Communication hub lost contact with E.ON ?

[Deleted User]

MikeE67 said:

Even if true what you say I am still going ahead with the switch as what I was told when I was in communication with E.ON hasn't taken place.

However thanks for your feedback.

Do you have by any chance a MNC SKU 1 hub? I ask because the guys at Hildebrand (responsible for the Bright App) tell me that all suppliers are having issues with this hub which will require a firmware update to be sent out by the hub manufacturer. It follows that you may be blaming E.oN for something that is outwith its ability to fix; ie, E.oN may be waiting for the hub manufacturer to produce; test and roll out the firmware.

My advice, FWIW, is email smart@octopus.energy. Many of us have found that most CS staff lack the training to answer detailed questions about smart meter technical issues. Yes, it is true that your SMETS2 meters will not need a firmware update just to switch suppliers: however, it may be the case that your meters will still not work if there is a comms hub firmware issue.

MikeE67

Dolor said:
Do you have by any chance a MNC SKU 1 hub? I ask because the guys at Hildebrand (responsible for the Bright App) tell me that all suppliers are having issues with this hub which will require a firmware update to be sent out by the hub manufacturer. It follows that you may be blaming E.oN for something that is outwith its ability to fix; ie, E.oN may be waiting for the hub manufacturer to produce; test and roll out the firmware.

My advice, FWIW, is email smart@octopus.energy. Many of us have found that most CS staff lack the training to answer detailed questions about smart meter technical issues. Yes, it is true that your SMETS2 meters will not need a firmware update just to switch suppliers: however, it may be the case that your meters will still not work if there is a comms hub firmware issue.

I have a WNC SKU1 communications hub, (not a MNC), is that what you mean ?
I don't blame E.ON as I have only been with them 2 months and they didn't install the meters, OVO did last year (July 2019)

What annoyed me with OVO was I went through a lot of troubleshooting including a smart meter health check questionnaire which took around half an hour to complete and they never got back to me despite me sending quite a few emails and ringing up their customer service quite a few times.
It was only when I threatened to leave them that they responded by then I had decided to move to E.ON 

I was with OVO when the communication hub lost it's WAN connection back in April this year when the sequence of lights changed to the WAN light flashing every second where as prior to this happening the 4 lights (WAN, HAN, GAS and SW) all flashed in sync every 4 or 5 seconds which indicates that everything is okay.

After moving to E.ON, the light sequence went back to normal (all 4 lights flashing every 4 or 5 seconds in sync) so I thought that E.ON had fixed the problem and I didn't understand why they couldn't communicate with the meter to fetch my meter readings automatically.

I had no idea that there was a fault with the comms hub (assuming the brand you posted was a typo)

I used to be a member of the OVO forum and to my knowledge no one else posted about the WAN light flashing every second indicating a problem with the connection to the energy supplier.

Having said that the OVO forum was littered with smart meter problems with no one seeming to get anything fixed due to poor customer service.

When I joined E.ON I was told that they would arrange a home visit and if a faulty meter was found, E.ON would replace it. None of this happened hence why I am leaving.

I don't even know if E.ON know the brand of communication hub they are working with when instructions are sent via the DCC ?

All I know is around 5 years ago I had my first smart meter fitted, it was a SMETS1 meter and I never had a problem with it.
It was an Elster AS300P

When I moved to OVO they took it out and fitted my current SMETS2 meter and I have had nothing but problems with it ranging from IHD problems to losing connectivity altogether.

I never thought that migrating to a SMETS2 meter would be more problematic than a SMETS1 meter !

MikeE67

Update: I switched to Octopus Energy only a few days ago on 9th October.

Before the switch I emailed them to ask them if it's true that my MNC SKU 1 hub needs a firmware update and they said no as all firmware updates have already been applied by the DCC although they said that they can't directly pull remote readings yet as it can take up to 2 weeks from the switch date.

I just want to say that in contrast to E.ON and OVO they actually reply to emails and in my case within a few hours!
In this email it said that they can see no pending problems with connectivity of my smart meters and I shouldn't need to give manual meter readings any more once the 2 weeks gave passed.

They must be able to communicate with my communication hub as I just checked my IHD and electricity tariffs have been downloaded and current supplier is now showing as Octopus Energy although the gas tariffs are still showing as OVO

When you switch to a new supplier, does anyone know if it's normal for electricity tariffs to be downloaded before gas ?

I ask this as I know that it is the electricity meter and communication hub that has a direct connection with the DCC not the gas meter.

Thanks in advance for any feedback 😊 

MikeE67

I guess I'll just have to wait and see if the gas tariff also updates.

[Deleted User]

MikeE67 said:

Thanks in advance for any feedback 😊 

There is possibly an issue here. Firstly, the IHD takes data from the Comms Hub via what is known as a Zigbee Home Access Network (HAN) whereas the Comms Hub connects to the DCC via a Wide Area Network (WAN). Data on your IHD does not mean that your meters are passing data to the DCC.

There is a simple way to check where the problem lies. Go to the N3rgy.com website and Sign Up. You will need your MPAN and the Mac Address of your IHD. Both pieces of information are available on your IHD. Once you have signed up, you should be able to access your gas and electricity data by clicking on the icon 'I'm a Consumer'. After 2 months, you should see some data. If data is missing then it is likely that the Comms Hub is not transmitting data via the WAN. This could be for a number of reasons. N3rgy.com can access your data because, like Octopus, they are a registered DCC User. N3rgy.com uses a different adaptor to that used by Octopus to access your data.

If there is no data, I would take a screenshot/s and send them to smart@octopus.energy.

If your Comms Hub WAN light is flashing, then this means that your Comms Hub is connected to the DCC: it does not necessarily indicate a fault. I assume that the Gas paired light is also flashing? See the attached link for what rapidly flashing LEDs mean and what is normal.

https://www.smartme.co.uk/technical.html

MikeE67

@ Dolor
Thanks for replying.
When I was with E.ON the light sequence on the communication hub was different to now. Since I switched to Octopus Energy the light sequence has gone back to normal i.e. the WAN, HAN, GAS and SW lights are flashing once every 4 seconds where as for the last 9 months the WAN light alone was flashing fast and that was when my connectivity problem began.
Surely the WAN connection is active as how else would Octopus Energy tariffs be downloaded (on the electricity side) ?

This is what Octopus Energy said in a recent email :

[Deleted User]

I had replacement SMETS2 meters fitted last week. It’s a complicated story. The IHD showed electricity supply on and tariff data from the moment that the installer left but neither Octopus nor N3rgy.com can yet see my usage data. My replacement gas meter failed its installation process and Octopus got me to initialise the meter again on Thursday. My IHD was showing tariff information an hour later. Again, neither Octopus nor N3rgy are receiving data. SMETS2 meters have very sophisticated GCHQ level security, and suppliers are only allowed to access data when the appropriate security permissions are in place. Octopus also uses a third-party, a company called TMA, for all its interactions with the DCC; that is, it retrieves your data from TMA which in turn uses third-party software (an Adaptor) written by a company called CGI. This is what takes a little time to set up but it shouldn’t take 2 months based on my original SMETS2 installation 18 months ago.

If the email is to be believed, then you only have a few days to wait. I would just be patient. No usage data is being lost as each meter can store data for up to 13 months.

MikeE67

@ Dolor 
I had no idea that smart meters were so complicated and you say up to GCHQ level security !
I wonder why there is so much security as it's not like my house is a bank with a safe full of money ?

Thanks for the explanation. I appreciate it. Cheers 🍻 

[Deleted User]

MikeE67 said:

@ Dolor 
I had no idea that smart meters were so complicated and you say up to GCHQ level security !
I wonder why there is so much security as it's not like my house is a bank with a safe full of money ?

Thanks for the explanation. I appreciate it. Cheers 🍻 

Experts say that it is not a question of if these meters will be hacked, but only when. To reduce the risk, GCHQ was forced to intervene. All the detail is below. It is based on a principle of layered security. No one party has access to everything relating to your smart meters:

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/the-smart-security-behind-the-gb-smart-metering-system

MikeE67

@ Dolor 
Even if these smart meters were hacked I can't see what benefit potential hackers would gain from seeing my energy usage and even if they had the ability to turn my electricity and gas off or on again I can't see the benefit however I will have a read of the article that you highlighted in your link. 

Thanks