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Chargepoint issues

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AWDtsla

Active Member
Mar 3, 2013
4,323
4,298
NE
Anyone else wondering what is going on with Chargepoint? The stations are everywhere in the northeast but there are two major issues right now:

1. Their web portal seems to not be able to talk to half the internet since like the end of December, and no one cares? Try using it to find stations or to login: ChargePoint The iOS app however, does seem to work. Although it may take several minutes (!!!) to actually unlock the charger.

2. I've discovered there are web-enabled chargepoint charging stations that are NOT on their own map, thus cannot be used from the iOS app as well.

Is this company dying?
 
For #1, on the web portal I have no idea what you're talking about. I use Chargepoint stations my at my work almost every weekday and then some. I use the web site almost every weekday. It works fine.

As for using the iOS app to unlock the EVSE, I've almost never done that. In my over 2.5 years of Chargepoint use, I've probably done it under 5 times, once just to test something. 99+% of the time, I use the swipe cards. For me, it's a total waste of time to bother w/their smartphone app to unlock and start a station that I'm standing in front of, esp. when there are several dozen nearby.

I can't speak to #2 as I don't look for stations via their app anyway. Plugshare is what I use. As for using their iOS app to start sessions, see above. Why not use their swipe/RFID cards?

I dunno if they're dying. Their HQ is physically withing walking distance of my work. I know someone who works there.

Have you reported any/all of these to Chargepoint? Maybe best to call them.
 
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For #1, on the web portal I have no idea what you're talking about. I use Chargepoint stations my at my work almost every weekday and then some. I use the web site almost every weekday. It works fine.

As for using the iOS app to unlock the EVSE, I've almost never done that. In my over 2.5 years of Chargepoint use, I've probably done it under 5 times, once just to test something. 99+% of the time, I use the swipe cards. For me, it's a total waste of time to bother w/their smartphone app to unlock and start a station that I'm standing in front of, esp. when there are several dozen nearby.

Yet another thing to carry? Seems so last century.

I can't speak to #2 as I don't look for stations via their app anyway. Plugshare is what I use. As for using their iOS app to start sessions, see above. Why not use their swipe/RFID cards?

I dunno if they're dying. Their HQ is physically withing walking distance of my work. I know someone who works there.

Have you reported any/all of these to Chargepoint? Maybe best to call them.

Yes it's been reported a month ago. And no, it's not just me, it was validated by other people, although in the same geography. It affects thousands of potential users, though who knows how many of them have EV's. But I can't be the ONLY one here to notice and report to Chargepoint. I can literally switch back and forth between RCN and Comcast as I sit here and see it be broken on RCN. Just did this now on the same device, Comcast then RCN:

freetrace to na.chargepoint.com, 64 hops max, 52 byte packets


1 - x
2 - x
3 - he-0-11-0-0-ar01.needham.ma.boston.comcast.net (162.151.112.17)
4 - be-7015-cr02.newyork.ny.ibone.comcast.net (68.86.90.217)
5 - be-10305-cr02.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net (68.86.85.202)
6 - hu-0-18-0-1-pe04.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net (68.86.89.142)
7 - as36248-1-c.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net (23.30.206.226)
8 ******************** Request timeout
9 - dcpe1-coreb.ord1.rackspace.net (50.56.6.163)
10 - core1-coreb.ord1.rackspace.net (184.106.126.129)
11 - core1-aggr501a-1.ord1.rackspace.net (184.106.126.21)
12 - 50.57.27.195

freetrace to na.chargepoint.com, 64 hops max, 52 byte packets


1 - 192.168.1.1
2 - x
3 - bdle1-sub202.aggr1.sbo.ma.rcn.net (207.172.217.220)
4 - bdle4.core2.sbo.ma.rcn.net (207.172.15.147)
5 - tge0-0-0-1.core2.chgo.il.rcn.net (207.172.19.233)
6 - bdle3.border1.eqnx.il.rcn.net (207.172.15.212)
7 - bbr1.ord1.rackspace.net (206.223.119.14)
8 - 10.25.0.69
9 - dcpe1-coreb.ord1.rackspace.net (50.56.6.163)
10 - core1-coreb.ord1.rackspace.net (184.106.126.129)
11 - core1-aggr501a-1.ord1.rackspace.net (184.106.126.21)
12 ******************** Request timeout
13 ******************** Request timeout
14 ******************** Request timeout


Looks like they need to go tell Rackspace to fix their s***
 
For me, a tracert returns this (w/a minor edit) from my home machine.
Tracing route to na.chargepoint.com [50.57.27.195]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms [192.168.1.1]
2 16 ms 9 ms 18 ms 96.120.88.201
3 9 ms 10 ms 11 ms te-0-2-0-11-sur03.sanjose.ca.sfba.comcast.net [68.85.102.173]
4 24 ms 10 ms 10 ms hu-0-3-0-1-ar01.santaclara.ca.sfba.comcast.net [68.87.192.165]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 45 ms 39 ms 40 ms be-11719-cr02.denver.co.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.86.77]
8 63 ms 66 ms 61 ms be-10517-cr02.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.85.169]
9 66 ms 59 ms 76 ms hu-0-14-0-0-pe04.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.87.130]
10 65 ms 59 ms 59 ms as36248-1-c.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net [23.30.206.226]
11 * * * Request timed out.
12 61 ms 69 ms 63 ms 50.56.6.255
13 67 ms 59 ms 66 ms core2-CoreA.ord1.rackspace.net [184.106.126.127]

14 61 ms 60 ms 60 ms core2-aggr501a-1.ord1.rackspace.net [23.253.15.61]
15 62 ms 60 ms 60 ms chargepointportal.net [50.57.27.195]

Page works fine for me.

If I were in your shoes, I'd report the problem to Chargepoint, mentioning which ISP and what area, Rackspace (since you think they're at fault) and RCN.

- - - Updated - - -

Yet another thing to carry? Seems so last century.
I have 2 of their cards and carry them w/me. You could leave it in your car.

As I said, it's a total waste of time for me to even bother w/their smartphone app to begin a session. Besides having to find the right one on the map, I recall using their app is much slower in terms of time to unlock handle than their RFID card.

Also, some people at work semi-recently reported that they couldn't use the Chargepoint app to start a session. Something about it not being supported, which sounds totally wrong, since it worked before. It is possible that our admins (the ones that control our stations at work) changed a setting and/or disabled it.

Also, when I used to work in another building, cellular signal in the underground garage could be sketchy anyway. And, we at one point had (cellular) communications problems w/some of the stations so there's no way it'd work on those and the others connected to it (cellular modem equipped gateway stations) via their mesh network. Chargepoint techs had to come out and replace the cellular modems on 2 or more stations since they claimed that AT&T had gotten rid of 2G service in our area (something along those lines).
 
I have 2 of their cards and carry them w/me. You could leave it in your car.

As I said, it's a total waste of time for me to even bother w/their smartphone app to begin a session.
You don't use the app to see if the chargers are in-use? I usually have it open even as I'm approaching the charger in case somebody beats me to it.

Besides having to find the right one on the map, I recall using their app is much slower in terms of time to unlock handle than their RFID card.
They should fix that.
 
You don't use the app to see if the chargers are in-use?
For that purpose, rarely before and now, almost never.

In my old situation at old building w/very limited # of EVSEs, Chargepoint seemed to get rid of the feature where the marker changes to green if it believes that car's done charging but still plugged in. Even then, that said nothing about whether the spot was still occupied and blocked, which it sometimes was. I would check on the web site via my computer at work anyway. There was often no point in bothering w/the tiny screen on their mobile app.

We sometimes would have to mail drivers and/or our internal DL saying "need to charge", "can we swap spaces w/you" or can someone move?

Eventually, parking became so full, we had parking valets and they were EV valets for the 6 dedicated handles they controlled. Sometimes, I'd have no choice but to give the EV valets my car (no parking left).

In some of the above cases, I'd use my 120 volt L1 EVSE if there were some available L1 spot and it'd give me sufficient juice.

Even before the fullness, I would defer my charging usually until 3 or 4 or even 5 pm, since I didn't need much time. By 4:30, there are many people who are done.

We've moved buildings, have a new parking structure and many more handles than we have EVs/PHEVs that charge at work each day. I can always find an open handle by driving to certain locations (e.g. parking structure roof), if need be.
 
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I use plug share to find a station. Can you pay through plug share if the station belongs to chargepoint or do you have to have the chargepoint app/card to use it?
From PlugShare - Accelerating the Plug-In Revolution, I don't think so. It s says "Pay with PlugShare works with the SemaCharge and GE WattStation charging networks and will expand to other networks in the future."

I've had a Chargepoint account since July 2013 and a card even before that. I've had to since all the stations at my work are Chargepoint and it's free charging for us there. :)
 
Thanks, I just loaded the chargepoint app and set up an account. We are planning a trip to St Michaels, MD, Tuesday. It is only 109 miles from us but round trip with no diversions would leave a cushion of only about 20 miles which is cutting it too close.

Thinking of the future, off the Supercharger net, is the
CHAdeMO Adapter worth the $450?
 
"Thinking of the future, off the Supercharger net, is the
CHAdeMO Adapter worth the $450?"

Compared to what?

I have a CNAdeMO Adapter and have used it four or five times, a Roadster Charger to Model S/X adapter, used six or eight times times, a 20 foot 14-50 extension cord used twice.
At old prices that I paid, probably $1500,,, value,e priceless!



 
Thanks, I just loaded the chargepoint app and set up an account. We are planning a trip to St Michaels, MD, Tuesday. It is only 109 miles from us but round trip with no diversions would leave a cushion of only about 20 miles which is cutting it too close.

Thinking of the future, off the Supercharger net, is the
CHAdeMO Adapter worth the $450?

We've used the CHAdeMO adapter ~a dozen times in 21k miles. It made off-the-(Tesla)-grid stays semi-comfortable several times.