Aclara SMETS2 smart meter communication hub lights - what do the flashing sequences indicate?

Oh the Installer has no choice but to do a signal strength measurement. The Communications Hub automatically performs this during the first minute of power-up and uses the 5 indicators to show the result! Neat huh?!

The direction of the Wide Area Network transmitter could indeed be directly through the wall behind the meter. These photons are not too dissimilar to catholics during a coronavirus crisis - in that they have no mass.

That may look to you like a 2-foot solid wall, but at the sub-atomic level it has 10³ more holes than a slice of jahlsberg.

If, however, I were to put a sheet of aluminium foil insulation between the Comms Hub and the Telefonica transmitter, then there will be distortion and reflection of the signal because metals have free electrons. Non-metallic solids are akin to Belarus and Russia - they exhibit no free elections because they’re held in place by a rigid structure.

True - it’s not your choice to have a SKU2 with a Mesh. But that’s why I’m asking @Alice_OVO to run this past the 3rd Tier of CS colleagues who can check the CCDB for us. Of course this map will also show the location of your nearest transmitter and where others in your neighbourhood have a Mesh network.

There are bound to be instances where a change in local topological circumstances affect the WAN signal. Perhaps this is one of those.

Equally the issue could be a software upgrade that “went wrong”. I had this occur a year ago when I had an agreement with OVO that they could run test code-updates on my site. Several worked fine. But as soon as there was an update which pranged the WAN, it was game over. Without a connection to the National Smart Meter Network, it’s no longer possible to send a piece of code to correct the error!

To address the problem an engineer has to visit the site and replace the offending hardware.

So I did a search for Telefonica transmitters and found a site which appears to show them in your area. Does this tally with your local knowledge @MikeE ?

The tricky bit is that I can’t see a function by which I can be sure that these masts are actually part of the Telefonica network, as opposed to other GSM providers.

As it’s based on entries from contributors, may I suggest that others go to the site, check their own geographical area and then start sending in local data to the site.

Thanks for that post as I regularly go past a transmitter on my way to my local Texaco garage.

The mast is only a short distance from my house.

It matches one of the locations highlighted on your map.

It must be one of those Telefonica masts you mentioned.

Significant in what way ?

Communication issues like I am experiencing now i.e. if I had had standard kit fitted (Toshiba Comms Hubs) maybe these problems wouldn't arise ?

@mikestanley464 Very true. It may be that Toshiba kit is better at maintaining a signal than Honeywell kit (which I have fitted)

Do you have Honeywell kit fitted at your address ?

I happened to read an OVO article, namely, https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/smart-meter-troubleshooting and it mentions that if a customer is having ongoing communication problems, OVO can send out some kit to boost the signal, maybe an aerial of some sort ?

"I have a smart meter but I’m getting estimated bills

If you’re getting estimated readings for gas and/or electricity on your OVO statements, it could mean that we’ve lost connection with your electricity meter – either via WAN (Wide Area Network), or both WAN and HAN (Home Area Network). 

If there's an issue, please call us and we can go through a meter health check. We'll either reset your meter remotely or send you some kit to help boost the signal"

Good points @MikeE … except that the page you’ve quoted from on OVO’s website dates back to the SMETS1 meters manufactured by Secure.

There is no signal repeater within the SMETS2 specifications.

I just wanted to clarify that before @mikestanley464 starts investigating the hardware installed at his location.

@Transparent Fair enough m8 

I don't mean to post misleading advice!

Is it possible to turn a SKU1 into a SKU2 by fitting the Mesh hardware and go on to a MESH network to get better connectivity?

It’s not your misleading advice @MikeE - it’s that someone at OVO should’ve re-visited that page to update it once they started installing SMETS2 meters!

If it transpires that

a: you should have a Mesh network, and that

b: there are sufficient other installations in your locality to enable it to be configured

then it’s a simple matter of an Engineer replacing the Communications Hub. Let’s wait for OVO to answer those questions first.

@Transparent Thanks for your feedback 

My goodness this is a big thread. 

I am happy to raise this and try and get info for those with technical expertise in the area. I’ve just lost the question. Let’s have a recap and simplify this a bit. It might help me when I come round to working out if this needs to be split out. 

What can’t we find using the best answer? What do we need clarity on? 

@Transparent I’ll raise the question of Mike’s activity history now updating correctly with Insided. I hope this isn’t systematic of a wider issue.