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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 too have this problem with an electricity smart meter……since July. OVO have done nothing, I booked a technician for the end of September , never showed up. I have phoned 7 times now, but draw the line at waiting more than 30 mins. I have used this chat forum, but no one will contact me.

Tim_OVO

OVO Forum Legend

So sorry about that missed appointment, @charlie lee. If you weren’t given at least 24 hours notice, you’ll be owed compensation. If it wasn’t paid promptly, that compensation gets doubled!

web chat is another digital way of getting through to the Support team without having to wait in a queue.

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6

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Walker46

Newcomer

How do I report to OVO that my SMETS2 gas smart meter is not working. It was installed by SSE and stopped showing any gas usage on the IHD from April 2022. It showed a reading of 402 KWh on my bill in May 2022. The gas meter obviously stopped showing any gas usage on the IHD from April 2022. It showed a reading of 402 KWh on my bill in May 2022. The gas meter obviously stopped communicating with SSE then because in August my bill showed an estimated reading. However I dont use the gas for hot water, only for heating, so the outside meter showed 402 KWh on 30 Sept. I reported this to SSE and they amended the reading to 402 and sent me a new bill. I turned on the heating on 3 Nov and the last reading I got on the outside meter is 404 KWh on 4 Nov. After that the outside meter has stopped working and does not wake up when I press Button A. I now have no idea how much gas I am using and find this unacceptable. I reported the problem twice to SSE but nothing was done about it. The smart smart meter needs replacing. How do I report this problem to OVO?

BPLightlog

Super User

It sounds like the battery has failed. You need to get in touch with the support team

https://help.ovoenergy.com/#contact_us_container

Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}

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charlie lee

Newcomer

Read my many messages here.
my third and final attempt to have a technician change my electricity smart meter has sadly failed. I have booked 3 appointments from September the last one being 18/1/23. Again no one showed up.

just fed up with OVO’s awful service. I will now contact the ombudsman as I’m going to stop my DD. OVO is charging me a flat rate despite me being away for 5 weeks!!!
truly appalling

Jeffus

Rank 20

Read my many messages here.
my third and final attempt to have a technician change my electricity smart meter has sadly failed. I have booked 3 appointments from September the last one being 18/1/23. Again no one showed up.

just fed up with OVO’s awful service. I will now contact the ombudsman as I’m going to stop my DD. OVO is charging me a flat rate despite me being away for 5 weeks!!!
truly appalling

Hi,

I don't work for OVO, I am just a customer like you.

If you want to put in a complaint

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

Then OVO have 8 weeks to reply. Then you can contact the Energy Ombudsman

Alternative you could try posting a 1 star review on Trustpilot to escalate

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.ovoenergy.com

The OVO staff their can access accounts.

Some people have got their local MP to write to the OVO head office to escalate issues which has worked for them.

Make sure you get compensation if appropriate for each visit

Engineer appointments

We'll pay you £30 compensation if:

An engineer misses an appointment.
An engineer arrives outside of the scheduled 4-hour time slot.
We cancel an appointment giving you less than 24-hours notice.
An engineer is unable to do the job because they arrive with the wrong equipment.

If they don't pay within 10 days of the missed appointment , you can ask for another £30

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charlie lee

Newcomer

Wow, I haven’t had any compensation from day One. That’s the 28th September 2022. With three appointments missed they are racking up quite a bill!!

Jeffus

Rank 20

Wow, I haven’t had any compensation from day One. That’s the 28th September 2022. With three appointments missed they are racking up quite a bill!!

You should get 60 pounds for each appointment if the criteria is met then. I would ask for that now in parallel with any complaint.

You are also entitled to another £30 as the meter has not been replaced in a timely manner, and another £30 as they haven't paid you the £30 in a timely manner. You need to ask for this as well.

An assessment needs to be completed in 5 days and a meter exchange in another 5 days maximum. OVO are well outside that.

Problem with pay-monthly meters

We'll pay you separate £30 compensation payments if you tell us you your meter's not recording your energy use correctly and we don't do each of the following:

Complete an initial assessment of whether your meter's faulty by asking you what it's doing/not doing, then:
Tell you the results of our assessment and tell you when we're sending out an engineer to fix it (if necessary) – both within 5 working days of you contacting us.
Repair your faulty meter within a further 5 working days, either by sending out an engineer as advised, or by fixing it remotely if possible.

(We define a working day as Monday to Friday, 8am - 6pm)

If OVO don't pay in a timely manner now, then seriously the Ombudsman is very likely to order further compensation for distress.

I make that potentially £240 compensation now, assuming you are eligible. 3 missed appointments and taking too long to replace the meter.

You can always link to this post if it helps

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meters-136/my-smart-meter-display-is-blank-is-the-meter-broken-6347/index3.html?postid=79366#post79366

@Emmanuelle_OVO i see this case was picked up by forum support a couple of months ago? Perhaps it needs picking up again, along with any compensation payments if appropriate?

Jeffus

Rank 20

How do I report to OVO that my SMETS2 gas smart meter is not working. It was installed by SSE and stopped showing any gas usage on the IHD from April 2022. It showed a reading of 402 KWh on my bill in May 2022. The gas meter obviously stopped showing any gas usage on the IHD from April 2022. It showed a reading of 402 KWh on my bill in May 2022. The gas meter obviously stopped communicating with SSE then because in August my bill showed an estimated reading. However I dont use the gas for hot water, only for heating, so the outside meter showed 402 KWh on 30 Sept. I reported this to SSE and they amended the reading to 402 and sent me a new bill. I turned on the heating on 3 Nov and the last reading I got on the outside meter is 404 KWh on 4 Nov. After that the outside meter has stopped working and does not wake up when I press Button A. I now have no idea how much gas I am using and find this unacceptable. I reported the problem twice to SSE but nothing was done about it. The smart smart meter needs replacing. How do I report this problem to OVO?

Hi @Walker46 did you manage to sort out your issue?

Jeffus

Rank 20

OVO have now booked an engineer for 18 January.

Hi @harrrj Did your meter get sorted out in the end?

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