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RM84
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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
  • 4173 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
    Tim_OVO
    OVO Staff
    Tim_OVO
    OVO Forum Legend
    May 23, 2023

    Thanks for the update, @Paulalan. 

     

    Hopefully the smart home team can help get to the bottom of the random charge times. We want your Charge Anytime experience to be faultless!

     

    Keep us updated please, it may help others that come after you and find this thread. 

    Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
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    Newcomer
    Nik_Pattni
    Newcomer
    July 4, 2023

    Why is this tread marked as Soved,  I still have an issue with Ovo app overriding my BMW charge time and OVO do not have a fix.

    Blastoise186
    Super User
    Blastoise186Super User
    Super User
    July 4, 2023

    Hey @Nik_Pattni ,

    This comment was left by a forum volunteer who does not work for OVO. However, the response given in this comment is one that roughly aligns with the community consensus.

    The Solved status on a particular thread is used when the question has a reasonable answers that helps the community at large. It only usually gets changed back it was accidental e.g. if one of the forum volunteers (admittedly, I’m more prone to it than the others) hit the wrong button by mistake.

    The answer that’s marked does not have to totally solve the entire question, it just has to be something that works for the most part. We never usually know if the original user got their problem solved as most don’t tell us, so the Solved status isn’t linked to whether they ever got their problem solved.

    However, Answers can also be updated when new info becomes available or a better solution is found.

    In this particular case, Tim has shared a workaround that should help. It’s not the golden bullet solution that’s still being worked on, but it’s something. Personally, I agree that it’s the most helpful comment on the thread in terms of the community benefit.

    If you think you can provide a better answer, please feel free to post one. If consensus is reached, it may be tagged as the new answer.

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      Newcomer
      Rdmi4
      Newcomer
      August 3, 2023

      This has started happening to me today after a month of faultless charging. (BMW i4, S&P charger) 
      I’ve tried logging out and in to all apps involved with no joy. 
      Do any of the other affected users have a fix or is it an on going issue? 

      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      August 4, 2023

      Hey @Rdmi4 

       

      Sorry to hear about this.

       

      I’d recommend you make the Smart Home team aware if you haven’t already, so they can help get this sorted: smarthome@ovoenergy.com.

       

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      Newcomer
      lmehuk
      Newcomer
      August 10, 2023

      Hi. 

      I have a BMW i4 M50 and can barely charge my car with Charge Anytime. I previously owned a Tesla and it worked fine.

      Like others have said, the BMW app gets overridden and sets bizarre times for departure even though I have turned everything off and set the car to charge immediately.

      I have resorted to charging urgently but this is not an acceptable solution.

      This thread should not be closed!

      Thanks

      Tim_OVO
      OVO Staff
      Tim_OVO
      OVO Forum Legend
      August 11, 2023

      I’ll check for an update on this one, @lmehuk. 

       

      Please note that the best answer in this context is there to make sure the most helpful advice is below the question. 

      Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
        Tim_OVO
        OVO Staff
        Tim_OVO
        OVO Forum Legend
        August 31, 2023

        Hi @lmehuk, 

         

        Sorry for the radio silence there. I’m hoping for something more tangible to come back to you with but in the meantime I’ve been advised this is still an issue. 

        Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
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        Newcomer
        lmehuk
        Newcomer
        September 5, 2023

        Hi @Tim_OVO 

        Thanks for the update. Is there any timeline to when his may be fixed please?

        Abby_OVO
        Community Manager
        Abby_OVO
        Community Manager
        September 6, 2023

        Hey @lmehuk 

         

        I’ve reached out to the team to see if they can give a timeframe for us. I’ll pop back on here when I hear back from them so I can update you.

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