    I’m sorry to hear this.

     

    I’ve reached out to the team to see if there’s any update on this. I’ll be back as soon as I get response for you.

    E
    Rank 1
    ElliUK
    Rank 1
    October 11, 2024

    Does having a compatible charger, like an Ohme Pro get over this issue?

    thanks very much,

    Blastoise186
    Super User
    Blastoise186Super User
    Super User
    October 11, 2024

    It does, yes. Just make sure to set it up via the Charger!

    Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
      E
      Rank 1
      ElliUK
      Rank 1
      December 17, 2024

      Hi all

      Before I got my 530e  I spent a lot of time reading blogs like this to help guide me on my own setup.

      In the end I went with an Ohme Charger Pro and connected that to OVO.  OVO doesn't know that I have a BMW, OVO just talks to my Ohme.

      Ohme then talks to my BMW which allows the preconditioning to work fine. My car arrived at the start of this month, and running my setup in this way allows everything to work.  My car is warm in the mornings having drawn the power for preconditioning from the charger.

      I footed the cost of the charger as I didn't want to miss out on one of the main benefits of having a PHEV which was the preconditioning through the winter. 

      Hope my experience helps someone.

        Emmanuelle_OVO
        Retired Moderator
        Emmanuelle_OVO
        Retired Moderator
        December 18, 2024

        That’s really helpful feedback ​@ElliUK. Thanks for sharing your experience 😊

        I’ve added an EV badge to your account so other community members with the same green tech can identify you. 

        We have a really helpful Charge Anytime hub you may find interesting:
         

         

        Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
        N
        Rank 2
        NeVeTaS
        Rank 2
        January 21, 2025

        Hi @NeVeTaS,

         

        I’m sorry to hear this.

         

        I’ve reached out to the team to see if there’s any update on this. I’ll be back as soon as I get response for you.

         

        3 months on, nobody ever got back to me. Trust me, they will never fix this…

        Blastoise186
        Super User
        Blastoise186Super User
        Super User
        January 21, 2025

        That’s because it’s ultimately a BMW issue if memory serves.

        Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
        N
        Rank 2
        NeVeTaS
        Rank 2
        January 22, 2025

        I plugged in last night (Tuesday 21 January 2025) at 4pm. Battery at 63%

        App was set to be ready for 8.30am and 80%

         

        Car started charging immediately for 3 minutes, then app reported ‘next charge after 12.30am’

        It went on to add some charge at 10pm, 10.20pm, 10.30pm, and finally 1.30am.

        It’s now Wednesday 22nd January at 9.53am, app reports ‘awaiting your next charge’ and I’m at 68%

         

        Useless...

        Blastoise186
        Super User
        Blastoise186Super User
        Super User
        January 22, 2025

        If that’s happening… Call 0330 175 9678 Option 2.

        Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
        N
        Rank 2
        NeVeTaS
        Rank 2
        January 22, 2025

        Been there, done that. I never have any schedules or preconditions set, and the admins on the forum said they would look into it again, that was 3 months ago, never heard anything. This was the initial reply from OVO:

        'I'm sorry for the issue this customer had, although it doesn't seem like there is anything deeper going on. We weren't able to confirm that the BMW was able to begin charging before timing out (BMW accepted our request but for some reason the vehicle never started charging).'

        Unfortunately just looks like a case of charge commands sent but not obeyed.
        'This issue can be related to an intermittent connection with the vehicle or the connected charger not offering charge to the vehicle when needed.

        In order for the Charge Anytime app to work correctly, you must remove any and all schedules from your wall charger as they might cause a conflict with the smart charge schedules sent by the Charge Anytime app. Some chargers have a Plug & Charge mode or something similar, it’s usually best to check with your charger manufacturer as to how best setup the charger to offer maximum charge to the vehicle all day everyday.

        In addition please can you make sure that there are no schedules set in your vehicle’s app that could be interfering with our control.

        During periods where the vehicle isn’t sending us telemetry, we can't control or record smart charging, meaning that you won’t receive Charge Anytime Credits for charging completed during this period. This is covered in section 7 of our terms Charge Anytime Terms and Conditions| OVO Energy

        We know this isn’t an ideal outcome so our developers are working on ways to improve how the app reports this kind of issue on future versions of the app.'

        Show more replies
        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement

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        OVO (S) Gas Limited is part of OVO Group Ltd