[Gilbey]

We had this combo. fitted in November and are told it is still in dumb mode as there is no WAN coverage in our area. It sort of begs the question why fit the darn thing if it won't work?

The engineer fitted a remote aerial which is within the building about a metre away from the hub.

The WAN and Mesh lights flash in sync every 2 seconds whilst the SW light flashes on an irregular basis, although I do seem to recall them flashing all in sync every 5 seconds or so.

Question is, how can I check if there is WAN coverage in our area, and if there is is there any reason why the external aerial can't be extended to outside the building? Until recently we had an external 4G aerial to use 4G broadband coverage from a local EE mast which is still in place and unused since fiber went in.

The meter doesn't show up on the Consumers Advice smart meter portal.

We've also been told we can't have the IHM, but surely that communicates directly to the hub rather than the WAN?

Grateful for any sage advice.

[meldrewreborn]

@Gilbey

Another one for @retrotecchie.

But you are correct, the In Home Display gets its data from the meters via the communications hub HAN, and should operate with or without Smart Connectivity to the DCC and your supplier.. It should have been left with you by the meter installer. Grounds for complaint if you can't persuade an energy specialist to supply one. They are only guaranteed for 12 months, after that if it goes phut you're on your own.

[retrotecchie]

@meldrewreborn

Anecdotal evidence provided by @geoffers seems to suggest that with some meter/hub combinations, the HAN stops (or doesn't start) functioning unless WAN connectivity is fully established.

If this is one of the combinations, then without a working connection to DCC, then there's little point in leaving a non functional IHD.

[meldrewreborn]

@retrotecchie

but would the installer know that immediately upon installation?

[retrotecchie]

@meldrewreborn

I would guess it's a fifty fifty shot. If there's no WAN signal detected and no way of commissioning the meter properly then leaving an IHD on the off chance it might work eventually seems a bit daft to me.

[Gilbey]

@meldrewreborn Just had a call from Eon telling us that there is no DCC coverage in our area, brilliant, having pestered us to get a smart meter fitted!

Am I correct in saying that the DCC uses the O2 network, and if that is the case is the the 4G signal or do they use another system?

Reason I ask is that the O2 signal here is poor to non existent inside but 1 bar outside on a mobile phone. We had to use 4G Broadband until recently from EE with similar results, but once an external aerial was fitted, 3 or 4 bars and it worked faultlessly.

Here is a picture of the aerial the fitter left, we were wondering if connecting into an external aerial would solve the problem?

[meldrewreborn]

@Gilbey

the cellular system for 2g is provided under contract by Telefonica. The contract to provide this service to the DCC has another 9 years to run. As this system is separate from mobile systems there is no technical reason for it to cease working when 2g/3g mobile service are discontinued- however in some areas that seems to be the case. On the other hand switch off of those services is widespread and if the telephonica 2g was discontinued we would see millions of exiting meters becoming disconnected, and that has not shown up in the figures published by the government, which show the proportion of dumb meters dropping over time. In general terms the number of dumb meters (mostly SMETS 1 meters) is falling ever so slowly and new meter installations, which usually work) grow continuously.

DCC has developed with industry a 4g system which is available to suppliers to install. This will become the long term default option in southern UK, as a radio System is utilised in the north. Supplier uptake is not known by me.

it remains the case that OFGEM has performance indicators for suppliers that considers new smart meter installations, but has no measure of whether existing smart meters work full or partially or are completely dumb. Therefore there is a perverse incentive to roll out new installations rather than fix existing set ups.

DCC do release information on their website, but it does not address issues in non technical terms, and is not generally responsive to enquiries from the public with whom they have no contract relationship. OFGEM are useless and suppliers often obtuse.
@retrotecchie is the man for the aerial aspect. Neither of us has smart meters.

[Gilbey]

@meldrewreborn Thanks for that Victor I'll PM @retrotecchie to dig a bit deeper. However we are in Powys, and whilst I realise most people think north of the M4 is 'The North' which system do you think we might be on?

[retrotecchie]

@Gilbey

You're on the cellular/3g system which is being turned off across most of Wales rather sooner than DCC have any control over.