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Updated on 25/08/23 by Abby_OVO

 

Got a smart meter installed but noticed we’ve estimated your usage on your latest monthly summary? There’s a chance we could be experiencing communication issues with your meters.

 

The first place to check what’s going on with those smart meters is your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS). You’ll know something’s up if you see this message on the Homepage.

 

Exact wording may vary

 

This message will appear if we haven’t received a reading from your meter as expected for at least 5 days. Hopefully this is just an intermittent issue and the meters will get back in touch with us soon. In the meantime it’s worth submitting a meter reading a few days before your next monthly summary is due. 

 

To take a reading you’ll need to go to the meters themselves (this won’t be viewable on the In Home Display unfortunately).

 

For SMETS1 ‘Secure’ smart meters:

 

There’s a slight difference between the the S1 meters we installed. To take a dual (day/night) reading for Secure Liberty 110 S1 smart meters (which are designed to work best with storage heaters), press 9 on the meter’s keypad. If you’ve got a Secure Liberty 100 S1 smart meter, press 6 to confirm the Day and Night meter readings (pressing 9 will show the reading if you’re a single rate member with this meter).
 

For SMETS2 Aclara, Flonidan, Honeywell or Elster smart meters:

 

  Aclara (Elec) / Flonidan (Gas) Elster (Elec) / Honeywell (Gas)
Reading the meter
  • Elec: Press A three times until TOU Rate 1 appears.
  • Gas: Press C to wake up, then C to access the menu. Use B to scroll and C to select the reading option.
  • Elec: Press the top button once or twice
  • Gas: Press the circle button once or twice

 

You can then enter this reading by clicking ‘Send a meter reading’ on the Homepage message or by clicking on the ‘Meter Readings’ menu option.

 

 

Exact appearance may vary

 

Here you’ll be able to see the last reading we received and the date this was sent to us. Unless you’ve sent a manually reading already, this will be a good indication of when your smart meter lost communication with us. Click ‘Send electricity reading’ and you’ll be taken here.

 

 

Exact appearance may vary

 

It’s worth checking the reading you’ve taken against the last reading (it shouldn’t be a lower number, unless your meter’s faulty!) You can then type today’s reading into the box or boxes (for an Economy 7 meter) provided.

 

 

Exact appearance may vary

 

Click ‘Next, send a gas reading’ to send the reading from your other meter (if this applies to you). If you refresh your Homepage you’ll notice your balance will update to include the up-to-date usage costs. 

 

Hopefully this will be a temporary communication blip and we’ll be able to recover the communication without any further action. If it’s been a few weeks and you’re still noticing the smart meter message on your Homepage it’s worth carrying out a smart meter health check for your meter type below and forwarding the results on to our Support Team for further investigation.

 

SMETS1 Secure Smart Meter Health Check

SMETS2 Smart Meter Health Check

 

Fingers crossed those smart meters will be back in touch soon and you can continue enjoying all the great benefits of going smart:slight_smile:

 

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@Firedog Support says they received daily meter readings


I realise that some might be cautious but you can sign up to services like Hugo Energy with a credit card rather than the IHD detail. 
I did and have not had any problems - Hugo are an authorised third party data provider. 
 

It might be useful as a comparison to the OVO data


Just another thought @IzzyB , there are several reading registers on the L&G meters. Do any of the others (Rate 02, Import Rea, etc) match the ‘smart’ readings more closely. If your smart meter is registered correctly then the readings you are noting compared to those recorded are very odd. 
You mention the meter update and a confusion about the property address. Although it shouldn’t happen, it may well be a problem with the link between the property and the meter serial number 


Hey @IzzyB,

 

The plot thickens!

 

I think the address mix up you discussed between OVO and Octopus might be key to the issue here. 

 

It could be that OVO has taken over the wrong supply, and that your supply address on the national database is very similar to the one on the national database. Does the serial number on the actual meter itself, match the one listed on your statements? 


@BPLightlog none of the other readings on the meter match the smart meter readings.

@Emmanuelle_OVO Yeah the meter serial number is the same on my bills, so that matches up. 

Support tells me they can’t do anything until the engineer comes because there’s a fault, so let’s hope the engineer turns up this time (next Friday). If he does show up I’ll try ask him if there’s anyway to check that this is actually my correct meter and registered to my address.

 

Thanks


There was a power cut in my property on Friday and power was out for about 40 mins. Since then my IHD has stopped working (I have contacted ovo about that) and no smart data/metre readings has been recorded on the app (and nothing is visible on Hugo). Does anyone know if it will automatically start working on the app again and how long that may take?

 

Anyone had a similar experience?


Hi @Michael1696 , if there are no readings getting through to Hugo, the supplier or anyone else, it may be that the smart meter is faulty. 
It may be able to be reset but perhaps go through a smart meter check.

 


My account balance is not updating but my usage is showing, so my smart meter must be working ??


Not sure exactly what you mean @Timhawes .

If you’re looking at your usage charts, there may be estimated readings rather than actual. 
You can check by looking at your meter readings page. 
You can also see what this checker tells you 

https://smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk/


Have done that readings are throughout the day and corresponding to my usage. It's just the account balance that's not updating 


Have done that readings are throughout the day and corresponding to my usage. It's just the account balance that's not updating 

You probably need to get in touch with customer support then - it sounds like an account specific thing


Hey @Timhawes,

 

Have done that readings are throughout the day and corresponding to my usage. It's just the account balance that's not updating 

You probably need to get in touch with customer support then - it sounds like an account specific thing

 

I fear BPLightlog is right here, we use live billing, this means that the balance shown on your online account is always an accurate reflection taking into account

  • The cost of your energy usage, as calculated and billed with each time your smart meter sends us a reading or you submit a reading manually.
  • Daily standing charges.
  • Payments and refunds.

 

 

 


Have contacted team and they see the problem as  the balance has not updated for 7 days. They are reporting to get it looked into. Thanks for your replies 


If you’re able to pop back with any feedback once they find out the issues that might be really useful for other community members in a similar position 🙂


Will do, they have not adjusted or contacted me yet 


Still not put right. They say that they have raised a complaint with reference 23418765 and 23369494. This has been going on since 5th March they agree that they are getting the meter readings but the account balance remains the same at 431.18 in credit since 5th march. I'm  baffled 🤔


Hi @Timhawes,

 

I'm sorry to hear this.

 

It’s possible that there is a technical issue preventing your balance from updating. It would seem that you already have open cases that are on-going currently. As soon as they are resolved, as we already have readings, your balance would automatically be updated. I do apologise about your wait with this one. I’m afraid we’re unable to provide a guaranteed timeframe for tech cases as it seems like an account specific issue.


Thank you, but I'm not holding my breath as its taken so long. And would like to know where my next d/d will go ?


@BPLightlog none of the other readings on the meter match the smart meter readings.

@Emmanuelle_OVO Yeah the meter serial number is the same on my bills, so that matches up. 

Support tells me they can’t do anything until the engineer comes because there’s a fault, so let’s hope the engineer turns up this time (next Friday). If he does show up I’ll try ask him if there’s anyway to check that this is actually my correct meter and registered to my address.

 

@IzzyB Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I just trawled through this whole thread looking for something else and realized that your involvement just stopped at the most interesting point - where an engineer visit was imminent. You’re not the only one to have ended up in a bizarre situation like yours, so any explanation for what went wrong might be useful to others.

 


I am out of the country and my Smart Meter is showing no electricity usage since 1St October. Has anyone else experienced this?


Presumably you are looking at your online account (unless you are getting someone to look at your smart meter), in which case there can be occasional data gaps.

Best to keep an eye on it and get in touch with customer support if it continues.

1st October was the start of the new price cap of course so it might be a glitch to do with that


Hey @Barryfyfield 

 

Sorry to hear about this.

 

I’m glad to see BPLightlog has already stopped by with some good advice on this. 

 

There can be gaps in data if the meter stops communicating for example. It’s possible that it’s had something to do with the price cap change.

 

 

As you’re out of the country it might be hard to check unless you have someone that would be able to check the meter itself.

 

I’d suggest getting in touch with the Support Team if things don’t change in the next few days and they can do some remote checks to seem if the meter has lost communication.

 

Keep us updated with how you get on.


Thanks. I contacted support team who confirmed no problem with the meter. Had someone visit my home and found that inextricably circuits had tripped. Thanks your help.


Hey @Barryfyfield 

 

Thanks for coming back to us with that update, I’m glad to hear everything is fine and sorted now.

 

If you’ve ever got any questions or issues in future, feel free to pop back to the Forum any time.


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