[sirbillynomates]

Electricity meter - out of date firmware

[theunknowntech]

How did you manage to get that data? I've never seen that tool before.

[sirbillynomates]

@theunknowntech I tested out the Hugo Energy App which I heard advertised on the radio. It claims to show you all the info on your mobile so you don't need an IHD. It is a free app, they offer switching so guess that is where they make their money. It could be useful for those who don't have an IHD but it didn't work for me. Customer services was helpful and after a lot toing and froing they told me one of the reasons was down to the firmware. I'm not sure if this is a red herring but asked for proof and they sent me a screenshot.

https://hugoenergyapp.co.uk/

[theunknowntech]

Be careful, they appear to store sensitive data outside the UK. I'm not particularly keen on vendors that do that with Smart Meter data. I'm also not too happy with their replies to reviews on the Google Play Store, suggesting an India based support team.

That screenshot by itself is unreliable and I'm afraid I can't (and wouldn't!) accept it as proof. The only entity that knows the actual latest version is the meter manufacturer and the most likely reason your meter hasn't yet got the latest code, might just be down to a phased rollout and your meter hasn't yet been targeted OR your meter simply hasn't yet grabbed it from the server. I highly doubt slightly outdated firmware has anything to do with an app like Hugo being unable to connect anyway.

Mind you, if you don't mind me nitpicking it a bit further - the lack of a meter model in that screenshot suggests another problem. How exactly can Hugo be sure your meter is running outdated firmware, if their tool doesn't even appear to know the specific model you've got? For all I know, it could either be a Honeywell Elster AS302P or a Honeywell Elster AS300P. :)

The terms of service also include at least one clause that I do not consider appropriate. I'm not a lawyer so you'll probably want to speak to one if you wanted to pursue this, but I can at least give my personal opinion.

Termination

We may end your rights to use the App and Services at any time by contacting you if you have broken these terms in a serious way. If what you have done can be put right then we will give you a reasonable opportunity to do so.
If we end your rights to use the App and Service:

• you must stop all activities authorised by these terms, including your use of the App and any Service;
• you must delete or remove the App from all devices in your possession and immediately destroy all copies of the App which you have and confirm to us that you have done this;
• we may remotely access your devices and remove the App from them and cease providing you with access to the Service.

Emphasis is mine. I have never seen that clause in any other ToS for basically anything. Strictly speaking, randomly remoting into a customers device without their explicit consent is illegal under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and you can get into a ton of trouble if you do it anyway. Given that neither Apple nor Google provide a way for app developers to force-uninstall their app from just one users device(s), I fail to see how Hugo could enforce that clause without breaking the law themselves. Just about any decent lawyer would probably spot that flaw and advise making a correction. Given it's in there anyway, that makes me think whoever wrote the ToS didn't think about that. Just my thoughts anyway.

At this time, I cannot recommend the Hugo app based on what I'm seeing.

[sirbillynomates]

Thanks for the info and advice. I am not using the app I only installed it to see if I could connect to my gas smart meter myself as it can’t be accessed remotely but it failed to connect to both the gas and electric. The electric is sending readings okay. I intend to purchase the IHD you recommend but only when the bigger issue is sorted. I really need to sort out the reason why the gas meter isn’t sending readings. As the electricity meter is I assume this is a problem with the local area network?

@PeterT_EONNext are you able to have a look at this?

[sirbillynomates]

@theunknowntech

Your question about the model type made me curious so I checked and I have a AS302P.

The SW, WAN and HAN LED lights all flash slowly (approx every 5 seconds). GAS does not flash. Is this helpful in diagnosing the issue?

[theunknowntech]

Yup, that helps a ton. I already have a diagnosis ready to give you.

Based on the Status LEDs, your Comms Hub, WAN Connection and Home Area Network are healthy based on the built-in self-diagnostics. However, the Comms Hub thinks there's no gas meter on the HAN, perhaps it was never commissioned properly? Please post photos of your gas meter, including a few that clearly show the display lit up so that I can read it. I think I'm pretty close to finding the root cause too.

[sirbillynomates]

Awesome! Thanks look forward to the diagnosis and hope it can be rectified easily.

[theunknowntech]

As I suspected, it appears the meter is not commissioned. You'll need to have an engineer come out to get it commissioned again.

[sirbillynomates]

Amazing! Thanks for the diagnosis it has been a long road but I can finally see the end. What is the best way to go about arranging an engineer? Customer services won't have a clue what the issue is and are always reluctant to send someone out.