Can I get a replacement for my broken smart meter In-Home Display (IHD)?

I've popped you post here, @csty, the above info will help. I'd recommended getting in touch with our team, they'll be able to check out the delivery status of your IHD.

You can send us a message on Facebook, Twitter or webchat via the Help Centre, or give them a call. You can reach our Customer Care team 9-5 Monday-Friday on 0330 30 5063.

Hope this helps!

It's hard to say for sure, @Iddybear, the team would need to check to see how the port broke.

You can send the device back so it can be checked we'll send you a free post sticker, just get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, webchat via the Help Centre, or give them a call. You can reach our Customer Care team 9-5 Monday-Friday on 0330 30 5063.

I am told that i need to replace the IHD MONITOR- it is faulty

How do i do this?

Hi @nizu 

If you have been told you need to get a replacement. Your best bet would be to contact OVO via email or webchat.

Webchat: Help Centre

Phone: 0330 303 5063

Thank for your speedy reply

just contacted ovo and told they do not have any in stock???

Difficult to believe!

Oh man that sucks :-( 

Sorry I can't help you there as I am only an OVO forum user like yourself. I know it's probably not something you want to do but have you looked on eBay? Maybe people are selling one

We are experiencing stock issues, @nizu, but we can add you to a waitlist to get one sent out as soon as one becomes available. We can’t confirm a time frame for how long this will take, but message the team to get this sorted via the Help Centre.

That’s a good idea, @ITGeek123, and I wish it was that easy but we wouldn’t connect an IHD from a third party as it could compromise the security! 

Thanks for the reply @Eva_OVO Would it work if Nizu bought the same IHD he currently has from eBay or am I guessing you configure them before they are sent out to homeowners?

Hey @ITGeek123,

It’d still be a no as other suppliers use the same models of IHD as us, so even if you buy a Pipit or Chameleon online we don’t know where it’s come from.

Cheers

My IHD broke back in February and I advised OVO for a replacement.  Since then I’ve been told I can’t have one because they don’t have any information as to when one will be available.  I’ve been on a waiting list for months and months.  Only today was I told the actual reason for the delay………..because I have a 1st generation smart meter and I need an older model of display which they are having trouble getting delivery of.

I’ve emailed them back asking why can’t I have a SMET2 meter installed then if it’s so difficult getting an older version of an IHD.  I am just waiting for them to respond, but I have a feeling I know how this will go. “No you can’t have a SMET2 because you already have a SMET1 and we don’t do upgrades, so basically you’re going to have to wait for these rare products to come back into stock”.  What the hell is the point in me having a smart meter if I can’t even get a IHD to go alongside it.

Anyone else been waiting close to a year for a replacement IHD?

My contract is up in December and I’m seriously considering switching away. I’ve been an OVO customer for several years now, yet I’m not getting anything for my custom, just getting fobbed off with excuse after excuse.

Good points @Madsocks79 and welcome to the Forum.

Firstly, I wish you’d posted here months ago because we could have provided the correct answer for you almost immediately. The Forum has a breadth of knowledge amongst its members which enables us to delve into the technical reasons why things go wrong. And as we don’t work for OVO, we don’t have to abide by company policy either.

Secondly, the possibility of your SMETS1 meters being exchanged for SMETS2 is a big fat zero. When SMETS1 was initially specified it was stipulated that all those 1st generation meters must be software upgradable to full SMETS2 functionality “over the air” (no site visit required).

In fact most of the SMETS1 meters installed by OVO have already been upgraded by the manufacturer. We are now in a phase called Middle Operating Capability, which commenced 30th July 2020. This phase will gradually migrate those meters onto the National Smart Meter Network, under control of the Data Communications Company (DCC).

At that point customers will be able to freely switch between Energy Suppliers whilst retaining full smart capability.

The IHD you require is almost certainly a Pipit, manufactured by Secure. You can buy them brand-new on Ebay for about £13. So I have no idea why OVO is having procurement difficulties.

Even if you do obtain a cheap Pipit yourself, it still needs to be paired with your Communications Hub. That can only be done over the telephone between you and OVO Customer Services.

Now that we’ve explored the ground, how would you like to proceed?

Thank you for your help. You’ve provided me with more information in 2 days than I got from OVO in the last 8 months.

Looking for the the IHD online, I can confirm it’s not a Pipit, but a Chameleon IHD3.

what I don’t understand is why they would be having procurement issues when they are still doing more installations and obviously providing IHD’s during this time so they must have a stock of them somewhere.

You’ve provided me with more information in 2 days than I got from OVO in the last 8 months.

That’s because your question is better suited to the Forum than it is to the Customer Services route.

I’ve visited OVO’s Bristol HQ on a number of occasions, seen how the CS Team work, and spoken to some of them. The initial weeks of training are very high quality, but this really only covers the basics of how the systems work, company policies and the Ofgem regulations under which they must operate.

What’s missing is the element of in-post training, after a few months on the job. They actually need to see a Smart Meter installation, talk to a Distribution Network Operator planner, and then visit a hydro-electric station and a substation. I’ve done all those in the past year; so I can bring those experiences back here to the Forum.

It’s an issue which OVO needs to address and I expect the Moderator, @Tim_OVO will want to raise this with the new CS Dept Manager who will shortly be in post.

It’s not that common for an OVO customer to have a Chameleon IHD with a SMETS1 meter installation. I wonder if CS have been trying to find the wrong model for you?

Even so, there is a major difference between the audited stocks of meter components which get installed on-site by engineers and the “spares stock” available. That’s because the Installation Engineers work within the Kaluza side of the business rather than the Retail Sales division.

Kaluza operates as a separate commercial entity, whereby its resources can be “bought in” by third-parties. So, for example, their engineers can be contracted to another Energy Supplier.

In your case this means that OVO Energy Retail must supply you with the replacement IHD and provide the support to get it paired.

Now you have a bit more of the background, you might feel yourself suitably armed to re-contact CS, using one of the methods on their Help Centre.

Let us know how it goes.

I’ve moved your topic over to this existing thread, @Madsocks79 and updated the best answer (at the top) with the latest. It’s not great to hear of your experience this year, trying to get reliable info on your IHD options.

It can be tricky for an agent to know the latest info on stock volumes of these IHDs, which our in house engineer team Field Force (it’s not part of Kaluza FYI @Transparent) aren’t providing when they fit the SMETS2 Aclara or Honewell/Elster smart meter, instead they fit SMETS2 IHDs  

I’ll do some digging on time frames and latest stock volumes and aim to update the best answer of this topic again once confirmed. Could you help me by letting us know the latest advice from the Support team @Madsocks79 ?

Let’s put it this way, I’ve had absolutely nothing from them, which has been the norm since February 2020.  It’s just the usual “you’re on a waiting list”, “don’t know when we are getting stock in”.

They’ve never asked what type of IHD it is, they’ve not confirmed if my SMET1 meter has been migrated under the DCC.  They’ve basically just regurgitating the same information just to fob me off.

I emailed them last week about the possibility of getting a SMET2 meter installed, but unsurprisingly I’ve yet to receive a response.

So good luck to anyone who has a broken IHD and needs a replacement, you will be waiting a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time to get one.

I’m sick of emailing them to be honest; my contract is up mid december so if I can get confirmation that my SMET1 meter has had the migration to DCC done so I can take it to other suppliers, then I’m just going to cancel my OVO contract and go somewhere that I’ll actually be wanted; maybe Octopus or somewhere else.

@Tim_OVO wrote:

our in house engineer team Field Force (it’s not part of Kaluza FYI)

Well I was told this on two occasions by OVO Installation Engineers last year (2019). Was the move to work within Kaluza mooted and then rescinded?

Thanks for this honest feedback, @Madsocks79 - I’m still trying to get an update on stock:

My contact is back ‘in the office’ today I’ve heard, so leave that with me. 

Yes a restructure has taken place since then @Transparent - all change in OVO world