Thank you will have a go

May I just clarify…
The link that @Ed_OVO has just given to Smart Meter Troubleshooting is not a current help-page. It refers solely to the earlier SMETS1 meters manufactured by Secure and the Pipit IHDs

I assume Ed will now alert the relevant web-technician that the page needs modifying to make this clear? Thanks.

…. and do I get a gold-star for spotting the issue?!

Good catch, @Transparent, thanks!

There are still customers with the SMETS1 meters, so it’s worth us keeping the link alive for those, but it’s certainly worth us getting some further SMETS2 info on there, and clarifying all of this!

10 gold stars for you sir! 

Thanks,

Ed

 I had a Smets 2 Electric meter fitted by OVO last year for the Electric. (I was with British Gas at the time with the old style analogue meter). OVO provided me with the Chameleon IHD7 Monitor and it worked fine. I later got British Gas to fit a Smart Meter and they said that I should be able to read my Gas usage on the IHD7 that I already had, after a short period of time. After much frustration trying to get British Gas to sort it, I decided to close my account with them and get the Gas supplied by OVO, as well as the Electric. 

I did this last December and, despite many tries to get the Gas meter to communicate with the IHD7, they could not get not get it working either. Eventually, they sent me a new GEO Meter and I was instructed to switch it off for 24 hours, switch it on and the Gas should start to show as well as the Electric. Well, no it doesn’t. I have talked to their support team both on-line and on the phone numerous times. I have had 2 e-mails from the site support team saying that they have removed the old device (IHD7) off the system and installed the new one (GEO).  On both occasions, they asked me to switch the IHD off for 24 hours and then switch it on and wait for 30 minutes. 

I am still only getting the Electric reading and am going round in circles with them. It feels like they are ignoring me now. I can only conclude that the Gas Smart Meter is not communicating with the Electric Smart Meter (I understand that it needs to do this for the information to appear on my In Home Display (IHD). It is clear that they cannot solve this problem remotely, so I think I should have a site visit to check that the Gas meter is functioning properly. I have suggested that, but they say that if there is nothing wrong with it, I shall be charged.

We are Pensioners and on the Exemption Form and really want to be able to read which appliances use how much, so that we can regulate our usage to what we can afford. Otherwise, what is the point of us having a Smart meter in the first place?

Hey @Dave Hutton !

It looks like you might have a Geo IHD. Could you go into the menu, bring up System Status, select Gas and tell me the Status Code please?

If you could also snap some photos of both meters, that would be great.

Thanks!

Had a similar problem a while ago eventually a man came out he sorted it within 30 seconds even though I gave them the correct serial numbers of my meters which they asked for someone at the other end didn't bother to check the serial numbers and one was wrong, so once they had the correct serial number everything started to work fine. I hope this helps 

Thank you David. I have been onto them every week since mid-December. I have sent them pictures of the Smart Gas meter showing all serial numbers. I have said to them that someone needs to come out and check the meter, but they are threatening me with a charge, if there is nothing wrong with the meter. I have suspected for some time that it is operator error when they are trying to pair it remotely. 

As a matter of interest, did you have to switch your IHD off when the engineer left and wait 24 hours for it to register? Which IHD do you have - is it the Chameleon IHD6 or 7 or the newer GEO which they have now sent me? I have been asking for the Accessible In Home Display (AIHD), because it is larger and better for my poor eyesight. So far they have ignored my request and sent me the GEO instead.

Hi Blastoise. I’ve brought up the System Status and it is not giving me a code. However, I have noticed that by trawling through the Gas icon, it is telling me that the Gas connection is OK and even gives me some readings. 

However, on the home page, it still says that the Gas is disconnected and there is no indicator for Gas usage, as there is for electric.

Anyway, here’s a few pics. See what you make of them.

Thanks, Dave.

It looks like it has only sent one picture, whereas I uploaded quite a few to tell the story.

Whilst here, I was able to connect my Chameleon IHD7 to my Router, but the GEO doesn’t seem to have that facility. However, the status bar on the top left looks as if it is connected. Could it have done that without me needing to enter the security code from my Router?

The Geo IHDs can do it as well, but you need an accessory, specifically this one https://geotogether.com/product/wifi-module/

I need to know the Status Code for gas from the System Status menu to be able to advise further. Geo gave me a list with all the details but I’m afraid I don’t have psychic powers.

Hi Blastoise. When I go into the System Menu, this is what I get - no code, I’m afraid.

If I click on the Gas and Electric Icons, they both tell me that the connection to the Electric and Gas meters are OK. Clearly they aren’t, because the Gas is not showing on the home screen and is says ‘Gas Disconnected’. 

If I click on the Display and WiFi buttons, I get nothing.

Does this help?

Hmmm… Thanks.

That suggests to me there is no fault with the connection between the IHD and Comms Hub and Comms Hub to Gas Meter - everything seems to be talking just fine.

I’ve checked the document Geo gave me and there’s nothing in there to cover this exact scenario I’m afraid. I kinda feel like the best solution might be to have the Gas Meter and/or Comms Hub rebooted remotely. OVO can make the arrangements for you but it may take some time to do.

Hi all, today morning my IHD stopped working. There is a message “meter network not connected”. Tried to move close to a meter with no result. Is there any possibility I could “fix it” by myself rather to spend half of the day trying to call OVO support? Tia 

You need to turn the IHD off and back on again. If that still doesn’t solve your problem, the Comms Hub might also need a reboot.

I’ve looked up that status code and the long story short version is that your IHD isn’t able to get the time synced, therefore cannot establish a full connection. Geo has informed me that power cycling the device will often fix this issue.

Thanks Blastoise 186. Your parents were very creative when they gave you that name.

I’ll get onto OVO tomorrow - again! Looks like another long wait for them to get their finger out. It comes to something when the customer has to tell them what to look for, doesn’t it?

I mean, how long does it take to press a few buttons or click a keyboard? 

Cheers, Dave.

Hehehe, thanks. It’s actually partially a name of my own creation. The joke is that it took 186 generations of Blastoise before me. :)

It’s not my real name however. I keep my real life identity extremely well hidden, so much so that there’s pretty much nothing of the person at the keyboard anywhere on the public internet that can be found. Blastoise186 instead is not just how I represent myself online, but is in itself its own identity - kinda helps to maintain that separation of worlds!

Anyway… Back on track…

Rebooting the Comms Hub is unfortunately not something OVO can do by themselves. Only DCC can do it and if you think OVO is slow… DCC is an absolute sloth when it comes to these requests!

I’ll let you know how it goes. I could be a while!