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Altonrob
Rank 1
August 8, 2020
Solved

Why does my Chameleon In Home Display (IHD) only display 'Waiting for Current Data' ?

  • August 8, 2020
  • 57 replies
  • 21716 views

Had this on display screen for three days

 

Best answer by Transparent

Updated on 31/10/25 by Ben_OVO

 

That screen’s not particularly entertaining is it? :wink:

 

Possibility one: Distance

 

The symbol at top-left indicates whether there is a signal connecting your IHD to the Communications Hub which is bolted on top of your Electricity Smart Meter. Move your IHD closer to the electricity meter to see if this symbol indicates the signal getting stronger. 

 

 

Possibility two: No WAN or HAN

 

Since you do have a connection established, the next step is to look at the Comms Hub and see if all the LED indicators are displaying the slow-flash pattern.

 

 

It’s OK if the MESH indicator doesn’t flash at all. This is only used if the Comms Hub is a SKU2 device, most commonly found in very rural areas (such as mine!). If there’s no flashing WAN (wide area network) the comms hub isn’t communicating with OVO. If there’s no HAN (home area network), the comms hub isn’t communicating with any other meters or your IHD. For no WAN or HAN, please reach out to OVO’s Support team for them to diagnose.

 

Possibility three: firmware issue

 

There might be a firmware issue with the IHD or smart meter, that’s causing connectivity issues. See this guide for a possible fix for this issue. if this doesn’t work, reach out to their Support team for this (details above).

 

For more help with the Chameleon IHD’s see our guides:

 

 

You can also check for smart meter communication issue by carrying out a SMETS 1 smart meter health check or this SMETS 2 smart meter health check. We’ve also a great guide for diagnosing smart meter issues via your app or online account:

 

 

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

Interested but not yet an OVO customer? - Check out our plans!

 

57 replies

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Newcomer
EmmaJo
Newcomer
November 25, 2020

It was working fine yesterday. Today the WiFi symbol is flashing and it won’t connect to the WiFi. Every few minutes it reboots and shows a welcome message before it goes back to saying waiting for data and the WiFi symbol flashing

 

ive tried turning it off and on again. I’ve unplugged it and tried to reconnect it to the WiFi but nothing works. 

 

Any ideas before fore I throw it up the garden?

    Blastoise186
    Super User
    Blastoise186Super User
    Super User
    November 25, 2020

    Hi @EmmaJo , welcome to the forums.

    That’s not good! Sorry for the trouble. Could you take a few photos of your In-Home Display and your Smart Meters please? If you could also fill out your profile for us, that would be really helpful.

    Once you’ve done that, I’ll be more than happy to try and help you out with this.

    Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
      E
      Newcomer
      EmmaJo
      Newcomer
      November 25, 2020

      I’ve updated my profile  

       

        E
        Newcomer
        EmmaJo
        Newcomer
        November 25, 2020

         

          Blastoise186
          Super User
          Blastoise186Super User
          Super User
          November 25, 2020

          Perfect! Thanks for these photos. This helps a lot. :wink:

          I see you’ve got a SMETS2 capable Aclara SGM1412-B Smart Energy Meter, which actually helps me even more. You’ll notice you’ve got two buttons on the front, the blue one is A and the orange one is B.

          With your IHD powered up and sat near the meter, could you wake up your meter by pressing the orange B button, then press B a couple of times until you get a screen about signal strengths - this screen will scroll through various readings, similar to the meter readings in sleep mode. The one I’m looking for is IHD Signal Strength here and the numbers will have dBm on the end. Could you tell me what it says please?

          Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
          E
          Newcomer
          EmmaJo
          Newcomer
          November 25, 2020

          Perfect! Thanks for these photos. This helps a lot. :wink:

          I see you’ve got a SMETS2 capable Aclara SGM1412-B Smart Energy Meter, which actually helps me even more. You’ll notice you’ve got two buttons on the front, the blue one is A and the orange one is B.

          With your IHD powered up and sat near the meter, could you wake up your meter by pressing the orange B button, then press B a couple of times until you get a screen about signal strengths - this screen will scroll through various readings, similar to the meter readings in sleep mode. The one I’m looking for is IHD Signal Strength here and the numbers will have dBm on the end. Could you tell me what it says please?

           

          E
          Newcomer
          EmmaJo
          Newcomer
          November 25, 2020

          Sorry was supposed to attach a photo 

           

          it wont attach a photo  Reading is -28dBm

           

           

            Blastoise186
            Super User
            Blastoise186Super User
            Super User
            November 25, 2020

            No worries. :) It happens to me sometimes!

            Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
            Blastoise186
            Super User
            Blastoise186Super User
            Super User
            November 25, 2020

            Thanks.

            That confirms the signal is definitely strong enough then. The check I had you do was to see whether the In-Home Display was talking to your Smart Meter at all, since it would only show something if it was connected and communicating.

            Don’t worry about the meter being stuck on that technical menu. After about 30 seconds of inactivity, it will go back to sleep and return to the usual meter reading screen cycles. It’s one of the features I really love about my Aclara SGM1311.

            As for your In-Home Display, I get the feeling that it’s either attempting to do a firmware update or it’s somehow managed to brick itself. Since the office is closed right now, I can offer a temporary fix here.

            Would you be OK to leave the In-Home Display turned on, plugged into a power socket and kept close to your smart electricity meter overnight? Sometimes that might do the trick. But please let us know how things are looking in the morning.

            If that works, you should be good to go. But if it doesn’t, we’ve got some other solutions and options we can try with you. I can also get help from Tim if needed.

            Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
            E
            Newcomer
            EmmaJo
            Newcomer
            November 25, 2020

            It’s -28dBm

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