I have been with OVO for 10 months and I have had 2 SMETS2 meters fitted not long after I moved to OVO.
Unfortunately, the system has never worked properly since installation !
What used to happen intermittently was one of 2 scenarios:
The WAN light used to go off and my smart meter would stop sending my meter readings to OVO or the HAN light used to go off and my IHD would stop working with the message "waiting for current data" being displayed.
Last week all 4 lights (including the WAN and HAN lights) continued to work on the meter (they all flashed on once every 4 or 5 seconds) and yet my IHD stopped working which had never happened before whilst all 4 lights were working !?
A couple of days ago the IHD came back on again but despite all 4 lights still displaying on the meter, my meter readings don't update on the OVO app.
How is this ?
I thought if the WAN (Wide Area Network) light was on, my electric meter could communicate my meter readings to OVO.
Also I can't understand why last time, my IHD lost the wifi signal in the first place with the HAN (Home Area Network) light being on ?
By the way I have a Chameleon IHD and regarding the wifi signal on the IHD, it is a strong signal (4 bars) as my IHD is only around 5 meters from the meter with only an internal wall (4" thick) which has no effect on the wifi signal.
Sorry to hear of the communication issues you’re having with your S2 smart meters - In order to diagnose what might be causing these issues we’d recommend carrying out a smart meter health check.
For a full lowdown on what the lights on your meter indicate check out the detailed response from our Community member below:
WAN, MESH and HAN lights:
WAN - Wide Area Network
Shows your communication hub’s ability to communicate with your supplier. Flashing indicate a connection.
MESH - Mesh Communications Network
If you have a SK2 or SKU3 type of Communications Hub, then both WAN and MESH are active, and will display the slow-flash from these indicators if all is well.
If you have a SKU1 (85% of houses do), then the MESH indicator will always be off because that section of electronics isn’t present.
HAN - Home Area Network
This light shows the connection status of your electricity meter, gas meter and IHD with your communications hub on the HAN (Home Area Network).
See this topic for a complete guide on what each hub indicate light means.
What the lights mean when there’s a fault:
Now let’s just separate out the different faults you’ve been seeing.
A; A solid WAN may indicate a lack of communication with OVO. the WAN and/or HAN indicator going off is very unusual. In the case of a fault on either of these networks, the correct flash rate should be “medium” (roughly once every 5 seconds).
Communications Hub indicator error sequences
It’s unlikely that you’ll ever actually see the “High” flash rate because this occurs when the Communications Hub is starting up and trying to find the networks.
An indicator that’s completely off means that this part of the code isn’t operational at all. Most customers have SKU1-type SMETS2 meters, in which case the Mesh indicator will be off. Ie there is no Mesh network for this model.
B; It isn’t unusual to have an IHD not displaying correct data but still have the HAN indicator showing the usual slow-flash. The indicator only shows that the Zigbee carrier frequency is alive. Frustratingly it doesn’t mean that any useful data is being transferred!
The same is true of the signal-strength bars on your Chameleon IHD. They will still be present even if the code receiving/interpreting data from the Comms Hub isn’t working.
C; In similar fashion, just because the WAN indicator is in slow-flash mode doesn’t mean that OVO are actually receiving your data. Since you’re in the Telefonica territory, the WAN merely informs you that the carrier between you and the mast is alive.
The only way to tell if OVO is successfully receiving data from your site is to login to your online account and view your Usage statistics.
So there’s some initial feedback on what you’ve carefully described to us. And you might also want to read this topic where a few of us have recently been discussing IHD-related errors, and this topic is a great one for the ‘Waiting for current data’ issue.
How to confirm no communication from solid WAN
If the WAN on your meter is solid, and you’ve confirmed no usage data on your online account, you can reach out to our Support Team to book an appointment to get it all fixed, free of charge.
OVO customer but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!
Smart meter not communicating? Fill out this Online Form
But I’m sure you’ll be back. Some of these communications faults got “fixed” over the weekend without intervention from an engineer. So they’re just as likely to go wrong all over again next time it’s a new moon and the wind is from the east!
I mean in this thread !
I will, of course, check out the OVO forum and post occasionally as you are a friendly bunch !
My smart metre was install in April last year and since then it rarely sends the reading automatically. I have rang SSE/OVE so many times if lost count and at the beginning I was told oh its not communicating, i’ll send an engineer to now you are with ovo the metre needs six week not settle with to its working fine can we have a manual reading please. My bill for October is nearly three hundred when I have very little running and don’t use the heating. The amount is estimated and i’m still asked for a manual reading. My metre is in a wall cupboard above the kitchen unit and as i’m disabled climbing units is out of the question. My husband is seventy-one and has a bad knee so he can’t climb onto the unit either. My IHD is good for reading usage at any point but read in kw not cost as its still using the old tariff.
There's no point ringing for help as I would just get fobbed off again. What can I do?
You need to complete a smart meter health check, once this is done are team can try and fix the issues with your meter remotely. If they’re unable to do so within 45 working days, they’ll send an engineer round for a re-visit.
I’ve been with OVO since April and I am registered with the priority service.
SSE installed it and said it would take a few weeks before it would start sending the info. It took over a month then stopped sending, then sent, then stopped…
I called SSE who said its wasn’t sending and an engineer would be in touch that was 2021 and still waiting. This went on till last April when I was switched to OVO. I’ve rang them several times and get no its working fine, can you send us a meter reading or, its not sending can you send us a reading in fact my bill is now up and states I owe over three hundred which is ridiculous as I don’t use the heating [ ASHP) as its to expensive.
It was easy to get a meter reading before as my daughter did it but she has since moved and neither my husband nor I can dot it. I have had the meter tested twice by OVO and both times they said it was working but can you send us a reading anyway. I had one call where the person asked my to get the reading for her and when I said I couldn’t as I was disabled she asked if I could move a tall, that was off putting and since I’ve done nothing about it. In fact I’m so sick of it I’m thinking of ignoring it as this is not doing good for my mental health.
My meter refuses to send info properly and my IHD is still using the tariff before October, i’m am just so sick of it.
Understand, @Scoobnut. Thanks for this extra information.
As you’re on the priority services register, you’re able to arrange a meter reading visit every 3 months. Please request this with our Support team. They can also decide the best way to diagnose the meter issue given you’re unable to read it. This might be a ‘technical sight survey’ but they’re best placed to make that judgement. Contact our Support team via the channels listed here.
Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
Just got my electricity bill. From the 1 to the 31st October it was 165 pounds with no 66 discount and 14 days to pay.
Why has it not added my discount and why am I paying monthly when it was quarterly. Its really starting to affect my mental heath and my husband is furious and tells me not to politely to ignore it and not pay but then I’d end up with penalties. Husband is planning to go to CAB.
