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R
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rvintner
Rank 2
October 25, 2023
Solved

Smart meter installation problems - poor signal?

  • October 25, 2023
  • 75 replies
  • 4764 views

Hi there,

 

New to the community but have read numerous posts on this subject and have learnt a lot in the process!

Brief history is that I bought an EV, moved to OVO so as to benefit from favourable EV tariff, have been trying to get a Smart Meter installed since May, constantly get fobbed off with e-mails/conversations like the one below and am no further forward.  I live six miles from Colchester, not in the NW of Scotland.

Aside from the fact that I think the e-mail below is appalling - who is going to understand a mail like this without the technical knowledge required - what I would like to know from the amazing people on this forum is this:

Is it so unusual that a T3 aerial would be required for installation (if this indeed is what they mean by “an issue relating to T3 aerial”)?  Is this for installer to provide?  Could I purchase one so that there would then be one less problem?  Is it a genuine excuse to cancel the installation appointment?

The mail says that it would require the DCC to come out to the property.  Really?  I have looked this up as much as I can and  from what I can see the DCC is appointed by the government to roll out the network and has nothing to do with individual installations.  To me, this looks as though OVO is trying to put up a smoke screen and confuse people.  Happy to be told if I have got this wrong.

I understand the need for a good signal so that the meter can communicate but, as I say, I am surrounded by the likes of Colchester and Braintree, I’m not in the back of beyond.

All of this stems from the fact that “an issue/predicted technical abort”has been flagged on my account.  How that got there, I don’t know and nor does anyone at OVO (that is prepared to admit it anyway).  they said that an engineer visited but I have lived here for 15 years and an engineer has never visited.  So anyone I speak to just falls back on this comment and says “nothing can be done”.  So on it goes, around and around.

My assumption is this - I live in a “rural community”, despite being six miles from Colchester. I fear that my post code is colour coded to equal “difficult”or “costly” and so it just goes into the Too Difficult Box and no-one is going to help sort it out.

So, good forum friends, how do I take this forward and cut through the technobabble coming from OVO?  How do I get someone to take some action to get this “technical abort” removed from my account (if indeed there is even such a thing) and then come and install this smart meter that they keep telling me in the emails that they send to say that my current meter is old and must be replaced.  How do I cut through the “customer support team’ to someone who can actually do something.

 

Thank you in anticipation.

Thanks for getting in touch with us. My name is Alex, an account management agent here at OVO energy.

I have tried to contact you on the both phone numbers attached on the system, first phone number ending in -155 and second phone number ending in -853, but unfortunately I was unable to reach you, so I hope this email finds you well.

Firstly, I would like to apologize for the dissatisfaction caused by the service that has been provided. I will make sure to raise a feedback on the account for our team to reflect back on.

Upon investigating the account I can see that there was a cancellation due to a predicted technical abort, technical about means when the engineer is unable to install the smart meter in the address due to an issue relating to T3 aerial.

Upon checking the account I can see that the cancellation has been done as we would require T3 Aerial as well as the DCC (Data Communications Company) to come out to the property.

I can see that the request to remove the technical abort has been raised previously however until this has been lifted we are unable to book an appointment, and the moment there is no time frame for this.

I understand that you would like to receive a refund based on the lower tariff, however we would be unable to do that due to our eligibility criteria, which states that in order to benefit from our EV Charge anytime tariff the customer needs to have a smart electric meter and consent to Half Hourly Reads.

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Thanks,

Alex
Best answer by Blastoise186

Updated on 31/03/25 by Ben_OVO

Yes, they cost something like an extra £25 per install, just for the parts - this doesn’t include labour either.

They’re effectively giant external aerials that are even bigger and more powerful than the T2 Aerials that we’ve seen many times on the Forum. The idea is that they’re High-Gain and can suck up signals in weak signal areas and blast out a more powerful signal in such areas such that it has a chance at working and gaining a stable connection.

Put another way, your cheap and rubbish ISP router that you get for “free” and is worth maybe £10 (except that you pay for it) often has a pretty measly 18dBm TX Power (Transmit Power) and maybe a 1dBi Antenna Gain, so it might work in a flat… But an average two bed house makes it struggle. On the other hand, my £300 Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine has a TX Power of 26dBm and an Antenna Gain of something like 4.5dBi - which is MASSIVELY more powerful and has a ridiculously strong range compared to the “free” routers ISPs give out. For a home environment such as my one-bed flat, it’s stupidly overpowered. But in a giant mansion, it has a way better chance at having decent coverage.

That’s the difference between the built in aerials on a regular Comms Hub and a T2/T3 Aerial.

However, there’s also a thing of having too much TX Power which also causes problems. Having too much power pumped into your transmissions can cause interference. Not a problem for my Ubiquiti UniFi kit as it’s capable of detecting that and automatically resolving it. But a T3 Aerial can’t do that as there’s no automatic way of resolving said interference. This, I believe, is one of the reasons they’re not given out freely.

 

75 replies

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Firedog
Super User
FiredogSuper User
Super User
October 26, 2023

… how do I take this forward and cut through the technobabble coming from OVO?
 

The whole business of getting a smart meter working for every household in the country is unbelievably complex,  so not every situation can be described in layman’s terms. One site that provides lots of good, detailed information in digestible form is Smart Meters; their illustrated section on communications hubs and data transmission may clear some things up for you: Technical information on SMETS 2 Smart Metering - The full story  

 

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    October 26, 2023

    Nice one Noel, Thankyou. Some of this went in one eye and out of the other so to speak, love the bit about dithering. I may have missed it but i seem to remember hearing something about SMETS1 having a software update to give some SMETS2 functionality ? 

    Blastoise186
    Super User
    Blastoise186Super User
    Super User
    October 26, 2023

    Nice one Noel, Thankyou. Some of this went in one eye and out of the other so to speak, love the bit about dithering. I may have missed it but i seem to remember hearing something about SMETS1 having a software update to give some SMETS2 functionality ? 

    Correct. There is indeed an update to do that. It’s primarily intended to enable S1 meters to migrate to DCC and treat it as a trusted network, just like the old systems they were originally used on.

    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!
      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      October 31, 2023

      Hi BPLightlog - Thanks for the tutorial.

      Jeffus - your questions are good.  I am checking with neighbours to see if they have a meter.  this will be key.

      I never tried getting a meter previously.

      Am not going to give up!

      Hi @rvintner Did you find out if any of your neighbours had smarty meters/if they needed aerials/who fitted the meters? 

      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      Jeffus
      Rank 20
      October 31, 2023

      This is (one of my) points.  At the moment, one is at the mercy of a company that sends crazy e-mails, like the one shown above that set out to confuse people with tech science terminology and can then claim that there is a map that says “your house is in an area that will not work with a smart meter”.  I don’t doubt that there is a map, in fact I know that there is, I just feel that it is a rather blunt tool to determine whether a box installed in my house can communicate or not (when all the other boxes, TVs, phones, computers etc manage to do so perfectly well.  And, yes, I know that these are different to how smart meters do, or don’t communicate) with the outside world.  

      I am cross and frustrated by all of this because I receive a constant barrage of communication from OVO telling me that my current meter is old (dangerous?) and must be replaced and then when I try to replace it I get met by a brick wall of indifference and “it’s too difficult”.  This will only be resolved when I can get someone from an installation company to visit the property and determine whether it will work or not.

       

      I have also asked OVO to provide full information as to when the “Predicted technical Abort” notice was logged on my account.  This is the comment that all current Customer Support people are falling back on to say that nothing will work and yet I have no idea how, why, when or by whom this “Predicted”, not definite, notice was logged.  I am waiting to hear back from OVO on this.

      Hi @rvintner Have OVO got back to you yet? 

      R
      Rank 2
      rvintnerAuthor
      Rank 2
      October 31, 2023

      Hi Jeffus,

      Thanks for asking.

      I have had a reply, as follows:

      “My name is Peter, and I’m in the Advanced Resolution Team here at OVO Energy.

      I’m sorry that you’ve had to contact us regarding your concerns.

      We’ve received your complaint and I want you to know we take all of our customers' concerns seriously. We’re working hard for you and would like to find a suitable resolution as soon as possible. 

      We have completed an initial review of your complaint today and will assign it to a dedicated specialist soon. The specialist will aim to contact you within the next five working days. They will then be your point of contact and work with you to reach a suitable resolution to your concerns.  

      Until then, I would like to give you some information that you may find useful:”

      They then went on to give me lots of info about tariffs and what to do if I am struggling to pay.  Yup, not sure what that has to do with it either.

      Anyway, am pleased to know that they take “customers’ (sic) concerns seriously” and are working hard.  I have been assigned a dedicated specialist (haven’t heard from them yet).  Not sure why it has taken since May to be given a “dedicated specialist”, but there we go.

      I note what others have written above about the initial e-mail from Ovo (shown above) and my point that it was tech heavy jargon and, in my opinion, designed to put off the man in the street consumer.  Interesting to note that, having navigated this level, and having explained that I understood all about DCC and T3 aerials, I have been moved on to the next link in the chain.  I fear that others would have given up at this point.

      Interestingly, two of my neighbours have had smart meters installed (this is the smoking gun, as far as I am concerned).  One of them (v tech savvy) actually sat on the Smart Meter Advisory Board and has a smart meter installed by OVO.  the other had one installed by another company within the last four months.

      I rest my case.  Somehow, someone has flagged a Potential Tech Abort notice on my account (despite never coming to my property) and no one is prepared to challenge this.  It is easier to hide behind what it says on the computer screen in front of you than to apply a bit of logical reality.

      Will keep you posted on the next chapter….

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      October 31, 2023

      I’ve read the initial post again.

      In my opinion as the Forum Volunteer here who specialises in the Smart Meter stuff… There is only one jargon term that wasn’t clearly explained in the email - T3 Aerial. However, it’s been covered many times on the Forum and upstream resources like SmartMe.

      I can’t find anything else in there which would be confusing and nor can anyone else around the world who’ve read this thread.

      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!
      R
      Rank 2
      rvintnerAuthor
      Rank 2
      November 1, 2023

      Hi Blastoise186,

      I didn’t realise that you were the Forum Volunteer who specialises in Smart Meter stuff.  As such, I assume that you know quite a bit about smart meters and other tech things.  From your previous post I can see that you are very up to speed with internet routers etc.  Far more so than the rest of us, I would guess.  With this in mind, I am not surprised that you didn’t find the initial e-mail from OVO to be confusing.  I am not sure about the “anyone else around the world who’ve read this thread” but I will take your word for it.  All I am saying is that, having shown it to various people in my office, all of whom are bright people, they could not decipher exactly what was being said.

      Let’s look at the wording again. 

      Upon investigating the account I can see that there was a cancellation due to a predicted technical abort, technical about means when the engineer is unable to install the smart meter in the address due to an issue relating to T3 aerial.

      Upon checking the account I can see that the cancellation has been done as we would require T3 Aerial as well as the DCC (Data Communications Company) to come out to the property.

      So, the appointment, that I took a day off work for, was cancelled (no one phoned me to cancel it, they just failed to show up) due to a “predicted technical abort”.  The word predicted, in my view, is important.  It suggests that something may happen, but it may not.

      You are right in that an explanation of “technical abort” is then given -technical about (sic) means when the engineer is unable to install the smart meter in the address due to an issue relating to T3 aerial. But this is what I have been questioning all along.  It says that the engineer (the one who, I assume cancelled my appointment?) is unable to install the meter..This suggests that he has tried to but can’t do it.  It goes on to say that he can’t do it because of an issue relating to T3 aerial (how is the average OVO customer meant to know what an issue relating to T3 aerial is?  What is the “issue”?  I know you say that this is all covered off in this forum but that’s not the point - when a customer receives this e-mail they don’t know about OVO forums and the like, they are just reading what is in front of them and trying to work out why the engineer, that they waited in all day for, didn’t turn up.

      The email then goes on to give a slightly contradictory reason for the cancellation, saying that a T3 aerial would be required and now, also, that the DCC would need to come out to the property.  Again, does the man in the street have a clue who the DCC are?  And the obvious response, on reading the mail would be “fine, get hold of the aerial that you need and the men from the DCC”.

      Anyway, confusing or not, my point remains the same - How does OVO work out that, at my address, 1. an engineer is unable to install a smart meter.  2. A T3 aerial is required.  3. The DCC will have to come out to my property.  What are all these firm convictions based on?  Especially when other properties close by have had smart meters installed without any issue and my closest neighbours has had an OVO smart meter for four years. 

       

      As I have said all along, my account, for reasons unknown has “Predicted Technical Abort” flagged up beside it.  No one will give me an answer as to why, when and by whom this was done.  This then leads to customer service assistants saying that the appointment was cancelled because of T3 and DCC issues.  Based on what?  The mysterious map has been the answer put forward so far but if this map says it doesn’t work for me, why does it work for my neighbours?

       

      I will wait to see what the response will be from the dedicated specialist on the Advanced Resolution Team.

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      November 1, 2023

      My day job is in IT and I’m an experienced Admin. I can tell you from experience - Wi-Fi sucks, especially when you don’t use the right equipment. In fact, the experience of using anything wireless is often terrible if it’s not done properly. This is partly why there’s checks in place before an engineer even stops by your house. If these fail, the entire appointment is blocked from being booked at all in 99% of cases, but is sometimes caught later.

      I’ve literally known cases where you can walk from one end of a room to another and go from full mobile 4G signal to absolutely zero signal at all, even in a high signal area. Or even outside, you can move 1m and totally lose coverage with absolutely nothing obvious blocking it.

       

      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!
      Emmanuelle_OVO
      Retired Moderator
      Emmanuelle_OVO
      Retired Moderator
      November 1, 2023

      Hey @rvintner,

       

      I don’t have access to your account but I’d imagine the ‘predicted technical abort’ refers to us predicting the signal in the error was going to be problematic.

       

      In order to go ahead with the T3 aerial installation we need to go through appointments like these to demonstrate we can’t fix the communication issues without a T3.

       

      It is then up to the DCC to decide whether a T3 would work and provide one. 

      Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
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