Is my New IHD Broken?

Rodders53

The IHD maker's help page https://touchbutton.support.geotogether.com/en/support/solutions/

suggests it's not receiving any signal from the smart meter comms unit (HAN home area network). You've done all you can - barring fitting batteries and placing IHD atop the meter comms hub. A flashing HAN light on the meter may just show it's talking to the gas meter over that network, not the IHD.

I'd suggest raising a formal COMPLAINT with BG for no other reason than it'll get their full(er) attention.

Can I assume this is a brand new IHD supplied by BG with the new meter? Or was it the one supplied/working with the old SMETS1? Either way, possibly one or the other device has a fault. Some comms hub issues can be remote reset, I believe, but can take some days (to be actioned by special team in supplier and be propagated to the meter via the DCC over the WAN) - once someone decides that is needed.

JohnSwift10

It is a brand new IHD supplied when new meters were installed.

Reed_Richards

A flashing HAN light on the meter may just show it's talking to the gas meter over that network, not the IHD.

The comms hub communicates with the electricity meter (which is usually directly underneath it) via the HAN. I don't have gas and when I first got my smart meter I didn't have an IHD but the HAN light still flashed every 5 seconds. Now my comms hub is connected to the electricity meter via a flying lead but that lead only carries power, not data.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82010301#Comment_82010301

That sounds right, as far as I know the flashing green light at about 5 second intervals just shows the HAN is available and functioning correctly.

Rapid flashing or a solid light would indicate a problem.

Reed_Richards

If the HAN were not functioning, then not only would your IHD not work but your supplier would not be able to read your electricity meter (nor your gas meter, if you have one). To get your electricity meter readings, both the HAN and the WAN need to be working correctly.

debitcardmayhem

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82010359#Comment_82010359

Not true, only WAN for the supplier.

Reed_Richards

No, really true @debitcardmayhem . The meter communicates with the comms hub via the HAN and the comms hub communicates with the supplier via the WAN.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82010387#Comment_82010387

Agreed, the most that the supplier could get from just the WAN would be an out of date gas meter reading from the gas proxy in the comms hub, the HAN must also work to get any readings from the ESME

QrizB

For everyone talking about the HAN, please note the OP said in the OP:

I have it plugged in to a socket on the other side of the meters so the WIFI signal is shown as maximum

The IHD "WiFi signal" indicator is measuring HAN signal strength, so we can probably assume the IHD is connected to the HAN.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82010570#Comment_82010570

Just to add a little confusion, some IHD (CAD) have both a WiFi and a separate HAN signal strength indicator…

'Radar' for the WiFi, and bars for the HAN.