Identifying Smart Meter Issues on your online account or OVO app

Hey @Scotia121,

Sorry for the issues you’re having.

As you are not getting gas meter readings online either, it sounds like you’re having issues with you wide area network (WAN) for your gas meter, this may be caused by the location of your meter. If the issue was just with the In Home Display (IHD) picking up data, it would be an issue with the home area network (HAN).

Have you completed a smart meter health check? This will be used to help diagnose the communication problems. 

• First generation (S1) Secure smart meter health check (SMHC) Tutorial

• Second generation (S2) Aclara smart meter health check (SMHC) Tutorial

Hope this helps. 

Hi @Scotia121 

In addition to the good advice above, you could do these checks. 

1. Check this page to see the frequency of  smart readings. 

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/gas

Here is mine for example. When working you should see a daily reading with the label smart. 

2. To rule out any issues specifically with OVO, have a look at your data via one of the free ofgem regulated 3rd party apps. For example Bright

https://www.glowmarkt.com/

Okay… WHy is it called a smart meter when it’s not even smart enough to send gas readings regularly? Over the last few weeks it seems to be having ongoing issues sending gas readings, sends the electric readings fine.. 

FRUSTRATING as HECK to have a NON Smart meter,whats the point if it isn’t sending what its meant to? 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hi @Amerififer ,

I’m one of the forum volunteers.

Please post photos of both meters, we can try to help figure this out.

Hey @Amerififer,

Really sorry to hear this,

Please complete a smart meter health check:

• First generation (S1) Secure smart meter health check (SMHC) Tutorial

• Second generation (S2) Aclara smart meter health check (SMHC) Tutorial

This will help our team diagnose the issue.

In the meantime we have a live billing system so when you submit a manual read your account balance will update accordingly. 

• OVO Energy Live billing platform and monthly summaries - What do I need to know? F.A.Q.

Hope this helps. 

Looking like smart meter isn’t connecting to the gas meter reliably.   Sometimes it does…...sometimes not….  Verrrrrry frustrating. Electric side works reliably. 

Hi

My Smart meter appears to not be retrieving gas readings anymore. The reading appears static from yesterday’s reading. All lights appear to be flash every 5 seconds on the electricty smart meter (apart from the mesh light which does not flash at all).

I’ve powered the smart meter on and off and after a few minutes it picks up the readings and the same gas meter reading comes up.

Any ideas on how to reset this or should I leave a day or two to see if it catches up?

Thanks.

Howdy!

You’ve found a Blastoise!

Please can you post photos of both the IHD and your meters. I’ll see what I can figure out. :)

Hi @ovo_lego I would leave it a few days personally before investigating further. 

Keep an eye on this page to see if you get daily smart meter readings as that is what drives your bills. 

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/gas

@Blastoise186 , I’ll ping pictures when I get a minute! :)

@Jeffus, readings appear to be stuck since yesterday, I do have 30 minute readings being sent out so was expecting today’s readings to be seen?

@ovo_lego it does happen that communication is lost for a bit, duration varies, then just comes back. Here is mine, see 5th. Sometimes the blanks are filled in. Smart meter are very reliable, but very rarely you might see temporary issues. Am sure @Blastoise186 will help check things out. Do keep us updated as we can often spot things. 

The 30min usage in the usage page is not added to make the reading on the readings page so it is often good to look at both if you have an issue.

@Blastoise186 Attached pictures of meters and HID. The GAS light on the electric meter is now flashing every second, so there is a disconnect from the GAS ↔ Electric meter, any idea how to force this to synch? It has worked prior to Monday for well over a month now. I did have initial synch issues when the meter was installed in August, this was resolved sometime in Sept iirc.

Oh, just to confirm, yesterday’s electricity readings have been uploaded to OVO, the Gas data is missing!

Diagnosis complete. Your gas meter appears to either have NO signal, or an extremely weak signal. It might be worth having an engineer stop by again.

Hi

The meter started getting gas readings and has again stopped :(

Last week, the gas light was flashing every second when the gas reading was not being received by the electric meter. The gas reading has frozen since last night (Tues 22nd Nov) (again) all lights are flashing every 5 seconds on the electricity meter.

Any advice? I’ve pinged OVO help an email again.

Thanks

Hey @ovo_lego,

Sorry to hear your meters not being so smart!

You can now complete a smart meter health check online! Once you answer the questions, the answers will go straight to the right team. 

The OVO email isn’t in use currently, for the best ways to contact OVO see this thread:

Hope this helps. 

Not very good customer service with online OVO been waiting for some one to answer my question my my meter says 32p gas since Wednesday but my on line account says 79p for Wednesday 85p Thursday and 87p for Friday the 32p is standing charge and I keep getting asked to send a meter reading every week as my meter cannot read on yet my smart meter says its connected to the meters every time I say I'm still waiting there reply is welcome back and it says I was 1st in line so gave up

It’s probably not worth doing anything about this for a couple of weeks. I’d wait until mid-January and then request that the SMETS Command Update Tariff Configuration. That should fix this one pretty easily.

Thank you will wait till till 😒

My electricity smart meter failed last Friday. 

I'm told that it's 'not communicating', and, as so, cannot have credit applied remotely by OVO helpline. 

Consequently I have to manually input text messaged receipt numbers. 

However, the input screen keeps skipping spaces and adding the digit '1' where it is not intended to be.

As a consequence I can no longer manually add credit. 

OVO are aware, saying an engineer can't attend until April 21st, three weeks away.

Has anyone else had this experience?

I might add that I have a home heart monitor that relies upon power to monitor me. 

It is also necessary for me to lie on the floor to access meter, due to its low location.

To say that I am really, really unhappy would be an understatement.... 

Hey @Alan Roberts,

Really sorry to hear this, it sounds like a stressful situation to be in. 

It sounds like you have a top up meter? If so, I’d strongly advise contacting OVO PAYG if you are with them or Boost Energy. You can advise that you have a vulnerability and need a constant supply, they can add you to our Priority Services Register and change your meter to pay monthly. This will ensure you have a constant stream of energy and don’t have to worry about going off supply in future. If you go off supply you will be able to book in an emergency meter exchange with Support and an engineer will be out within 3-4 hours.

Keep us posted with how you get on. 

Thank you for your reply. 

OVO already have me on their PSR, but insist that an appointment can't be made before 21st April which, in fact, they have booked.

I really want the meter changed from Payg to pay monthly, as my worry is that if the meter becomes orphaned again (this is the third time, so there's every reason to believe it will ), in other words failing to communicate, it will simply switch the power off as it cannot be told not to.

I notice that, on the meter, it states Method of Supply :PAYG, intimating that it can also be used for pay monthly.

Could you please inform me how I go about making sure it actually IS changed and not left as payg? 

Many thanks. 

Your current supplier (Boost or OVO) will be able to speak to you about moving to a pay monthly tariff and set up, @Alan Roberts: 

I have had both my meters changed this year, and since my Gas meter was changed in June I have not been able to see hourly or i/2 hourly  readings for the gas on my online account, Ovo have been contacted on many occasions and say they are receiving data every 30 minutes from me, but my online account says that it has no data. They are giving me different reasons every time and swear that my account has been changed so it should be recording onto the account. However nothing has changed and I believe they have now given up on me. Are other people experiencing this problem or is it just me, and how have Ovo resolved the issue for them?

Hey @John1Lill1an2,

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

Can you upload a screenshot of the readings page where it’s saying the meters aren’t in communication.

Does it say what your read schedule is? Could it be monthly? Does the meter serial number on the account match the meter serial number on your new gas meter?

Let’s get to the bottom of this.