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April 5, 2019
Solved

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

  • April 5, 2019
  • 86 replies
  • 38820 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.

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

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86 replies

Tim_OVO
OVO Staff
OVO Forum Legend
May 1, 2023

Hi @Billt23,

 

Please bear in mind that we have house rules here about accuracy in posts when stating facts. See our rules here:

 

 

OVO is not attempting to scam any of our customers. 

 

Sorry to hear about the issues you’ve been seeing with your smart meter’s In Home Display (IHD). It sounds like you’re a prepayment customer, and therefore knowing what your balance is at any given time is important. We’ve got a guide all about smart meters and IHDs that may be worth a look:

 

 

It may be that overall, the smart meter and IHD balance is changing correctly in line with your usage, but that the connection between your smart meter and IHD is weak, meaning it updates sporadically. You may consider moving the IHD closer to your meter to see if that helps. 

 

If you’re convinced that your meter balance is dropping more than it should, or even goes in reverse without a top up (that would be unusual and indicates an issue), our Pay As You Go Support team are best placed to help.

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
Rank 1
July 15, 2023


my meter isn’t showing any display.

When I try to get support from OVO it asks me to submit a reading. I cannot do that with a blank screen.

What do I need to do? I’ve had a letter saying a reading has not been taken for 9 months…

 

BPLightlog
Super User
Super User
July 15, 2023

Hi @Nath_2389 , it sounds like you need a meter exchange. You will need to contact customer support to do this .. they might ask you to perform a quick test/check but that should get you a readable meter. 
 

Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
Newcomer
October 15, 2023

No hot water - error on boiler SP1 which I've looked and and it says gas supply! Went outside to check my gas meter (which has never communicated like my electricity does to EVo) the meter display is blank. Pressed a few buttons on but no joy. I'm not an electrician so looking at my fuse box for something out of the ordinary would be pointless. Both switches to fuses and main switch are in the on position. What do I do next? Is there an emergency number to phone ( I havnt got a gas leak) for loss of gas supply

 

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
October 15, 2023

Hi @Nannycez1962 ,

Please provide photos of everything, we’ll try to advise once we’ve seen them.

But right now, it sounds like the meter is dead and needs to be replaced. Please let your supplier know in the morning and they’ll sort you out.

If you think you have gas leak, please call 0800 111 999 - they might also offer advice for this particular case as well.

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Abby_OVO
Community Manager
Community Manager
October 16, 2023

Hey @Nannycez1962 

 

Sorry to hear about the issues you’ve been having with the gas/gas meter.

 

Did you get this issue sorted? 

 

Even if the hot water is back on, if the meter is still not responding at all when you press the buttons, I’d recommend contacting the Support Team as, like Blastoise186 has mentioned, it sounds like the meter is dead and needs replacing.

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