Hive App

Harrier Man · June 7, 2022

I noticed on the 450 Wallbox Installation thread that several people have been having charging problems. To educate myself, I looked up the Hive app on Google Play as I thought I would need to download this soon (when my car arrives). However, I have come up with more questions than answers.

The Android app gets just 2.2 stars; very poor, and I wondered if the app was causing the charging problems rather than the charger itself? Oddly, the apple version scores a more reasonable 4.5 stars. On reading the app descriptions, neither mention EV charging functions but I am looking at the right app because I followed the links from the hivehome.com website. This website does have a brief description of what the app can do for you but none of the functions look very useful to me and I didn't get a sense that I needed the app at all (previously I thought I did).

Obviously the app does much more and will therefore be useful to some people but if these other functions aren't needed or wanted, is the app any use for just the EV charging with the Alfen charger installed by BG?

zanderblue · June 8, 2022

I’m using the Hive app with my Alfen charger. So far it has been ok.

I’d say it is limited in terms of the scheduling. I can only select one of the 3 off peak periods I have with my electric tariff. Only had charger a week so I’ll stick with it for now.

Ken R · June 8, 2022

I am using the Hive app in conjunction with the Alfen charger as I already had the app for central heating/hot water control.

App is OK (running on Android). My main issue appears to be connectivity as the ev charger often drops out

Ken R · July 5

I know a number of LOC members have an Alfen Hive charger.

Are you currently experiencing the charger dropping out and going offline for days at a time?

I had this problem last year but it seemed to correct itself however the past two weeks have been awful with the charger offline almost constantly for about 10 days. I go through the recommended actions daily to try to restore connectivity without success

Phoned BG and they "reset" the SIM but still no change.

Anybody got a solution???

zanderblue · July 6

Ken,

I’ve got same set up as you and have had no issues whatsoever.

John Adams · July 6

15 hours ago, Ken R said:

I know a number of LOC members have an Alfen Hive charger.

Are you currently experiencing the charger dropping out and going offline for days at a time?

I had this problem last year but it seemed to correct itself however the past two weeks have been awful with the charger offline almost constantly for about 10 days. I go through the recommended actions daily to try to restore connectivity without success

Phone BG and they "reset" the SIM but still no change.

Anybody got a solution???

Every since I had the Hive unit a couple of years ago it constantly drops out virtually everyday. I have the Hive app for heating which is fine but the ev charger is always offline. I had the unit changed to a new one after a month but the new one is no different. I've complained dozens of times but now they just wash their hands of it and say there is nothing they can do. I'm thinking of changing to a new manufacturer next year when the 3 year warranty is up.

Ken R · July 6

Sorry to learn of your issues but its also reassuring that I am not alone! Likewise all other Hive connections (Heating and Hot water) work perfectly and to be fair the ev facility has been largely OK apart from recent weeks. I believe it operates using 2G technology so wonder if this is an issue? I have been promised a visit from an engineer so will report back on any findings.

Hayzee · July 6

I had a lot of similar issues with the app but it seems to be behaving itself lately. TBH the charger always provides power regardless of the state of the app so I regularly charge my car without any reference to the app. If I wanted to schedule charging times I use the in-car scheduling facility.

John Adams · July 7

Just another point about the Hive app. After 3 years they will start charging you a monthly fee to access the data from the charger. Obviously I wont be paying this as it would be pointless. I've noticed on the heating app as well- which I have had for many years- they have a new updated app launching and it seems they also want to charge a monthly fee for data of that as well. Just another way these companies want to screw you.

Ken R · July 12

Having been promised a call from an engineer I am still waiting! Have phoned BG four times this week, been on hold for up to 30 minutes, call was cut off once and have been told that I will get a return call from the call centre team on three occasions but nothing received. They say that the dropping out of the Alfen charger is a known fault and the only solution is to hard wire it via CAT 6 cables from the router.

John Adams · July 13

13 hours ago, Ken R said:

Having been promised a call from an engineer I am still waiting! Have phoned BG four times this week, been on hold for up to 30 minutes, call was cut off once and have been told that I will get a return call from the call centre team on three occasions but nothing received. They say that the dropping out of the Alfen charger is a known fault and the only solution is to hard wire it via CAT 6 cables from the router.

Ken. it is interesting that they say it is a known fault. The engineer who came to see me a number of times said he had never heard of anyone having this problem but me. This was repeated by the Hive team on the phone and they said it was because I was in a poor signal area. Strange that as I had to have a smart meter fitted last year when my analogue meter broke. That uses the same technology and works perfectly.

steve2006 · July 13

Smart meters have an unlimited data only SIM card in them which connects during installation to the best available network. If there is a weak signal an external aerial can also be fitted at the meter location.

Hayzee · July 13

16 hours ago, Ken R said:

Having been promised a call from an engineer I am still waiting! Have phoned BG four times this week, been on hold for up to 30 minutes, call was cut off once and have been told that I will get a return call from the call centre team on three occasions but nothing received. They say that the dropping out of the Alfen charger is a known fault and the only solution is to hard wire it via CAT 6 cables from the router.

Ken, I may well be wrong but I have the HIve EV charger (Alfen Eve S-Line) which was installed 2 years ago. I have the HIve app (have Hive Smart CH Thermostats). I believe that Hive heating communicates with the hub and thermostats via Zigbee. The hub itself connects to the internet router to communicate with the Hive servers. I also believed Zigbee is used for my EV charger to communicate with the HIve hub too. I had those EV offline issues for many months too but it seems to have resolved itself. I always thought the offline problem was because Zigbee comms were intermittently failing. I stand to be corrected.

Colin

Hayzee · July 13

From the HIve website....

"If you have a large home, or have your Hive devices spread far apart, they may struggle to maintain a good connection with each other and your Hive Hub. But a Hive Signal Booster will boost the signal so everything stays connected. Note: a Hive Bulb or Hive Plug will also boost the signal between your Hive devices."

Actually they no longer sell the extender so one would have to have a hive plug or bulb to do the extending.

Harrier Man · July 15

I guess these issues are coming about because you're using, or want to use, the hive app. I don’t have gas or any hive gadgets so I just use my Alfen ev charger in dumb mode, plug the car in and it starts charging. If I want charging to be complete by a particular time, I use the Lexus Link app. Apart from an initial glitch with faulty mattock(?) When it was installed 2 years ago, charging has been trouble free so far.

BonzoSPB · July 15

I experienced an issue with my Pod Point charger a few weeks ago where it refused to charge my NX450. A remote software update and reset from Pod Point solved the problem but it did make me wonder how annoying it would be to experience this type of failure as a pure EV owner. A trip down to the nearest 60-90p per KwH public chargers would be required.