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Best answer by Blastoise186

Updated on 28/04/26 by Ben_OVO

 

Unfortunately, it’s not usually possible to downgrade from a smart meter back to a traditional meter, except in very specific exceptional circumstances. Even in those cases, downgrading is extremely expensive and not usually worth the cost.

 

The only valid use-case that I know of right now, is if you need to switch from a Single-Phase Supply to a Three-Phase Supply. This is only likely if you have a need for a lot of electricity (most people don’t).

 

I’m sorry that this isn’t the answer you might have hoped for, but there's no longer any stocks left with any supplier to enable downgrades.

 

Smart meters also allow our customers to take part in brilliant carbon busting challenges like Power Move and Power Move Flex Where we reward our customers for taking positive actions to reduce their carbon footprint!  

These challenges offer you the opportunity to be rewarded for shifting your electricity usage either out of peak times of the day, or shifting it to greener times.

 

Want to find out more about Power Move or Power Move Flex:
 


Smart meters also help our customers track where they’re using energy in their homes, see when the best times to use energy are- when the grid is greenest and compare their usage to similarly sized properties.

If you’re still having concerns over the smart meter you’ve got installed we’d encourage you to take a look at the guides below:

 

 

 

 

20 replies

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O
Newcomer
Ozzieuk
Newcomer
July 31, 2023

ZigBee uses Channel Agility. Your ZigBee stuff should be capable of moving out of the way of the ZigBee HAN used by Smart Meters. It’s well known that the ZigBee HAN will move out of the way to avoid other stuff.

This feels more like one or more of your other ZigBee devices was misbehaving, or you’ve just got so much of the stuff that it can’t cope. You may find Matter or Z-Wave more reliable.

No need everything is working fine now the smart meter has been removed 

Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
July 31, 2023

 

 

 

It IS possible to downgrade however Ovo don’t want you to, I asked in November 2022 and was refused, after a deadlock letter I took Ovo to the energy ombudsman who after 4 weeks agreed that it should be my choice as to what equipment I have in MY home, Ovo could not cite any legal reasons for the smart meter which was causing interference with zigbee devices on our network, our house is automated with smart bulbs and other devices that use the same technology as the home area network the meters create. 
 

it’s taken almost 8 months for Ovo to finally send sms to return the meters to their previous state by installing traditional meters along the way they did try to wriggle out of the install by telling me they were putting the meters into dumb mode but that wasn’t the decision from the energy ombudsman, happy to say I now have my normal meters as of this last Thursday and I can put this whole charade behind me

Out of curiosity 

Do you envisage a time when you might get a smart meter to save energy costs with some of the new tariff that are gradually being launched or cashback schemes for shifting energy? 

B
Newcomer
Baggls01
Newcomer
August 1, 2023

This is what puts me off even considering a smart meter. I keep being pushed to get one fitted and when I book, get a visit, I cannot have one.

They are riddled with faults and even British Gas and SSE engineers have told me not to touch them.

I wonder if you legally push for a change? Eg for suffering with a continual fault.

Mike 

Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
August 1, 2023

Even if you could try the legal route, stocks of Traditional ones have basically run out so you’d make no progress anyway. What little remains of the stocks will either run out in terms of the remaining units, or they’ll all expire the certifications and become unusable. After that happens, that’s it. Game over for Traditional.

Ultimately, once Smart is in, it’s there to stay. There is almost never a downgrade path and many of those that used to exist have been sealed off.

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!
    C
    Newcomer
    Collie Dog
    Newcomer
    August 28, 2024

    Thank you for accepting me.

    We have a smart meter that we do not want the provider assured me as the contract that it would be switched to dumb mode, where I the customer would send readings in for bills etc. How do I get them to honour the contract and switch this into dumb mode?

     

    Blastoise186
    Super User
    Blastoise186Super User
    Super User
    August 28, 2024

    Hi @Collie Dog ,

    "Dumb Mode" no longer exists and cannot be requested. Any such agreement to enable it is invalid and unenforceable.

    It used to exist with SMETS1 but was removed with the DCC Migration. SMETS2 has never supported it - and never will. 

    There is no downgrade path either. Once Smart, always Smart. You can't roll back once Smart Meters have been installed. 

    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!
      C
      Newcomer
      Collie Dog
      Newcomer
      August 28, 2024

      Thank you for taking the trouble to answer, much appreciated,

      I have been deceived!

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      August 28, 2024

      You may be able to complain about it, but I’d say you’d be limited to purely the bad advice given. It may not be worth your time to do so, but that’s your decision to make. All I can say is that you should NOT have had that particular promise.

      I hate to say caveat emptor in these cases, but ultimately the terms of supply have never said you can downgrade a Smart Meter back to Traditional Meter, nor that “Dumb Mode” is allowed 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!
        Firedog
        Super User
        FiredogSuper User
        Super User
        August 28, 2024

        We have a smart meter that we do not want ...

         

        Many of us would be really interested to hear why you don’t want a smart meter. There has been so much misinformation disseminated about them over the years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a convincing argument against them in these forums. You might be able to provide the first …

            

        I the customer would send readings in for bills etc. 

         

        A smart meter is able to send readings automatically every day, and the readings will normally be available to see online the following day. There is nothing to stop you taking your own readings to compare with the ones transmitted online. There is one caveat in this respect: many meters these days only show whole numbers of kWh, disregarding any decimals. The automatic process on the other hand will usually send readings to the nearest .001 kWh. This means there could be a difference of up to 1kWh between what you see on the meter and what is displayed online. 

        One great benefit of a smart meter is that it measures the amount of energy passing through it every half-hour and stores the results. With your permission, the supplier can retrieve these data and present them to you so you can see precisely how much energy you’re using every half hour of the day and night. It’s even possible to deduce what sort of device was using energy when, which could alert you to an expensively inefficient appliance - e.g. a freezer - that’s consuming too much.

        There are many other benefits, too, but I’m sure you’ve heard all about them and rejected them for some reason. That’s what I’d like to hear about.

         

        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. |
          Emmanuelle_OVO
          Retired Moderator
          Emmanuelle_OVO
          Retired Moderator
          August 29, 2024

          I can see our Community Members have given some really helpful advice here, just wanted to add that this forum topic may have some further information you might be interested in @Collie Dog 😊

           

           

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