Smart meters are working but not communicating with OVO - why?

Hi ​@Maurie, I hope you had a good weekend,

Sorry to hear of the issues with the smart meter - I’m glad this has been escalated now. Have our Support Team let you know if the meter is going to need replacing or not?

If you’ve given manual reads to our Support Team they can take 24 hours or so to be displayed on your online account or app. Have you checked if they’re now displayed today?

Hi  Ben. The support team have not been in touch with me at all I’ve contacted them on 4 occasions by telephone any chat no one appears to be able totell me anything my meter readings have not updated for over a week on the appdespite my giving reading on the 4 th June they did use that reading to update my credit amount I will be calling them again tomorrow thanks Ben

Hi,

My Smart meter has stopped given meter readings since the 6th June, informed OVO over Webchat, got a real person, and was told I would have to wait 4 to 6 weeks before, OVO would do anything about it.

Told them not acceptable, then informed that they would raise a complaint, as I was not getting the service from OVO. Was also informed I would get a telephonic call (their words), in the next 24hrs to 48hrs, I am not holding my breath.

Lucky, I have the full script of the web chat for future reference. 

​@Maurie thanks for your reply, and sorry to hear this. It sounds like it’ll definitely be a good idea to give the Support Team a call. To confirm, the correct number is 0330 303 5063. let us know how you get on, hopefully they can give you some answers and get it fixed!

Hi ​@Weeck14,

Sorry to hear of the issues with your smart meter. If it’s stopped sending reads for the last four days, then hopefully it’ll start again soon. It’s common for smart meters to drop out of communication for a period of time and, most of the time, they regain communication on their own without any need for intervention. However, if the problem persists for a month, then we’d look to get an engineer out to you if it can’t be fixed remotely. Hopefully when they call you you’ll get some further information.

I just wanted to link you some previous Forum articles which you might find helpful:

Let us know how you get on when you hear back from the team!

Just an update, had a call from a very lovely lady, who was very helpful.  In short, they have tried to remotely reset the meter, and it has failed.

They are now looking into getting an Engineer out to check or replace the meter, with date and time to follow.

I will keep you posted on the outcome.

Morning ​@Weeck14,

That’s great news, I’m glad to hear it’s being handled properly now. If you could keep us posted we’d really appreciate it!

In the meantime, here’s a Forum article that explains what you can expect on the day of the appointment. Bare in mind this article may refer to having a traditional meter replaced, but the process is still the same.

If you’ve got any other questions before the appointment feel free to give us a shout!

Hi everyone thank you for your help with my smart meter not sending readings .this now appears to have been resolved and is all working again. I took some time to reply as I was waiting to see if  everything was ok thanks again for all the advice and support 

That’s amazing news, ​@Maurie! I’m happy that things have been resolved for you. If you ever need anything else, you know where to find us.

Please can someone help me with this I was in credit now I am in a massive debit? I have submitted meter readings but the smart readings are incredibly lower? 

I think my first question would be “are you confident of your manual readings”?

Some meters can show different registers depending of the type and options. Unless your meter is mixed with another (check on your bill/account) then the smart readings are likely to be correct.

When readings are taken and submitted monthly, it sounds as if Caitlin is keeping a close eye on her gas usage. Between the end of July and early September 2024, she measured 35 units consumption. It seems very unlikely that in the same period 2025, usage was less than 1 unit. The only confusion I can envisage is that the submitted readings are in fact kWh estimates displayed by the meter for convenience instead of the m³ readings, but that doesn’t explain the numbers either:
  

  
​@caitlin12345 Would you like to share some pictures to give us a better idea of what we’re dealing with?

• A photo of the meter, taken after pressing a button to light up the screen and clear enough for the display and all the markings on the meter to be legible;
• B screenshot of your latest bill showing the readings it’s based on and the balance. It would be helpful if we could see the meter serial number as well, just so we can compare it with the one on the meter itself. Please be sure to obscure any personal information you’re not happy about sharing publicly.

I suppose that the other question has to be why are there suddenly those 2 identical smart readings 35 days apart, when there haven’t been any other smart readings for at least a year?

Personally I’d be questioning those 2 smart readings.

There’s a sequence of steadily increasing manual readings as you would expect, and then an unexpected jump backwards (by a years usage, is that a coincdence?*) to those 2 smart readings both of 674.

It looks to me like some kind of glitch, either with the meter itself, at DCC, or at OVO?
*It almost looks as if a smart reading has been sent, or applied, a year later than it should have been.

Those ‘phantom’ 674 smart readings have then caused the ‘live billing’ calculation to be incorrect once a new, higher, manual reading was sent, resulting in the debit balance - of course it doesn’t appear to be a real usage so not a real balance.

Hey ​@caitlin12345 

I’m sorry to hear about this, though I’m glad a few of our fantastic users have already stopped by with some advice and questions.

It definitely does look like something isn’t quite right, if you’ve not already done so, I’d definitely recommend getting in touch with the Support Team so they can take a look into it from there side, we don’t have access to accounts here at the Forum to do so.

There could be a number of reasons for what’s going on here, and from what you’ve given us so far it’s hard to tell what the issue might be at this moment. 

I agree with Nukecad here, those smart meter readings seem to be the odd ones out and likely the issue but where they’re coming from might be the question for the team.

Do keep us updated with how you get on with them.

Hi. Hopefully I can get some advice from here. We moved into a new home (rented property) 3 months ago. Told we will be with Ovo and have been unable to change supplier because of the type of meter installed. I've had conversations with Ovo customer service (not great) and got nowhere. The meters don't send readings and were constantly getting changes in bills through the month. One day it was £41 in credit then its £117 in debt the next day. We send readings every month so far, and every time im told were using alot less than expected. Also been told we cant get a smart meter on out account. Also the meter readings never change, its constantly been the same number since we moved in. Tia 

I think we will need a bit more information before anyone here can help.

Often the most helpful is if you can post some photos of the meter, we can usually tell a lot from those.
A close up of the meter itself, (with the display lit up and  clearly visible if possible), and then one wider out showing any other equipment around it on the board,

Has anyone said just why the meter type is preventing a change of supplier, or just why the meter cannot be changed to a smart meter?

Are you perhaps in the North of Scotland?
Could you give the first two letters of your postcode so someone can check if you may be in a Load Managed Area.

What tarriff are you currently on?

And sorry but this is just confusing:

We send readings every month so far, and every time im told were using alot less than expected. Also been told we cant get a smart meter on out account. Also the meter readings never change, its constantly been the same number since we moved in.

Are you saying that you are sending in the same number each month?

A warm welcome to the Forum ​@CarlyLou, and thanks for your post.

We’ll await your answers to ​@Nukecad’s helpful questions. Once we have these answers we’ll be able to help you. Please could you also let us know who told you you’d not be able to switch suppliers, and who’s telling you you’re using less than expected?

Many thanks - we look forward to hearing back from you, and helping you get to the bottom of all this.