I have smart meters for both gas and electricity. However, neither is currently able to connect to OVO and hasn't done so for quite a while now. An engineer came to try to boost the signal but all his attempts failed. He said something about needing to wait for an additional bit of kit to be installed locally. How much longer do I have to wait? I really don't want to have to provide meter readings...I shouldn't have to with smart meters!
Best answer by Lucy_OVO
View originalWe are customers of OVO and keep getting messages that our smart meter is not sending information. We moved into this property 6 months ago and took over the existing meters etc. A sticky label tells me that the meter was installed in 2019. I have applied for a replacement or repair, but I only get a message stating that they cannot install a meter. I am 87 years old and am recovering from a triple fracture in my neck, I am also diabetic and have heart and kidney problems. I therefore find it difficult to try and read the meter (I have no instructions on this) to send readings to Ovo. I assumed that this was the reason for using a smart meter. I have managed to take a picture of the meter, a L & GE470, but I cannot see how to attach it to this message. Can you help me please.
Thank you Roy Jones
+1
You are eligible to be put on the priority services register. Until the smart meters are made operable you are entitled to ask for a meter reader to come and do it for you.
the meters are probably OK but their communication with OVO is not. OVO can try to send instructions to the meter to get it working again. If eventually that fails you are entitled to a replacement. It is possible that these meters are SMETS1 meters and they might not have been enrolled onto the DCC network (systems are in the course of change) the conversion is not due to be complete for another 3 months and OVO would not replace a meter that is potentially capable of working.
you can use this tool to check if some features of the meter are working and post the result back here.
https://smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk
our resident smart meter expert
Ovo installed new gas and electric meters about a year ago and gave me a IHD6 smart meter. It’s never successfully sent meter readings to Ovo, I log in and send them manually on the website instead, which makes the smart meter pointless.
I don’t know why it doesn’t work. The IHD6 top left signal shows full 4 bars and I’ve connected it to my WIFI and that shows strong connection too. The smart meter itself is getting the readings but not then sending to Ovo.
Any ideas how to get it to work?
+1
Please could you post photos for us
+2
Hi
It is also worth a quick check to see if any of the free ofgem regulated 3rd party apps can see your meter readings.
This is one for example.
+2
Hi
Your electricity smart meter might look something like this
You will also have a gas smart meter somewhere
Can you post pictures of those?
On the electricity the 4 of the 5 leds flash every 5 seconds, the middle one (MESH) doesn’t flash
On the Gas, I’ve looked through the screens and it says Connected on HAN status
+1
Sounds like most things are working fine then.
Can you run both meters through this tool please? https://smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Thanks, I’ve used that site and gas and electric both seem to work.
“Your gas meter's working in smart mode” Supplier: OVO Gas Ltd
+1
In that case, the fix should be fairly easy. Try asking the Support Team to set the Read Schedules back up for both meters. I recommend Half-Hourly Mode if you want to get the most out of them. But you can choose Daily or Monthly instead if you prefer.
After successfully sending in my readings since installation my smart meter stopped communicating in August. I was informed such when I received an email from OVO in September. I checked connections and both Internet and cellphone networks are up and running. The smart meter display shows current and daily readings etc so how can I get OVO to test the connection or reinstate it?
Since posting a few minutes ago I have completed S2 healthcheck routine and all lights are present and flashing at correct intervals including WAN and HAN, meters are recording properly and transmitting correct data to IHD. All connections are operating and strong. so why is there no communication with OVO.
Hey
Welcome to the OVO Online Community.
That sounds frustrating. You’ve done the right thing completing a smart meter health check. This will help our team determine what the issue is. Even if your HAN is strong, it may be that your WAN (the signal needed for OVO to communicate with the smart meters remotely is weak).
Has it recently been enrolled on the Data Communications Company (DCC)?
I’d advise checking what meter serial number is appearing on your Online Account and seeing if that matches with your meter.
Hope this helps.
Thank you Emmanuelle.
Firstly, the meter serial numbers on the meters match those on my online account identically.
Secondly our smart meter installation is relatively recent and the meters are the latest models. They communicated readings to OVO seamlessly from installation until comms dropped off before the end of August. Nothing has changed at this site, signals are strong; HAN and WAN lights are functioning correctly.
Please can your engineers test and (?) “reboot” the connection from your end where the problem appears to lie
Regards etc
+2
Thank you Emmanuelle.
Firstly, the meter serial numbers on the meters match those on my online account identically.
Secondly our smart meter installation is relatively recent and the meters are the latest models. They communicated readings to OVO seamlessly from installation until comms dropped off before the end of August. Nothing has changed at this site, signals are strong; HAN and WAN lights are functioning correctly.
Please can your engineers test and (?) “reboot” the connection from your end where the problem appears to lie
Regards etc
Hi
Hey
Thanks for your response.
Once Support has your smart meter health check results they will forward them to a team of experts who’ll try to re-gain remote communications with your smart meters.
In the meantime you can submit meter readings manually via the Online Account. We have a live billing system so whenever your reads are submitted the account balance will update accordingly. We have a great guide about this topic here:
Hope this helps.
I have a Pipit smart meter that shows the correct symbol in the top left corner to show it is communicating. It gives me accurate data on usage of gas and electricity. I get monthly bills which I have assumed are based on smart meter readings as there is no indication that they are estimated. However, I have just logged into my Ovo account and under meter readings I have the following message - “Your electricity smart meter hasn't sent us any readings lately. To keep your account up to date, you'll need to send us regular manual readings.” The reading history lists no readings since August 2020. Can Ovo really have been estimating my readings for the last two and a half years without telling me?
There’s clearly something very wrong here, so your meter needs looking at. I’ll leave it to
The Pipit device is an ‘In Home Display’, which simply displays the data that the meter itself transmits. The (electricity) meter is also supposed to store readings for 13 months, so data for the period since November 2021 should still be available so long as it’s not irreparably broken.
Are you able to take readings from the meters themselves? Just to be sure, this is the sort of thing you’re looking for; a typical gas meter on the left, a common electricity meter on the right:
How to take a reading varies with the type of meter. There are guides to most of them at this site, e.g. How do I take a manual reading from my OVO smart meter? | The OVO Forum
Please have a look at your bills for previous months. Is there no indication on them that the readings they’re based on are estimated?
+2
Hi
We have seen similar things like this before so i personally would not worry. For example
In other similar cases we have seen OVO did have the readings and were not estimating.
Give OVO a call in the morning. I am sure they will be able to sort it out and get the readings to show again on your account.
You can always give OVO link to this thread if you think it might help so they can see it has happened before for others.
https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meters-136/smart-meter-13528
Let us know how you get on.
Thanks for your replies. Firstly, I can confirm that there is no mention of estimated readings on any of my bills. I have cleared out the cupboard under the stairs so I can get a reading from the meter itself. However when I press the button 6 or 9 I get a sequence of messages and numbers appearing for a couple of seconds each, and I am not sure which is the actual reading. However, for gas one of the numbers is 08078. Given that my bill shows a reading of 7658 on 21 Nov and 7892 on 20 Dec, this looks like an accurate reading. For electricity one of the numbers that pops up is 19728.6. My bill shows 19069.1 on 21 Nov and 19432.4 on 20 Dec. Again, this looks very much in line with expectations. If I am looking at the right numbers, it looks like they are getting the readings and the message that they are not, is innaccurate. I will try ringing them, though my my recent experience with call centres does not leave me with confidence that I will get through. I will keep you informed
As expected, phoning is a waste of time. I did, however manage to contact OVO on WhatsApp. They have confirmed they are receiving accurate readings and the message is an error. However, they can’t remove it for some reason. Problem resolved - thanks for your help
Getting a bit fed up having to send manual meter readings. Sent manual reading before last bill (18 January). Just looked at usuage and in red - send manual meter readings. Surely OVO can come up with a resolution to this as I see it has been discussed on forum many times. If this is happening a lot then they need to have a manual check to see what’s happening. My meter is set up to send half hourly readings so there should be no need to send manual readings
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