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Intermittent DCC connection, third party apps like Ivie and Loop lost connection to my data for months? What should I do?

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First a bit of background:

My original smart meters' communication effectively died last year, so OVO replaced them with new ones. Since then OVO have been getting my readings reliably now for about a year. However, third party apps like Ivie and Loop effectively lost connection to my data for months. Ivie finally came back a couple of months ago but has disappeared again, MIA for the last month. Loop has never regained connection to my meters' data.

I've seen somewhere on here (?) that the connection to OVO doesn't rely only on the DCC connection. But if these things aren't talking to the DCC reliably I'm going to be kind of stuck if I ever wanted to move away - especially with the news about OVO's refinancing and possible full sale. Does anyone know the best number to call / department to speak to to get this looked into and maybe even have them replaced again if they're failing yet again? Obviously SOMETHING isn't right and to be honest it's getting a bit annoying now, especially since these things are supposed to be the be all and end all of energy companies' drive for efficiency.

Best answer by Firedog

GrumpyTrucker wrote:

… third party apps like Ivie and Loop effectively lost connection to my data for months.

 

This has also happened to me recently. It seems to be a widespread problem, with some of the third parties (in DCC parlance Other users) saying they’ve seen a number of cases involving Aclara SMETS2 meters. Another common factor is the comms hub, in the cases I’ve seen a WNC SKU1. The consensus so far seems to be that a fault in the meter’s or comms hub’s code is rejecting requests for data from other users, probably caused by an authentication error. 

This will be doubly difficult to troubleshoot, because while the meter is solely the supplier’s headache, the comms hub is owned and managed by DCC. I’m fairly sure that OVO’s smart team are looking into this, so now we hurry up and wait.

 

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Emmanuelle_OVO
Community Manager

I can understand your frustration @GrumpyTrucker. I wonder if @BPLightlog has any advice here? This might be their area of expertise!

They’ve also written this guide which might have some helpful links & resources:

 

 

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Firedog
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GrumpyTrucker wrote:

… third party apps like Ivie and Loop effectively lost connection to my data for months.

 

This has also happened to me recently. It seems to be a widespread problem, with some of the third parties (in DCC parlance Other users) saying they’ve seen a number of cases involving Aclara SMETS2 meters. Another common factor is the comms hub, in the cases I’ve seen a WNC SKU1. The consensus so far seems to be that a fault in the meter’s or comms hub’s code is rejecting requests for data from other users, probably caused by an authentication error. 

This will be doubly difficult to troubleshoot, because while the meter is solely the supplier’s headache, the comms hub is owned and managed by DCC. I’m fairly sure that OVO’s smart team are looking into this, so now we hurry up and wait.

 

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. |
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Not sure I can help. 
DCC certainly is the core of the data collection but then suppliers use a company to ‘pull’ the data for their customers (TMA?)

All suppliers use these services.

Like Firedog mentions … there have been recent reports of issues with third party data like Hugo, ivie, Loop etc where it appears that the meter (often Aclara) has somehow got into a state of refusing access for those third parties. 
This situation is currently ongoing and might require a meter reboot or firmware update.

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  • July 2, 2024

Thanks for the input folks. For the record I can confirm that swearing at it VERY loudly doesn't seem to fix the issue. Which is disappointing.

Genuinely can't remember the make of the new meters, I'll have to look tomorrow when I get up (will be a late finish at work today).

So essentially the super duper "makes it easier to get the data / switch suppliers" system is on a wobbler and may or may not be an easy fix. Good grief. Glad the government thought this one through properly 😂😂

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