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

So I think that I am having the same issues as many of you.  I have a Mini Cooper e with the Ovo Charge Anytime app linked to the car (charger is not one of the supported chargers).  I have removed all time settings from the Mini App so am hoping it works tonight - last night it charged for about 10 minutes.  

Earlier this evening, as I was trying to set the car up to charge, the timings in the Mini app were jumping around all over the place going back to two days ago.  

Did anyone else ever find a solution?  I really need to use the cheaper electricity for charging up.

I have now started to get to understand what is going on.

The OVO Charge Anytime app switches charging on and off. Every time it does this the Mini app 'resets' with random dates and times, this stops later charging.

What I did was turn off all Mini app schedules (again) and then set the charge time on the OVO app to a short enough time that it doesn't turn off, it then charged to 80% through the app and getting the savings. 

Not an ideal solution but the car is charged this morning. I'll contact Mini today and the Charge Anytime team again (they didn't respond to my email yesterday) and see if there is a solution. The problem seems to be the time switching in the Mini app.

If you wish to speak to the Charge Anytime team, it’s actually faster to phone them on 0330 175 9678 and fling things over via email only if they need you to. :)

They do respond to emails too, but please don’t expect a 24 hour response time - they sometimes have large queues to handle!

Hey ​@JBrass 

I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’ve been having. I’m glad one of our volunteers has already stopped by with some really helpful advice on this, it’ll definitely be a good idea to get in touch with the team about this directly. 

How to get in contact with the Charge Anytime team

• Charge Anytime - 0330 175 9678 (Option 1 new customers/option 2 existing customers) 

• chargeanytime@ovo.com

• Charge Anytime - Topic Hub & How to get in touch F.A.Q.

Keep us updated with how you get on.

So I spoke to the Charge Anytime team who were really helpful.  Took car off app, put it back on. Plugged in last night it started charging...stopped and started again -thought it was cured.  Woke up this morning, no further charge after midnight and only charged to 45%. 

 Frustration is just finding where the issue is! 

In order to put on urgent charge this morning had to unplug and replug in car...so now wondering if it could be the charger.  

I thought an EV would make life easier!!!

Hey ​@JBrass,

That definitely sounds more stressful than needed! Have you spoken with the team since your first contact with them to let them know the fix hasn’t worked? If not reach out to them and they can dig a little deeper for you. 

Thanks for the update 😊

I have exactly the same issue, it’s taken OVO 6 months to investigate, and this was their final reply:

I am sorry to hear that it's not working. 

It seems what's happening is that Charge  Anytime pauses charging, then when we send the prompt to resume they either aren't reaching the car or the car isn't responding to them.

As you've found setting the sooner Ready By times, so that charging doesn't pause, may be the only solution to this. 

We do have issues like this with Beta trial vehicles I'm afraid, so it may be worth balancing if it's worth continuing to use. 

If you feel that the impact of the issues outweighs the benefit of Charge Anytime then you can exit the beta pilot by taking the following steps. 

• Open the OVO Charge Anytime app

• Click on the "Account" tab in the bottom right

• Click on the User icon in the top left

• Click the "Delete account" link

• Select a reason for leaving and click "Continue"

• Your app account will now be deleted and there will be no further connection or interaction between your car and the OVO system

• Note: You will still be credited for any smart charging that you have done up to this point

I’ve found a work around… 

You’ll have to set the app to get the car ready, in an amount of time where it can’t stop. For example, if it’s 2pm, tell the app you need it ready by 3pm. The car will immediately start to charge with no ‘breaks’ as the time starts to get near 3pm, rotate the slider, giving you another hour, so 4pm. Keep doing this every hour till you’re at the charge you want.

It then never stops, and you get the charge you want. Although it’s a massive hassle!

Hi ​@NeVeTaS,

Many thanks for letting us know about that workaround. It’s frustrating that the workaround isn’t ideal but I’m happy to hear that you’ve found a way around all this until things improve. Thanks for posting - hopefully this should help others with the same issue.

​@JBrass - not sure whether this might help you and your Mini?