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My smart meter display is blank - Is the meter broken?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
April 5, 2019
86 replies
38819 views

I reported my Smart Meter was not working in July last year. Nothing has been done about it, though every month I get an email message about the need to supply readings, which is kind of annoying. The screen on the meter is dead so not even manual readings are possible. When chasing some action on this I received a reply in November saying there was a queue for meters to be fixed, but I would be notified as soon as an engineer was available. As it is now April, it must be some long queue.

Best answer by Amy_OVO

Updated on 17/04/26 by Abby_OVO

‘Waking up’ the smart meter screen

The screen on the most smart meters will be blank or 'asleep' until you press a button on the meter (note - this is different to the screen on the smart meter In Home Display, IHD). Usually pressing any button on the meter will cause the screen to ‘wake up’.

Taking a reading

A smart meter should communicate your readings automatically meaning you shouldn’t need to regularly take a manual meter reading. Worried that your smart meters may have lost communication? We’d recommend carrying out the smart meter health check for your meter type below and contacting our Support Team with the results. There’s also a great troubleshooting guide on our website here.

For SMETS1 ‘Secure’ smart meters:

Press the ‘A’ button on the electricity meter, to wake the screen up and the ‘9’ button (for single rate meters) or ‘6’ (for dual rate meters) - it will show IMP KWH on the screen followed by the reading. On the gas meter pressing ‘9’ will show the reading in both kWh or M3 (we use the M3 number). More info on how to read your Secure S1 smart meter here.

For SMETS2 Aclara, Flonidan, Honeywell or Elster smart meters:

	Aclara (Elec) / Flonidan (Gas)	Elster (Elec) / Honeywell (Gas)
Reading the meter	Elec: Press A three times until TOU Rate 1 appears. Gas: Press C to wake up, then C to access the menu. Use B to scroll and C to select the reading option.	Elec: Press the top button once or twice Gas: Press the circle button once or twice

Meter Screen not ‘waking up’?

If you’re pressing buttons on the meter and the screen is still not showing anything, this suggests your meter might be faulty. In this case reach out to our Support Team, who can help get a meter replacement exchanged.

As long your smart meter is still communicating the readings remotely this shouldn’t affect the accurate billing of your account. In the unlikely event that the meter screen fault occurs on a non-communicating meter we may need to estimate your usage or recalculate your charges once the meter is replaced.

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charlie lee

Newcomer

I have smart electricity meter than has a blank LCD screen since June 22. I have contacted OVO on four occasions wasting hours in phone queues. OVO are unable to resolve this and continue to charge me a flat rate which is clearly incorrect.
1. can the actual screen value be retrieved from the “dead” meter, and if not how can get a true reading. Changing the meter clearly will not help!

2. should I stop paying my electricity DD to force OVO to resolve this?

Blastoise186

Super User

Please post photos of the issue. We can try to help with diagnostics here.

Per the terms of your contact however, nothing gives you the right to withhold or refuse payment under any circumstances. OVO will notice if you try, but you’ll instead trigger an automated debt collection and debt management process which could damage your credit record. Don’t risk it. The vast majority of that process is automated anyway.

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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charlie lee

Newcomer

Are you an OVO employee? Why won’t OVO contact me? Why do I have to sit on a phone for hours? Why did OVO cancel a technician visit on 29th September?
I have sent photos to OVO, I have followed the rebooting procedure for the meter. Not sure what a few photos to you will do. What knowledge di you have other than read the website and follow the suggestions there?

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charlie lee

Newcomer

Blastoise186

Super User

Thanks for the photo. It does look like the equipment is dead. But sometimes it might just be in sleep mode. Does it respond to any button presses? If it really is dead, the readings cannot be easily recovered.

I don’t work for OVO and can’t access your account. So I can’t answer most of those questions.

Give me 24 hours to sleep on this one. I’ll be back when I can.

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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charlie lee

Newcomer

Sadly it gets as far as the WAN light then flashing HAN then dead it’s electricity only Gas is analogue thank goodness

Blastoise186

Super User

I see. Regardless of any faults, your supplies will remain on if you’re a Pay Monthly customer and this applies to both electric and gas. It’s a safety mechanism that’s deeply buried in all smart meters.

It would appear that meter is stuck in a boot loop. Your best bet is to have it replaced with an S2 via an Emergency Meter Exchange. S2 is way more reliable anyway.

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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charlie lee

Newcomer

Sure but what is the true reading? Why should I pay for an estimate?

Emmanuelle_OVO

Retired Moderator

Hey @charlie lee,

Sorry for the issues you’re having.

If your meter screen is dead, you can contact Support to book in a faulty meter exchange.

I’m sorry the previous appointment was cancelled, there’s many reasons appointments may be cancelled. Support should be able to tell you more. If the engineer cancelled within 24 hours you may be entitled to £30 compensation. See the advice on this similar thread:

If the engineer is able to take a reading from the meter they’re removing they will do so. If not, it’ll have to be estimated based on your historic and future usage figures.

Hope this helps.

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.

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charlie lee

Newcomer

I haven’t heard from OVO and I’m not sitting on a phone for another hour.
As an expert, how do they recover the true reading from a dead meter?
I find it really patronising that you offer £30 for a cancelled visit when I have heard zip from your employer since September. Looks like a real sense of urgency here.

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