Many thanks Blastoise for that information. Much appreciated. I didn’t get anything like this from SSE until I went to the energy ombudsman, perhaps because they thought it too technical and would baffle me (partially true) but more likely because it could imply there was nothing they were able or willing to do about it. Having said that, I did receive this explanation from an executive complaints rep: : 

“The smart metering system requires wireless communication networks to allow the two-way communication between the smart meter, yourself and the energy supplier. There are two key parts to the smart metering system, which when working correctly will let you see in near real time how much energy you are using and allow two-way communication with the supplier. The two parts of the system are called the Home Area Network and Wide Area Network.

 

The Home Area Network (HAN) is the part of the smart metering system within your home. The supplier is responsible for the HAN. It contains the smart meters, the in-home display, and the communications hub. 

 

The communications hub acts like a Wi-Fi network in the home. The smart meters wirelessly send information to the communications hub which in turn sends the information to the in-home display. Most communications hubs will either be part of or situated next to the electricity meter. Problems with the HAN will likely result in the smart meters not being able to send energy usage information to the in-home display and/or the energy suppliers.

 

The Wide Area Network(WAN) spans over a large geographical area and is the part of the system that allows the wider communication between the smart meters and the energy suppliers to take place. 

 

Communication with the suppliers takes place over a secure network that is like that used by mobile phones. The communications hub is the link between the HAN and the WAN. Problems with the WAN will mean that the smart meters cannot communicate with the SSE (Energy) and vice versa and can be fitted but do not function correctly and be used as a general heritage meter.

 

We are currently working with the DCC (Data Communications Company) to find a fix for the issue you are experiencing.  The DCC have been contracted by the Government in order to deliver SMETS2 communications functionality to the industry.

 

Unfortunately, I would be unable to guarantee when the signal will improve but I promise I will do everything possible to help and if The Ombudsman contact us we will work closely with them and contact you to work towards fixing your Smart issues.”

THEY NEVER DID, DESPITE THE OMBUDSMAN UPHOLDING THE COMPLAINTS.

I can still send you pics of the meter but I think the above confirms it’s a SMETS2.

Thanks again.

Robert

Apart from describing the Telefonica WAN rather than the Arqiva WAN, that description is pretty much spot on. I could probably nit-pick it if I really wanted to, but I’d say it’s good enough for anyone who isn’t me. :)

I think you are on SMETS2, but I’m happy to double check for you because 3.5 years ago from now is around the point where S1 was starting to be phased out and S2 starting to roll out.

Unfortunately, it’s all down to how fast DCC and Arqiva can fix their problems though. And I already know that DCC isn’t exactly very fast at resolving support requests...

Hi @rawx, I have your smart meters brother! I had a Smets2 installed by OVO on 8/2/20 and it didn’t work. The engineer knew it didn’t work but installed it anyway because he was getting paid £35 by OVO for every smart meter he installed that day (saturday). I assume OVO must be being paid more for installing the smart meter and appear to be promoting Ofgems protocol. After numerous phone calls and emails with OVO I got nowhere so was forced to consult the ombudsman who determined that OVO had provided me with a poor service. I was given a £50 goodwill credit and OVO were told to send an engineer to investigate. It seemed like a token gesture as the 2nd engineer told me there was no communication to the smart meter and it was an issue for DCC, the communication company and not an OVO issue. I contacted DCC and low and behold they told me that a smart meter issue lay with the provider and not with them. They told me the signal strength in my area was high and I should contact OVO. In addition OVO should have lodged an issue with DCC as a communication issue but they hadn’t. Still now I am being bounced between OVO and DCC and nobody wants to help. OVO have no incentive to get my smart meter working. They have been paid for installation whether working or not - I’m not surprised the energy industry is failing. Ofgem should have laid the ground rules that suppliers will be paid for installing a WORKING meter, not just for installing a meter. I have an ASHP and an EV. TOU tariff is important to me but since I have no functional smart meter OVO *removed by moderator* have no incentive to get my smart meter working so i can strategically reduce my energy costs. 

We had smart meters (SMETS2) installed by Scottish Power about 3 years ago. 

The engineers were unable to get these working/communicating with their service so we continued to provide manual readings.

We since moved to OVO, and still need to perform manual readings.  What can we do to enable the auto reporting?

I am keen to get this working so that we can track out consumption, and also Solar export levels to best balance use of appliances.

Heya @dastardly00 ,

Can you show us some photos please? We’ll see if we can figure this out for you!

Hey @dastardly00,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community.

If you haven’t already, I’d advise completing a smart meter health check:

This will help our Team diagnose the problem.

Hope this helps.

thanks for your responses, I had looked at the guides before, but these units are different

The WAN light flashes every 5s (ish) the HAN light is solid green

Hmm… Can you give https://smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk/ a go?

Please tell us the status that it returns, and who the supplier is

Computer says no!

that’s using the MPAN on the OVO electric bill