Unreliable charging using Intelligent Octopus

[Spikey.B]

My Tesla M3LR does not like Intelligent Octopus.
After a short trip recently I returned home and plugged in my Zappi2 charger as usual.
Overnight (using IO) the car charged 4kwH as expected.
Frequently as last night (same local trip) no changed to any settings it added 1kwH.
I noticed a message on my phone (android) saying 'Unable to control your device' .
This in spite of the fact that my phone reported 'Smart charging plan created'
Any ideas how to tackle this problem?

I have previously emailed Octopus who replied they were sorry and would look in to it. Nothing since.

 

[browellm]

Same thing I said to this chap Wiki - Everything you wanted to know about Intelligent Octopus But Were Afraid To Ask

 

[carnutt]

I had this issue with my Ohme, if its similar then you need to turn off ALL scheduling in the Zappi app including any unit price limits and any scheduling for in the Tesla. Not sure if its the same problem exactly but worth checking.

 

[rincewind]

'Unable to control your device' has happened a few times on mine too. Seems a bit random, works for a couple of weeks and then the message pops up. That said, it still seems to charge to within a percent or two of the set amount, so I'm not that concerned.

 

[Pink Duck]

I’ve had that same message a lot lately, annoying just after 04:00 or 05:30 meaning charging continues into peak without plan.

Can't put fault entirely with Octopus there, Tesla are well known for making API changes suddenly and the new SDK calls aren't always timely.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Its also as simple as your car not being online. Such as when you open the app and it just sits there grayed out and eventually comes up with a 505 error. I'm sure we have all seen that.

If the car doesn't respond when Octopus tries to connect then there is a delay until it tries again and this can cause issues.

 

[Pink Duck]

Sadly Octopus only attempts to stop charging once and hasn’t been succeeding lately. Suggestive of outage in Tesla-land but I've also found refreshing location via Tesla app is successful in getting IOG to behave more reliably. Just that's hard to do in the early hours.

 

[linkandnavi]

I think it's all related to the issues around mobile connectivity that has spawned extremely long threads recently (Here). For me, my IO "unable to control your device" issues started at the same time.

Even when at home and with WiFi available, Tesla's disconnect from WiFi when they go to sleep and rely on mobile connectivity to wake them. So if Octopus"pings" the car and it's going through one of its weird "can't find a mobile signal" moments, it doesn't wake and trigger the charge.

I've woken up on numerous occasions to find the "unable to control your device" notification, but it's always still charged for me because it reschedules the charging windows and tries again later. So not something that Octopus can fix I don't think - just need Tesla (with their provider) to sort out their mobile issues.

 

[Pink Duck]

My local Three UK mast has issues and that may be why IOG has been iffy lately with my Tesla asleep from Wi-Fi. Also noticed in the mornings for the last week that there's frequent gapping between disconnect from WiFi and streaming music resuming on cellular.

 

[kuruma]

Been working on troubleshooting this issue with octopus for maybe two years now. It's got so bad I've now removed the car from being a smart device (following their suggestion) and just use the hours that IO provide to charge the car using scheduled charging. That's so reliable, we can't see the advantage of adding the car back in as a smart device and going back to smart charging slots...

 

[Spikey.B]

Been working on troubleshooting this issue with octopus for maybe two years now. It's got so bad I've now removed the car from being a smart device (following their suggestion) and just use the hours that IO provide to charge the car using scheduled charging. That's so reliable, we can't see the advantage of adding the car back in as a smart device and going back to smart charging slots...

Hi Kurumba
Sounds like your solution may work well.
But how do you set it so that the car charges during the low cost period 11.30-5.30.
As in the car you can only set departure time.
Do you set the 'use off peak charging' setting?
Thanks

 

[browellm]

Been working on troubleshooting this issue with octopus for maybe two years now. It's got so bad I've now removed the car from being a smart device (following their suggestion) and just use the hours that IO provide to charge the car using scheduled charging. That's so reliable, we can't see the advantage of adding the car back in as a smart device and going back to smart charging slots...

Presumably you've moved back to Go which is exactly the tariff for this use type.

 

[browellm]

Hi Kurumba
Sounds like your solution may work well.
But how do you set it so that the car charges during the low cost period 11.30-5.30.
As in the car you can only set departure time.
Do you set the 'use off peak charging' setting?
Thanks

OP, you still haven't said whether you're onboarded with the Tesla API or Zappi integration.

 

[BushFox]

I think it's all related to the issues around mobile connectivity that has spawned extremely long threads recently (Here). For me, my IO "unable to control your device" issues started at the same time.

Even when at home and with WiFi available, Tesla's disconnect from WiFi when they go to sleep and rely on mobile connectivity to wake them. So if Octopus"pings" the car and it's going through one of its weird "can't find a mobile signal" moments, it doesn't wake and trigger the charge.

I’ve had that 2x in last 3 wks now. Plugged in and got a schedule, wake up and schedule still there and car not charged at all. Also had the opposite end of Dec car charged according to schedule but Octopus said I didn’t have a schedule and charged it at full rate. Sent Octopus photo of the schedule (sad I know I photo each one) who agreed but wouldn’t refund the extra cost as “IOG is Beta”.

 

[Burley]

@Spikey.B you can set up the Zappi to run a Timed Boost for 6 hrs from 11.30pm, then leave it set on Eco+ mode and the car will charge from 11.30pm as required (you need to disable smart charging in devices in the Octopus App, otherwise your Tesla will try to smart charge at other times). I think you need to allow it to create a smart charge every now and again otherwise you breach the terms of IO.

 

[Spikey.B]

@Spikey.B you can set up the Zappi to run a Timed Boost for 6 hrs from 11.30pm, then leave it set on Eco+ mode and the car will charge from 11.30pm as required (you need to disable smart charging in devices in the Octopus App, otherwise your Tesla will try to smart charge at other times). I think you need to allow it to create a smart charge every now and again otherwise you breach the terms of IO.

Many thanks Burey.

I will try that.

 

[Spikey.B]

Many thanks Burey.

I will try that.

Sorry Burley

 

[KennethS]

Hi Kurumba
Sounds like your solution may work well.
But how do you set it so that the car charges during the low cost period 11.30-5.30.
As in the car you can only set departure time.
Do you set the 'use off peak charging' setting?
Thanks

Sorry to answer when not asked, but I have our car (the Tesla that is integrated with IO) set to start charging at 11.30pm. Charging for us adds roughly 10% per hour, so if the car needs more than 55% to reach our set limit I just reduce the limit on those nights to be absolutely certain we won't overrun the overnight tariff. When IO smart scheduling works (which it usually does for us) IO is pretty fast to stop the charge to take control. But this ensures the car charges if IO has any communication issues on a particular day.

 

[Dilly]

I’ve had straightforward charging issues on Zappi scheduled overnight boosts. I have a sneaky feeling that 2024.2.x is the culprit.
My charge starts and stops several times and eventually continues to completion. On one occasion it didn’t. It signalled to my Zappi that charge was complete.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Been working on troubleshooting this issue with octopus for maybe two years now. It's got so bad I've now removed the car from being a smart device (following their suggestion) and just use the hours that IO provide to charge the car using scheduled charging. That's so reliable, we can't see the advantage of adding the car back in as a smart device and going back to smart charging slots...

Exactly what I did when they failed to find the cause.