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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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R
Rank 2
rvintnerAuthor
Rank 2
November 1, 2023

Hi Emmanuelle,

Thanks for input.

I don’t disagree with you - I’m sure that Ovo did predict that the signal would be bad.  But it doesn’t actually know.  As Blastoise 186 points out above, a signal can vary within a small area so until someone actually comes out we will never know for sure.  Oh, and it does work for my neighbour, who has an OVO smart meter.

 

Your second paragraph also makes sense.  But again, I just need someone to come out to actually check to see if a T3 aerial is required or not.  Once this is done we can move forward, but if it isn’t we remain in the world of assumptions.  For now, I am being told it will not work despite the fact that two neighbours have smart meters and no issues.  You can see my dilemma.  

In summary, I just need OVO to move in the direction of showing me that they are trying to make this work rather than coming up with unsubstantiated reasons as to why it will not.

    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    November 1, 2023

    @rvintner

    Fingers crossed you make progress now it has been escalated and you know your neighbours have smart meters. 

    If you get fed up you could try switching to Octopus. Quite a few posters have reported that they have found it easier to resolve meter issues in general with Octopus. This isn't the same as yours, but did involve a flag on an account. Of course the issue may have been solved in the same time if the poster had stayed around with OVO, impossible to know. 

     

    R
    Rank 2
    rvintnerAuthor
    Rank 2
    November 1, 2023

    Thanks Jeffus.  Once I hear back from OVO team I will be sure to report back on the outcome.  

    I have nothing against OVO, it is simply the frustration, that we all face in today’s world, when you push up against a seemingly impenetrable system and have to fight that little bit harder to get your voice heard and for someone to take action.  It is the same with all utility companies, with insurance everything.  It is just the way of the world but it can use up a lot of time and energy to get to where you want to get to.  However, if all else fails, I will look at Octopus and I thank you for this suggestion.

    Emmanuelle_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    Emmanuelle_OVO
    Retired Moderator
    November 2, 2023

    Keep us posted with how your situation develops @rvintner, it could help other Community Members

    Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
    R
    Rank 2
    rvintnerAuthor
    Rank 2
    November 9, 2023

    8 days and counting since Ovo promised to move my request up to the next level and ask a Specialist to call me but still no response from them.  Nothing.  Silence.

    Looks like Octopus is the next best option.

    Tim_OVO
    OVO Staff
    Tim_OVO
    OVO Forum Legend
    November 9, 2023

    I’ll ask our Forum Support team to reach out via a private message to take some details and chase this up for you, @rvintner. 

    Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
      R
      Rank 2
      rvintnerAuthor
      Rank 2
      November 10, 2023

      Dear Friends in Forum World,

      Today, 10 days after being told that I would be contacted by a Dedicated Specialist, I received a call from Susie at Ovo.  A courtesy call, she said, about my “billing query”.  My “Billing Query”??  Yes, dear reader, six months of writing to Ovo to try and have  a smart meter installed, or, as they wrote in a letter to me back in August, “Changing your meter is simple and stress-free”, and the person calling me hadn’t even read my notes.  

      And we are no further forward.  The script is still the same - “We are waiting to hear back from the Technical Team”.  Which is what everyone I have spoken to since 10th May has been telling me.  It is a wonderful get out clause that shifts the blame to the Technical Team and suggests that they are the ones that never communicate.  But this has been going on for six months.  And it is likely to go on for another six months as I see no evidence that anyone is actually doing anything.  Every time I get a new person “looking after my complaint” we go back to square one and the same script is passed on.

      It can’t be this complicated.  My neighbour has an OVO smart meter, has done for over four years.  Another neighbour has had one installed in the last six months.

      I feel that we are in a state of paralysis and no one can actually unblock the system and get someone to come out.  As I think I said in a previous post, the emphasis seems to have switched to excuses as to why this can’t happen as opposed to finding a way to make sure that it can.

      I remain positive and hope that, one day, this might get resolved.  More updates as and when I get them from the Dedicated Specialist.

       

      As a final note - I see that the original Heading that I used on this post appears to have been changed and it has SOLVED beside it.  Sadly not.

        Jeffus
        Rank 20
        Jeffus
        Rank 20
        November 10, 2023

        Dear Friends in Forum World,

        Today, 10 days after being told that I would be contacted by a Dedicated Specialist, I received a call from Susie at Ovo.  A courtesy call, she said, about my “billing query”.  My “Billing Query”??  Yes, dear reader, six months of writing to Ovo to try and have  a smart meter installed, or, as they wrote in a letter to me back in August, “Changing your meter is simple and stress-free”, and the person calling me hadn’t even read my notes.  

        And we are no further forward.  The script is still the same - “We are waiting to hear back from the Technical Team”.  Which is what everyone I have spoken to since 10th May has been telling me.  It is a wonderful get out clause that shifts the blame to the Technical Team and suggests that they are the ones that never communicate.  But this has been going on for six months.  And it is likely to go on for another six months as I see no evidence that anyone is actually doing anything.  Every time I get a new person “looking after my complaint” we go back to square one and the same script is passed on.

        It can’t be this complicated.  My neighbour has an OVO smart meter, has done for over four years.  Another neighbour has had one installed in the last six months.

        I feel that we are in a state of paralysis and no one can actually unblock the system and get someone to come out.  As I think I said in a previous post, the emphasis seems to have switched to excuses as to why this can’t happen as opposed to finding a way to make sure that it can.

        I remain positive and hope that, one day, this might get resolved.  More updates as and when I get them from the Dedicated Specialist.

         

        As a final note - I see that the original Heading that I used on this post appears to have been changed and it has SOLVED beside it.  Sadly not.

        @rvintner

        Yep, the forum marks as SOLVED when the best advice possible at the time has been posted, never when the issue has been fixed. It can be confusing. The forum isn't a replacement or run in parallel with the complaint process.

        Do you know when your complaint was  logged and how far you are into the 8 weeks before the Energy Ombudsman can take over? They can often speed things up.

          R
          Rank 2
          rvintnerAuthor
          Rank 2
          November 15, 2023

          Hi,

           

          Update from my last post five days ago.

          The latest mail from OVO today as follows:

          “The reason we know if a customer has a T3 aerial or not is through their Meter Point Administration Number and also through Smart Support. I cannot request an engineers to come round to the property as my request will declint (sic) as you have an aerial type that we cannot connect.”

          Now this is interesting.  If you have read my previous posts you will see that I have been trying to get a smart meter installed.  Simples, one would hope.  Anyway, everyone keeps telling me that I can’t have one because I need a T3 aerial (despite the fact that my neighbour has an OVO smart meter and no special aerial), but no one can explain why they think I need a T3 aerial and no one has come out to check if I need a T3 aerial.  But now I get this e-mail shown above.  Well, the way I read that is that they know that I have a T3 aerial and they know that is through the MPAN and Smart Support (I have no idea what that is).  They go on to say that an engineer will not come out as I “have an aerial type that we cannot connect”.  

          This has really lost me.  As far as I am aware, I don’t have an aerial as I don't have a smart meter (although apparently OVO can tell that I do have one.  In fact “they know”).  And they are saying that an engineer can’t come out as I have an aerial type (T3) that “we cannot connect”.  When before everyone was saying that they can only connect if I do have a T3 aerial but no one can supply one of those and no one knows if I need one anyway.

          I mean really, as an exercise in obfuscation this is hitting new highs.  As before, I just want someone to believe that this can work and try to make it work (I live near Colchester for goodness sake) instead I just get a litany of reasons as to why it won't work but no-one, not one person, can tell me why they have arrived at that conclusion.

          I will keep trying..

           

           

          Jeffus
          Rank 20
          Jeffus
          Rank 20
          November 21, 2023

          Have you made any further progress @rvintner 

          It is rare a thread goes on this long on a single customer issue...

           

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