Smart meter problems and how to solve them

Problems with smart meter installations and how they work have come to light throughout the smart meter roll-out. 

Here we’ve listed the issues and questions we hear most often, along with the experts' answers on what to do if you've experienced these issues.

Some 16% of Which? members with smart meters said they’d had a problem with theirs in the past 12 months when we surveyed 10,193 people with smart meters in June 2024.

We've spoken to energy firms, worked with Smart Energy GB, the smart meter consumer information campaign, and added our own expert insight to compile these tips.

New to smart meters? Start by finding out: what a smart meter is. 

Problem 1: My energy supplier isn't getting smart meter readings

This is the most common problem we hear from people with smart meters. 

That's perhaps not surprising since nearly 3.5 million of them aren't working in 'smart mode', according to government data published in August 2024. This means that they're not connecting to the smart meter network, which lets them send meter readings.

'They can't read the smart meter and keep asking me to.' - Scottish Power customer

This can happen for several reasons, the Data and Communcations Company (which operates the smart meter network) told us:

• lack of smart meter network coverage (WAN)
• update needed to your smart meter's software
• switching to a supplier that hasn't yet connected to your meter
• first-generation smart meter which hasn't been updated
• the environment or physical location causing problems for the smart meter.

If you’re concerned, check your latest statement, or your energy company’s app if you have it, to see whether your readings are marked as ‘smart’ (or 's'). 

If they're not, check how often your smart meter is meant to send data to your energy provider. It can be monthly, daily or half-hourly. Agreeing for your smart meter to send more regular meter readings should help the accuracy of your bills.

Check if your energy supplier is having connectivity issues, which could explain why your smart meter’s readings aren’t getting through. 

'There was a problem with the gas meter not sending my gas usage but the advisor didn't put my mind at rest that I wouldn't be overcharged or that the issue could be easily rectified. I feel at their mercy.' - EDF Energy customer

Contact your energy provider if your smart meter still isn't connecting properly and ask it to investigate. Energy firms are required to keep their customers' smart meters working in smart mode, the government Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero told us.

You can check if your smart meter should work in smart mode with Citizens Advice's tool.

If your smart meter isn't sending readings, it will usually still be recording your gas and electricity use. So you can submit readings manually to make sure your bills are accurate until your meter is smart again.

Problem 2: My smart meter monitor is not working

Separate from your smart meter itself, the smart meter monitor (also known as an in-home display) is the gadget that you're given when your smart meter is fitted that shows you what energy you're using at any one time, and how much it costs. We often hear about these either not working at all or showing the wrong information.

'I feel abandoned without getting the advantage from smart meters that I had been promised: an in-home display that shows my current consumption so I can see the effect in real time of turning appliances on or off.' - Octopus Energy customer

Problems we often hear about with smart meter monitors include them:

• showing incomplete data (e.g. data for electricity, but not gas)
• not showing any information/a blank screen
• losing connection with the smart meter
• showing incorrect data (less common).

Do not throw away your in-home display if it's not working. They are covered by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling regulations (WEEE), which mean that energy suppliers should collect, recondition and reuse in-home displays as much as they can.

Try these tips first if your smart meter monitor isn't working correctly:

1. Move it closer to your smart meters. Monitors work best if your smart meters are nearby. Some have a bar showing the signal strength they're receiving.
2. Check if it has a flat battery or is unplugged. Unplugged, the monitors don't have a very long battery life. 
3. Turn it off and on again.
4. Check your supplier's website (or the instruction booklet, if you have one) for troubleshooting tips. Many have dedicated guides.
5. Contact your supplier for advice if the problems persist or you can't move your monitor closer to your smart meters. 

If you've had your smart meter monitor for less than 12 months and it has broken or isn't working as it should be, your supplier should fix it or replace it free of charge. That's according to rules set by energy regulator Ofgem. You may need to pay if you damaged it though.

But after 12 months, your energy firm doesn't have to repair it and can charge you for a new one. Companies are taking different approaches. Find out why your energy company isn't fixing your smart meter monitor.

If you get a new smart meter monitor, your energy supplier should ensure that it works correctly and is paired with your smart meters 'in a timely manner'. That's according to voluntary principles which 11 suppliers (including the biggest six) have signed up to.

If a smart meter monitor won't work at your home, your supplier should offer you the 'next best' solution, such as functions in its app or online account.

If your smart meter has stopped working properly this can affect your monitor too. For example your provider might not be able to update pricing information shown by your monitor so the energy use costs it shows won't be up to date.

Your monitor should work fully again when your smart meters are connected to the national wireless network. If not, contact your energy company.

Problem 3: My smart meter is not working after I switched energy supplier

'Our smart meters stopped being smart about two months after switching. They were eventually replaced.' - E.ON Next customer

Some smart meters installed early on lost their smart functionality when switching supplier. 

This was because they were only able to communicate with the supplier that installed them. These meters were called first-generation (or SMETS1) meters.

Many of them are now connected to the central smart meter network, and have regained their smart functions. They should keep them if you switch supplier again.

Energy companies have been installing second-generation (or SMETS2) meters for several years. These are automatically connected to the smart meter network so all energy suppliers should be able to operate them.

But if your smart meter isn't working as it should after switching, contact your new supplier and ask it to look into it.

In the meantime, send meter readings to your supplier to make sure you're charged correctly. 

Problem 4: My smart meter stopped working after my energy firm stopped trading

If your energy supplier goes bust, you will be automatically moved to another energy firm. If your energy firm is bought by another company, you often become the customer of the acquiring firm too.

Some customers' smart meters lost their smart functions as a result. This is most likely to happen if you have a first-generation smart meter that is not yet connected to the central wireless network and the new supplier cannot read it. 

Your meter should become smart again once it is connected to the central wireless network so your supplier can read it.

Your in-home display should start working fully again at this time too. Ask your new supplier when this will be. 

Don't forget to continue to submit manual readings in the meantime so that your bills are charged accurately.

Common smart meter questions answered

Below, our experts have answered some of the questions we hear most frequently from people wondering about their smart meters, or thinking about getting one installed:

Do smart meters and solar panels work together?

Yes, they should. All smart (SMETS) meters can measure energy consumed (imported) and exported back into the grid. That's according to the government Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero.

Smart meter monitors will often only show how much energy you’re buying from your supplier, and not necessarily energy you generate as well, Smart Energy GB told us. 

Solar panel owners already have a PV-generation meter that tells them how much electricity their system is generating.

In the past we've heard from members with solar panels who have been refused a smart meter. 

However, tariffs that pay you for exporting solar electricity to the national grid under the Smart Export Guarantee require you to have a meter that can give half-hourly readings – generally this will be a smart meter. Find out if these tariffs are right for you in our guide to the Smart Export Guarantee.

If you have solar panels and are offered a smart meter, make sure your supplier is aware. Check whether your smart meter and in-home display will work fully with them.

Find out: are solar panels worth it?

Will my bills be higher with a smart meter?

You pay for the energy you use, so the total amount of your bill will be determined by the tariff you are on and your usage, rather than whether your meter is smart or not. Some energy companies may have tariffs that you can only sign up to if you have a smart meter.

A smart meter sends your meter readings to your energy supplier automatically. So, in principle, your bills should always be accurate and you should never get an estimated bill.

However, we do hear from people who are worried that their bills aren't accurate with a smart meter.

If you had a faulty old meter, or did not submit meter readings and got estimated bills, you might find that your payments change when you get a smart meter that is taking real-time readings. 

If your previous meter was faulty, your energy company can charge you retrospectively for the previous year if you have paid too little. If you've paid too much, your supplier has to refund you for the whole time the meter was faulty. 

Here's what to do if you think your energy meter is faulty.

However, if you're concerned that your bills are wrong, or your smart meter is showing an error message, contact your supplier. It is responsible for making sure your meter works properly. If it can't resolve the issue remotely, it should send someone round to take a look.

Can my supplier switch my smart meter from direct debit to prepayment?

Suppliers sometimes install prepayment meters for customers who are in debt. With smart meters, it's possible for energy suppliers to switch your meter to prepayment mode remotely.

But the rules are the same whether you have a smart or traditional meter: pay-as-you-go for debt collection should only be a last resort. 

Your energy firm must first check that prepayment is safe, practical and easy for you to access. It must also check that you aren't in a vulnerable situation. 

You should also get at least seven working days' notice if your smart meter is going to change to prepayment. 

Your meter can also be transferred back to credit mode remotely. 

If you think your supplier has moved you to prepayment unfairly, you are within your rights to make a complaint.

Start by making a formal complaint to the provider itself, and if the issue isn’t resolved after eight weeks, you can take your complaint to the energy ombudsman.

For help with changing to or from prepayment, read our guide to prepayment meters.

Will my smart meter stop working if I switch energy supplier?

This happened in the past but smart meters installed in the last few years aren't affected. 

That's because second-generation smart meters are connected to the central wireless network that all energy suppliers should be able to use.

First-generation smart meters had some connection issues while they weren't connected to this network. Many of them are now connected. Those that can't be will need to be replaced. 

You can use Citizens Advice's tool to check whether your smart meter will work in smart mode after switching.

Before you switch energy supplier, check the best and worst energy companies.

My home has poor mobile signal - will this affect a smart meter? 

Smart meters need to be able to connect to the Data Communications Company (DCC) through a wireless network. 

Smart meters currently being installed (second-generation) don’t rely on mobile phone networks. They have their own separate secure network. It covers 99.3% of homes and small business in Great Britain, according to the DCC.

If you're in the remaining 0.7% you're unlikely to be able to have a smart meter that connects to the network.

However, where the signal is weak, energy suppliers can install additional aerials to boost it, the DCC told us.

Depending on where you live, the network uses mobile phone or radio masts.

First-generation meters used mobile phone networks so may have trouble sending your supplier meter readings if mobile signal is poor where you live. This should change as your meter is connected to the smart meter network. 

'I felt helpless as the issue is with poor/no mobile phone signal rather than the smart meter itself. It struggles to send any data.' - British Gas customer

If you're concerned, ask your provider to check your signal when you book your smart meter installation.

My smart meter data could be shared without my consent

Only your energy supplier and local network operator can decrypt the information sent by your smart meter. 

They can only use it for specific regulated purposes (such as billing you) without getting your permission. 

If you give your permission, your supplier and third parties can use your data to offer you new products and services such as advice on the best tariff for you. 

Find out how smart meters work and get our tips for how to use your smart meter data.

My gas and electricity meters are hard to access

'My smart meter is unreadable unless a step ladder is used.' - Ovo Energy customer

If your electricity or gas meter is difficult to get at, tell your energy company before it comes to install your smart meters so it's prepared. For example if you meter is:

• in a small cupboard or other confined space
• partly concealed in a case outside
• very high up.

Your energy firm might ask you to dismantle the cupboard, remove obstacles in front of your meter or come with the appropriate equipment so your installation can go ahead.

Find out: what to expect from a smart meter installation.

Are there any smart meter dangers?

Some have been concerned that smart meters give off radiation. But the evidence to date suggests that exposure to radio waves produced by smart meters doesn't pose a risk to health.

A 2017 study of a selection of smart meters available in Great Britain found that exposure to radio waves from smart meters was below guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.

It also found that smart meters expose people to fewer radio waves than mobile phones and wi-fi equipment.