Hi, 5 days ago my IHD began showing lost connection. It had been working perfectly since install in September.
I’ve read on this forum that it could be to do with no mobile reception but we have that and can tell by the WAN red light flashing frequently on the elec meter. (Plus it worked perfectly before).
Does the IHD need repairing with the smart meter?
Thanks
Will
Solved
Chameleon In Home Display (IHD) lost connection with smart meters - Any tips to get reconnected?
Best answer by tony1tf
Updated on 12/06/24 by Abby_OVO
Noticed an issue with your Chameleon In-Home Display, we’re here to help! We know how useful these devices can be for keeping an eye on the usage data we’re receiving from your smart meters so want to make sure any technical bugs can be ironed out! 
Missing some data, spotted some incorrect unit rates (excluding the 5% VAT difference) or has the device started rebooting? These could all indicate an issue we may be having with the connection between us and your meters (also known as the Wide-Area Network or WAN) or between the device itself and the smart meters (also known as the Home-Area Network or HAN).
Newly installed Smart meters?
Eager to get tracking your smart meter usage data straight away? We hear ya! Whilst most devices are up and running from the date your new meters are installed, it’s not unusual for them to lose some data or experience a few teething-issues as we carry out some behind-the-scenes initialising process (read more about these on this great user-guide). We’d recommend keeping the device plugged in close to your electricity meter if you notice any issues during the first 6 weeks following a smart meter installation - hopefully things should start working as expected once the smart meters are fully up and running but if not, read on to check our next trouble-shooting steps.
Checking the smart meter connection (WAN) via your Online account or OVO App
Been over 6 weeks since the smart meters we’re installed and you’re still noticing issues with your Chameleon device ? - It’s time to start doing some investigating! First place to check is your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS). If we’ve lost connection to your smart meters for over 5 days you may see this message on your home-screen:
In this case the best next steps would be to carry out a smart meter health check for your meter type below and forward the results on to our Support Team:
Once any communication issues with your meters are resolved, we’ll be able to get your IHD connected and showing your usage data again too!
DIY steps to help with issues with your Home-Area Network (HAN)
Checked your online account and no ongoing smart meter communication issues to see? In this case it’s more likely to be an issue with the connection between the device itself and the smart meters (also known as the HAN). The In-Home Display connects to your smart meters via the communications hub attached to your electricity meter, so it sometimes helps to move your IHD closer to your electricity meter to help it re-gain connection. It’s best to leave the IHD in this new spot and try re-booting the device after 24 hours (a classic turning off and on again move), sometimes this simple step will do the trick!
Contacting our Support Team
Can’t get things back on track with the above steps? Not to worry - our Support Team can help get the issue escalated to our Smart metering team for further investigations.
Before you get in touch it’s best to complete the following IHD health check so we can make sure we’ve got all the information we need to carrying out some remote processes to get the IHD re-connected:
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Does the device show a correct time and date?
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Is the WiFi symbol solid/flashing/not there?
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Could you confirm the Device ID? (Long ID number on the bottom of device)
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How far away from your electricity meter do you store your IHD? Are there any walls in between that could be blocking the signal?
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What is the issue with your IHD? E.g. not showing electricity/gas usage, displays incorrect tariff, device is rebooting itself?
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Please confirm if your device is an IHD3 (black all over) or IHD6 (black on the front and white on the back)
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If your IHD is showing incorrect rates: what rates does your IHD currently show? Are the rates shown on the IHD higher or lower than your actual rates?
Your responses to these questions can be forwarded to our Support Team (we’d recommend via live chat which you can access at the bottom of this page) who’ll let you know the next steps.
Another way to check your usage
So long as we’re in communication with your smart meters themselves, don’t forget you can always keep an eye on your usage data by checking the ‘Usage’ pages of your online account, whilst we get the IHD issues sorted. Check out the great guide below for an introduction to the usage info you can see here:
OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!
Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!
- Plan Zero Hero
- 2008 replies
GrumpyTrucker wrote:
... both the WAN and HAN lights are blinking green in unison roughly every 5 seconds which if memory serves is normal?
A little aide memoire (if the link works 🙂) : Technical information on UK SMETS 2 Smart Meters
Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
1 person likes this
Firedog wrote:
This little tool might reveal something wrong: homebrew.n3rgy.com. Put in your MPAN and tick the tiny confirmation box before clicking Check meter. Don’t worry about any warnings about certificate expiry - they don’t matter. You’re looking particularly for warnings or errors in respect of the In-Home Display.
No errors on anything, just a warning that the security certificate on the Electric meter will expire soon.
IHDs are still not connecting. Ah well, guess it's the minefield of OVO support soon at this rate.
Wouldn't be so bad if the OVO site at least gave a daily cost in the cost column on the usage page, but that seems too difficult for them.
- Plan Zero Hero
- 2008 replies
OK, thanks.
GrumpyTrucker wrote:
No errors on anything, just a warning that the security certificate on the Electric meter will expire soon.
IHDs are still not connecting.
Odd. I thought he tool queried the IHD (e.g. to get its GUID), but perhaps it only checks what information the CH has stored for it. Anyway, if there was a problem with connecting to the IHD, the tool would say so and even give a reason. That’s apparently not the case here.
Have you checked for interference? All sorts of stuff may be using the same band as the HAN: in-house devices connected to wifi, baby alarms, garage door openers, smart fridges and so on. The IHD will usually look for the best (least busy) channel to operate on, but may not find it. To test, disconnect anything (including the wifi router) that might be using the 2.4 GHz band, then try rebooting the IHD again (unplug, remove batteries, wait a few minutes, then re-insert batteries and plug in again).
What devices did you find? Any joy?
+1- Plan Zero Hero
- 7867 replies
GrumpyTrucker wrote:
Firedog wrote:
This little tool might reveal something wrong: homebrew.n3rgy.com. Put in your MPAN and tick the tiny confirmation box before clicking Check meter. Don’t worry about any warnings about certificate expiry - they don’t matter. You’re looking particularly for warnings or errors in respect of the In-Home Display.
No errors on anything, just a warning that the security certificate on the Electric meter will expire soon.
IHDs are still not connecting. Ah well, guess it's the minefield of OVO support soon at this rate.
Wouldn't be so bad if the OVO site at least gave a daily cost in the cost column on the usage page, but that seems too difficult for them.
It does - view it via Monthly view and you get the Daily costs.
Hi
Sorry to hear you’re still having issues with your IHDs.
Unfortunately, as we don’t have access to accounts here at the Forum, you’ll need to get in touch with the Support Team so they can run a few things remotely.
Keep us updated with how you get on.
Didn't realise my post had got merged l. Taken me days to find it again.
The Ivie Bud I managed to get reconnected doing a full reset. The OVO supplied one is still dead. New one I think is coming today. The connection strength though still isn't great and I can't get the IHDs any closer to the meters and still have them usable.
Final update to this. Replacement IHD arrived today. I don't think I'll bother with it. Even older than the IHD 3 I think. Geo Trio unit. Can't believe they still can't send out modern, current, equipment. I'll stick to the Ivie. Weren't the Geo units for Prepay accounts mostly?
+1- Plan Zero Hero
- 7867 replies
Geo Trio units are actually better - you should try it before you knock it.
Beggars can’t be choosers!
It’s just weird. You think that if my IHDs are having connection issues it would make sense to send the latest one so they can rule out incompatibilty in the chain. I’ve never seen one of these, just that they seem ancient. I’ll give it a try at weekend if I can. Maybe if this one fails they’ll send me out an OG Secure Pipit 😂
+1- Plan Zero Hero
- 7867 replies
You have been sent a Geo Trio II which is the latest version from Geo.
Even if it looks old, it almost certainly isn’t.
Chances of you getting a Secure Pipit 500? 0% as the stocks on those ran out several years ago and Secure doesn’t make them anymore.
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!
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