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Most useful charger Apps?

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Pick up my model 3 next week and wondered if anyone had any advice on the most useful 3rd party charging apps to get on my phone?

I live in the south east but do occasionally drive up and down the uk, so want to be prepared for when I’m in need of a boost?
 
Pick up my model 3 next week and wondered if anyone had any advice on the most useful 3rd party charging apps to get on my phone?

I live in the south east but do occasionally drive up and down the uk, so want to be prepared for when I’m in need of a boost?
Am sure there loads of articles online or videos but from my experience always have zap map and plugshare so you can see what chargers and networks are around in the area your going to. I’d say (grudgingly) bp pulse, then genie point, instavolt and pod point will give you decent coverage but the best coverage of them all are the Tesla Superchargers and you’d be very grateful of that on road trips! Also for route planning, ABRP - a better route planner is a must to take anyway the stress of planning! However, the best part of owning a Tesla is the access to superchargers so you’ll always know you have a back up of a back up for charging if 3rd party charging goes to pot - good luck and enjoy!
 
Am sure there loads of articles online or videos but from my experience always have zap map and plugshare so you can see what chargers and networks are around in the area your going to. I’d say (grudgingly) bp pulse, then genie point, instavolt and pod point will give you decent coverage but the best coverage of them all are the Tesla Superchargers and you’d be very grateful of that on road trips! Also for route planning, ABRP - a better route planner is a must to take anyway the stress of planning! However, the best part of owning a Tesla is the access to superchargers so you’ll always know you have a back up of a back up for charging if 3rd party charging goes to pot - good luck and enjoy!
Yeah, there seems to be an immense amount of noise out there so i thought I’d ask people who actually use them rather than write stories.
 
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FWIW (more years in a Leaf than I care to remember), I've only ever really used ZapMap for working out what chargers are broken (I have PlugShare installed but I don't think I ever used it). And then - in rough order of ease of use, though I usually just had to go with whatever was closest - I had/have the following apps:

InstaVolt (though I usually just used a contactless card)
Polar Plus (very cheap rapids, if they're working, especially as I get free membership through Ovo's EV tariff)
PodPoint (generally slow chargers)
Charge Your Car (ditto)
Electric Highway (absolute pain the arse - get the app going, stand in the rain trying to scan a QR code, try to remember which credit card is valid...)
GeniePoint (sometimes, if it's possible, even more frustrating than Electric Highway)

Naturally, since getting the Tesla, the Leaf is now relegated to pootling around town and quick trips to the coast, and it's been (occasional) superchargers and home charging all the way. But some of the above apps/services might help if things go belly-up and you're in a supercharger black hole...
 
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FWIW (more years in a Leaf than I care to remember), I've only ever really used ZapMap for working out what chargers are broken (I have PlugShare installed but I don't think I ever used it). And then - in rough order of ease of use, though I usually just had to go with whatever was closest - I had/have the following apps:

InstaVolt (though I usually just used a contactless card)
Polar Plus (very cheap rapids, if they're working, especially as I get free membership through Ovo's EV tariff)
PodPoint (generally slow chargers)
Charge Your Car (ditto)
Electric Highway (absolute pain the arse - get the app going, stand in the rain trying to scan a QR code, try to remember which credit card is valid...)
GeniePoint (sometimes, if it's possible, even more frustrating than Electric Highway)

Naturally, since getting the Tesla, the Leaf is now relegated to pootling around town and quick trips to the coast, and it's been (occasional) superchargers and home charging all the way. But some of the above apps/services might help if things go belly-up and you're in a supercharger black hole...
Oh, and the Leaf still has RFID cards for Polar Plus, Charge Your Car and (I think) GeniePoint, but these are, thank goodness, relics that probably belong in some sort of museum.
 
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I agree with the ABRP and ZapMap recommendations. I'd also add ev.energy for optimising your home charging to your electricity tariff.

I've found the non-Tesla charging networks very unreliable and avoid them whenever possible. Even when I find one in service and nothing parked in front of it, I usually have to call the provider to get it to function.
 
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FWIW (more years in a Leaf than I care to remember), I've only ever really used ZapMap for working out what chargers are broken (I have PlugShare installed but I don't think I ever used it). And then - in rough order of ease of use, though I usually just had to go with whatever was closest - I had/have the following apps:

InstaVolt (though I usually just used a contactless card)
Polar Plus (very cheap rapids, if they're working, especially as I get free membership through Ovo's EV tariff)
PodPoint (generally slow chargers)
Charge Your Car (ditto)
Electric Highway (absolute pain the arse - get the app going, stand in the rain trying to scan a QR code, try to remember which credit card is valid...)
GeniePoint (sometimes, if it's possible, even more frustrating than Electric Highway)

Naturally, since getting the Tesla, the Leaf is now relegated to pootling around town and quick trips to the coast, and it's been (occasional) superchargers and home charging all the way. But some of the above apps/services might help if things go belly-up and you're in a supercharger black hole...
I concur about geniepoint- works fine in the Midlands where I am but the ones down south west were awful!
 
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In terms of an app to operate the chargers (rather than find them), I've been using the Octopus Electric Juice app (and RFID card).

Great concept (and you don't need to be an Octopus customer): one app/card to rule them all.

You can use their RFID card on most common UK chargepoints, and the cost gets relayed to your Octopus energy account for payment. You can still track charges/costs via the app.

More here: Octopus Energy

Here are all the charging networks they're working with as part of the app/card so far.

1632739342748.png
 
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Pick up my model 3 next week and wondered if anyone had any advice on the most useful 3rd party charging apps to get on my phone?

I live in the south east but do occasionally drive up and down the uk, so want to be prepared for when I’m in need of a boost?
As people have mentioned above, these are what i use. You will no doubt add apps and then delete them when you don't really need them.

Find chargers and route planner:
  1. Zap-maps - (great to find out if chargers are working by reading the comments against the charger.)
  2. ABRP
Networks - apps:
  1. PodPoint - (Great for free 7kw chargers and has 50kw chargers too for a cost at Lidl and the likes) - Tesco and some car parks have these Free 7kw chargers, but this app is needed to "Confirm charge" or the charge stops after 15mins.
  2. BP Pulse (AKA Polar, polar plus) - 50kw chargers usually in pub car parks (remember don't drink and drive!)
  3. Gridserve (AKA Electric highway/Ecotricity) - Old Ecotricity chargers are a waste of space, the updated Gridserve ones are much better and work.
Networks - Tap & Pay on charger unit
  1. Instavolt - (Around 35p/kw)
  2. BP Pulse (AKA Polar, polar plus) - More expensive to use tap & pay so get the BP pulse app and save a few pennies (Its free and not the membership one)
  3. Ionity (Not used myself but it is very expensive - emergency top up if needed)
Enjoy 🙂
 
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In terms of an app to operate the chargers (rather than find them), I've been using the Octopus Electric Juice app (and RFID card).

Great concept (and you don't need to be an Octopus customer): one app/card to rule them all.

You can use their RFID card on most common UK chargepoints, and the cost gets relayed to your Octopus energy account for payment. You can still track charges/costs via the app.

More here: Octopus Energy

Here are all the charging networks they're working with as part of the app/card so far.

View attachment 714833
Just signed up to this, thanks!
 
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