Email saying Aclara SMETS2 will stop working properly on 1st June 2026 and needs replacing?

Where did you get that information from?

 Thanks, Firedog.  Readiing the message from Ovo I see that it says we need an essential upgrade to your smart meter, not the meter itself being replaced, but also says your current smart meter model is now being removed from the wider smart network. That sounds like the whole meter.  I’ll go ahead and book the update and hope  that it works with our nearby 4G.  The 4g signal is often down for a few days and I haven't yet checked how it affects the meter readings.

Woodstok - it was an email from Ovo, which said:

We’re getting in touch because we need to make an essential upgrade to your smart meter. We understand this will be an inconvenience and we’re very sorry.
 
Why your meter needs another upgrade
 
We previously replaced your meter to make sure your heating and hot water would continue to work. This was because the signal used by your old meter was being switched off.
 
Unfortunately, your current smart meter model is now being removed from the wider smart network on 1 June 2026. For your meter to keep its smart features, we need to upgrade it before then.
 
We’re sorry for the inconvenience of a second visit. It was essential to carry out the first replacement to protect your heating and hot water supply. That isn’t affected this time, but this second upgrade will make sure your meter keeps its smart features for years to come.
 
How this might affect you
 
If your meter isn’t upgraded before 1 June:
 
  Your meter won’t send automatic meter readings. This means you’ll need to send them manually. If you don’t, we’ll have to send you an estimated bill based on your average energy use
 
  You'll miss out on Beyond extras
         
  You won’t be able to track your energy use and costs in the app

Well that wasn’t much fun.  The email said I should follow a link to arrange the work. When I did it told me to phone 03450729466. I got passed from the first person to another, which cut off the line making me start over again.  After 20 minutes of dreadful music I got a third person who tried to help. Eventually he found how to arrange an appointment, but said they dont have any available, and I should phone again in a few weeks time to see if any appointments are free.  I told him that I’m going to all this trouble to suit the energy industry, not myself, and why can't they contact me when they have appointments to offer. But that didn't work, so I'll try to get  through another day when I have plenty of time to spare. If that doesn’t work either I’ll maybe not bother to have the meter upgraded - it’s perpetually set to Economy 10 and I can email a reading each month like I used to.

Hey ​@dutyhog,

I'm really sorry to hear there weren't any available appointments when you called! 

As the advisor suggested, it might be a great idea to give them a call early next week to see if any openings pop up. I completely understand how busy things can get, especially with the upgrades to meters like yours and the unexpected emergencies our engineers handle. They truly do their best to fit in as many jobs as they can. 

I definitely recommend following up in the future so you can get the work done—it can really make a difference, based on my experience!

Personally I wouldn't bother chasing round after OVO about getting perfectly good working meter(s) changed as they are in so much trouble no one has a clue, app/systems don't work properly and apparently no one knows why or how to fix.

My latest issue was on 16 Feb when I received email stating:

"You’re eligible for a smart meter.

Our engineers will be in your area from 17 February 2026, replacing old energy meters with smart meters. We're getting in touch, as you're eligible for an upgrade..." with a link to make appointment.

Email made no sense giving just 24 hours notice and as electric meter is smets2 fitted by OVO approx 5 yrs ago, so contacted OVO to query and received response that it was PROBABLY about my old (dumb) gas meter that was installed 2016 so coming to end of certification (certification typically 10-20 years). Why they couldn't have said this I have no idea!

So I duly clicked on the book appointment link and logged into my account to be greeted with the message:

"Sorry, we can't install a smart meter yet

We check multiple criteria to make sure we successfully install your new smart meters on the day. Your account does not pass our eligibility check right now. Eligibility can change so please come back to try again soon."

Words fail me as to how OVO is still trading with this level of incompetence. Not being prepared to waste further time I simply replied to OVO that as the message clearly states they can't install a smart meter yet as I don't qualify I will assume my meters are BOTH fine so will do nothing, and by all means they can contact me in a few months if things change once they have made up their minds whether one of both meters do or do not need replacing!

Well, my experience has been very good since that earlier exchange. I phoned OVO a few weeks later and an appointment was made for many weeks in advance. The engineer came slightly early and was very quick.The power was only off for a very short time when he checked the system.  As I was told above in this thread, he replaced the unit that communicates by mobile phone signal with one that can use 4G (and 5G if it comes?). 

Hey ​@dutyhog 

I’m glad to hear the appointment went quickly and smoothly!

Thanks for popping on the thread with that update.😊

I’ve had recent communications from OVO saying my meter will stop working on 1st June, and it needs to be replaced before then.

The meter is an Aclara SGM1411-B.

I thought this was the last meter I’d ever need, as it could be updated remotely.

Why does it need replacing ?

Cheers,

Buzby

What did the message say precisely?

! June is the deadline for exchanging 3G Communications Hubs (CH) that were temporarily installed in the last couple of years in places where Long Range Radio didn’t reach to connect the meter to the Smart Meter Wide Area Network. The CH usually sits on top of the meter.

The contract to provide that 3G network is expiring, so the CH has to be exchanged for a shiny new 4G one. This is a quick and simple process which doesn’t even require cutting off the supply. Could this be your situation? 

That could be it. The top half of the meter looks like it is a seperate module, with it’s own security tag. It’s labeled ‘SKU1 Cellular’ and ‘UBC-TN6’. I can’t tell if it’s 3G or 4G.

Whatever, I expect problems no matter how straightforward the process should be. No interaction I’ve ever had with OVO has gone smoothly.

That’s the 2G/3G version. I checked with an engineer friend of mine - the 4G versions have a different designation.

It really is a simple swap via Trust Centre Swap Out - power stays on, the engineer just presses a few buttons and bloop!. Done.

If it FAILS for any reason, the entire setup gets swapped out.

I’ve had a few emails saying meter upgrade is booked for 18th May. However, I recently had a physical letter asking me to make an appointment. Suspecting OVO have got something mixed up, I just now phoned to confirm 18th.

When I phoned, the agent told me I had booked for 18th May, but that I had then cancelled it !

I did not book any date, the 18th was suggested by OVO.  No way have I canceled, and I told the agent so. She quickly backtracked and said it must have been a glitch of some kind.

So my meter upgrade is now re-booked for 18th May, hopefully. 

​@Buzby it should be a very smooth process, and it’s part of the Industry-wide switch over to 4g comms hubs. I’ve taken the info below from our website page here.

Some smart meters currently rely on 2G or 3G mobile networks, but these networks are being phased out across the UK in the coming years. These are being replaced by a 4G network, and once this happens, will not function properly if they are not upgraded.

 

Here’s what this means for you:

 

• SMETS1 meters: These will need to be replaced with SMETS2 models.

• Some SMETS2 meters: These may just require an upgrade to a 4G-compatible communications hub.

 

If your meter isn’t replaced or upgraded you’ll still receive your energy supply as usual. However, you’ll need to manually submit meter readings to make sure your bills are accurate. If you pay for your energy by topping up, you’ll have to manually enter a 20-digit code into your meter when you top up online, at PayPoint or Payzone shops, or over the phone.  

 

The network switch-off will happen gradually over the next few years, region by region. We’ll contact you when it’s time to arrange an appointment for your upgrade.

Thanks for that overview, ​@Ben_OVO.

What it doesn’t mention, though, is that 3G service in the Northern region (i.e. anywhere in GB north of Manchester) is being retired. CHs up there are supposed to run on Long Range Radio (LRR), not cellular networks. There were many customers up there who had relied on the LW RTS signal, but that is also going finally over the next few weeks. Most RTS systems have now been replaced by smart meters, but some of them refused to connect to the LRR WAN. As a stopgap, they were fitted with CHs like the one ​@Buzby has; these now have to be exchanged for 4G ones before the 3G service is cut off on 1 June. 

Everyone else - i.e. those in the Central and Southern regions will have their 3G CHs swapped out between now and 2033, when 2G/3G is due to be finally retired.

This is DCC’s headache; OVO is just the minion doing the work!

[EDIT a bit later] I did a quick search to find any documentation about this urgent process, but I’m afraid I failed. There have been a couple of threads about it here, and some OVO metering expert chipped in to give the explanation I hope I’ve reproduced faithfully. You might test the forum’s site search to its limits to find the references ...] 

​@Firedog you've done a good job there as that was from your memory. This issue has been spread over a number of threads so it's not easy to gather them together in one place. 3G has gone from a lot of areas now but the meters can use the Short Message Service SMS on 2G as it's only a small amount of data that needs to be sent. 2G will be phased out from 2031 so upgrades need to start now for 4G though that has been around for 15 years and its phase out begins in 2030 😱 (Noooooooooo)

Peter

Thanks for the extra details ​@Firedog 😊.

​@Buzby apologies for the confusion when you spoke to the advisor. If the advisor was new to the company they may well not have known about the changeover to 4g, and may have just thought it was a normal appointment booking.