SMART METER NOT WORKING.

StClears345

Two years ago I had a smart meter fitted and it never worked. Octopus say it is due to  poor signal, which I accepted, as I live in a rural area.

Since then my 2 neighbours have had smart meters fitted (also by Octopus) and they both work perfectly. One is about 450 meters away and in direct line of sight the other about 1000 meters away.

Octopus are not being very helpful and are adamant that the problem is with the signal not with the equipment even though my neighbour work perfectly.

Does anyone know how I can compare the signal strength accurately in my house and my neighbours house, to see if they really do have a better strength signal.

Any other ideas would be welcome on how to get the smart meter to work.

Mark_d

I think communications with smart meters is done over the Vodafone network or O2. If you want to test the signal strength then get a mobile phone on each of these networks, and hold the phones next to the comms hub for each smart meter.  You should see the signal strength on of screen of each phone.

BarelySentientAI

Mark_d said:

I think communications with smart meters is done over the Vodafone network or O2. If you want to test the signal strength then get a mobile phone on each of these networks, and hold the phones next to the comms hub for each smart meter.  You should see the signal strength on of screen of each phone.

In the South.

In the North & Scotland it's an Arqiva radio network.

Rodders53

Add into the mix the electric meter/comms unit locations...

External meter box? 
Inside the dwelling?

One home may have the walls (with foil-backed insulating boards) etc,., between the unit and the transmit/receive tower/pole, while the others are sited in clear view of it... 

Places 1/2 a kilometre apart can change reception significantly...  The Freeview TV reception checker is based on 100m x 100m reception squares...

mmmmikey

If you're in St Clears then you can check the O2 signal and/or coverage checker - your smart meter uses the same 2g / 3g mobile network as a smart phone. But you need to do this by the meter. At my house I get a signal fine at the front where the meter boxes are but hardly at all in the back garden. Even things such as where you park your car can make a difference.

Also worth being aware that in the south (which includes Wales in this instance) there are various Comms hub options that should have been tried out as part of the install. If you have an SKU1 Comms hub (it says on it) it should be possible to change it for an SKU2 hub, and if that doesn't work an external antenna can be used. Not sure how you go about checking they've followed the correct process and not just given up, though.

brook_heather

Are new installations now using Vodafone instead of O2?  It was announced last August that Vodafone will be supplying the 4G signal for smart meters though I haven't seen a date given for this.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/08/vodafone-uk-to-upgrade-energy-smart-meters-with-4g-mobile.html

SuzeQStan

We went through something similar with 🐙 -not reading our smart meter - they said there was an issue with signal blah blah - same as you we had close neighbours with no problems at all with their smart meters. We kept at 🐙 and eventually found out that human error - incorrect recording of a number for the meter. Once they realised the mistake we were golden. Took about 6 months of agg

mmmmikey

brook_heather said:

Are new installations now using Vodafone instead of O2?  It was announced last August that Vodafone will be supplying the 4G signal for smart meters though I haven't seen a date given for this.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/08/vodafone-uk-to-upgrade-energy-smart-meters-with-4g-mobile.html

IIRC the Vodafone 4g network will need new comms hubs and the expectation is that testing will start at the end of this year, with roll out starting in the second half of 2025. Only the comms hubs will need replacing which should be a simple matter of unplugging the old one and plugging in the new one with no wiring involved. Hopefully that will be the time at which they resolve existing issues with IHDs where that is possible. 

So as of today it's my understanding that the smart meters in the south still use O2.

MeteredOut

mmmmikey said:

brook_heather said:

Are new installations now using Vodafone instead of O2?  It was announced last August that Vodafone will be supplying the 4G signal for smart meters though I haven't seen a date given for this.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/08/vodafone-uk-to-upgrade-energy-smart-meters-with-4g-mobile.html

IIRC the Vodafone 4g network will need new comms hubs and the expectation is that testing will start at the end of this year, with roll out starting in the second half of 2025. Only the comms hubs will need replacing which should be a simple matter of unplugging the old one and plugging in the new one with no wiring involved. Hopefully that will be the time at which they resolve existing issues with IHDs where that is possible. 

So as of today it's my understanding that the smart meters in the south still use O2.

The number of IT/infra projects i've worked on where someone said "should be a simple matter of"...

mmmmikey

MeteredOut said:

mmmmikey said:

brook_heather said:

Are new installations now using Vodafone instead of O2?  It was announced last August that Vodafone will be supplying the 4G signal for smart meters though I haven't seen a date given for this.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/08/vodafone-uk-to-upgrade-energy-smart-meters-with-4g-mobile.html

IIRC the Vodafone 4g network will need new comms hubs and the expectation is that testing will start at the end of this year, with roll out starting in the second half of 2025. Only the comms hubs will need replacing which should be a simple matter of unplugging the old one and plugging in the new one with no wiring involved. Hopefully that will be the time at which they resolve existing issues with IHDs where that is possible. 

So as of today it's my understanding that the smart meters in the south still use O2.

The number of IT/infra projects i've worked on where someone said "should be a simple matter of"...

yes indeed - the word "should" is doing some heavy lifting there (to use a cliche that is becoming more and more fashionable)

I'd anticipate the challenge being getting the configuration right, specifically in relation to the security, to ensure that the various devicestalk to each other. Just as car mechanics have had to develop new skills to work on modern car electronics, meter installers are going to need new skills in IT / networking to work on comms hub issues.

StClears345

Rodders53 said:

Add into the mix the electric meter/comms unit locations...

External meter box? 
Inside the dwelling?

One home may have the walls (with foil-backed insulating boards) etc,., between the unit and the transmit/receive tower/pole, while the others are sited in clear view of it... 

Places 1/2 a kilometre apart can change reception significantly...  The Freeview TV reception checker is based on 100m x 100m reception squares...

Good morning . Thanks for your help.
Myself and my 2 neighbours all have external T2 Ariels fitted in a porch or similar. My Ariel is in direct line of sight of an EE mast.