Intelligent Octopus and Software 3.0

All Volkswagen ID.3 related discussions
LongMynd
Posts: 95
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:39 pm

Post by LongMynd »

We have our ID.3 booked in to have replacement 12 volt battery and software update on 1 August.
Our Octopus Go contract expires at the end of August.
Currently Octopus says that VW ID cars are excluded from Intelligent Octopus.
Does anyone know if we'll be able to use Intelligent Octopus when we have updated our ID Software to 3.0 or 3.1?
Thanks,
Charles.
ID.3 Tour with heat-pump

User avatar
davidwalton
Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:18 pm
Location: The Cloud

Post by davidwalton »

I'm potentially about to switch from Go to IO, but I have an Ohme charger which does work with IO, so the ID.3 will be in 'dumb' mode with the Ohme controlled via IO to charge the dumb car. Not jumping just yet, waiting for the renewal email from Octopus which is expected by the end of the month. If that offers the same rate I'm on now, I'm staying with it. If Go goes up in price (fully expected tbh), I'll switch.

The ID.3 is currently on 2.3. Ohme can now connect to the VW servers to get the SoC which is a vast improvement in charging reliability when the car is as dumb as it can be. Not sure if anything will change with 3.0/3.1 in terms of Octopus being able to directly connect/control (via a dumb charger or a dumbed-down-smart charger) - we'll have to see!
71 / 2021 ID.3 Life Pro Performance, Glacier White, Andoya Wheels
Ohme Go Smart cable / Intelligent Octopus tariff- Octopus £50 bonus referral link: https://share.octopus.energy/steel-goat-168
sidehaas
Posts: 1788
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:04 am

Post by sidehaas »

davidwalton wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:41 am I'm potentially about to switch from Go to IO, but I have an Ohme charger which does work with IO, so the ID.3 will be in 'dumb' mode with the Ohme controlled via IO to charge the dumb car. Not jumping just yet, waiting for the renewal email from Octopus which is expected by the end of the month. If that offers the same rate I'm on now, I'm staying with it. If Go goes up in price (fully expected tbh), I'll switch.

The ID.3 is currently on 2.3. Ohme can now connect to the VW servers to get the SoC which is a vast improvement in charging reliability when the car is as dumb as it can be. Not sure if anything will change with 3.0/3.1 in terms of Octopus being able to directly connect/control (via a dumb charger or a dumbed-down-smart charger) - we'll have to see!
I do not believe you'll be able to switch - pretty sure for IO you need both a compatible car and a compatible charger from their list, not one or the other. The car being in complete dumb mode is no good because the charger has to be able to reliably read the current SoC and start/stop charge when it wants to without things falling over. If this is all fixed with 3.0 then hopefully we'll get compatibility soon.
If I'm wrong and you manage to switch please let us know how it goes.
ID.3 Family Pro Performance (Jan 22), Makena Turquoise / East Derry alloys. Ohme Home Pro charger.
VengefulSeal
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2022 9:42 am

Post by VengefulSeal »

sidehaas wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:52 am
davidwalton wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:41 am I'm potentially about to switch from Go to IO, but I have an Ohme charger which does work with IO, so the ID.3 will be in 'dumb' mode with the Ohme controlled via IO to charge the dumb car. Not jumping just yet, waiting for the renewal email from Octopus which is expected by the end of the month. If that offers the same rate I'm on now, I'm staying with it. If Go goes up in price (fully expected tbh), I'll switch.

The ID.3 is currently on 2.3. Ohme can now connect to the VW servers to get the SoC which is a vast improvement in charging reliability when the car is as dumb as it can be. Not sure if anything will change with 3.0/3.1 in terms of Octopus being able to directly connect/control (via a dumb charger or a dumbed-down-smart charger) - we'll have to see!
I do not believe you'll be able to switch - pretty sure for IO you need both a compatible car and a compatible charger from their list, not one or the other. The car being in complete dumb mode is no good because the charger has to be able to reliably read the current SoC and start/stop charge when it wants to without things falling over. If this is all fixed with 3.0 then hopefully we'll get compatibility soon.
If I'm wrong and you manage to switch please let us know how it goes.
I have the Ohme Home Pro and it is an option to switch to Intelligent Octopus - the ID.3 wouldn't be part of it yet, but they added support for the charger in the last week or so.

I haven't switched yet as the daily rate is 5p more than my current Go tariff. The additional 2 hours of cheaper rate wouldn't offset the increase during the day.
darknite1
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:45 pm

Post by darknite1 »

I have been looking at switching to Intelligent. But 1 I have a zappi which is not on the list though apparently it will work when in fast mode and I have an ID3 from Monday. Currently the octopus site lists VW ID cars as excluded.... So might be a non starter for me. Ideally I would like the zappi to use solar during the day and then Intelligent Octopus overnight for topup charges.
MotMot
Posts: 1213
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:04 pm

Post by MotMot »

I believe it can work with either a car OR charger that is supported - as you can leave the charger in dumb mode and let the car manage the charging OR leave the car in dumb mode (with say an 80% charge limit) and let the charger choose when to charge.

Maybe someone with an iD3 and an Ohme could try? Pretending they have an egolf?
sidehaas
Posts: 1788
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:04 am

Post by sidehaas »

MotMot wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:29 pm I believe it can work with either a car OR charger that is supported - as you can leave the charger in dumb mode and let the car manage the charging OR leave the car in dumb mode (with say an 80% charge limit) and let the charger choose when to charge.

Maybe someone with an iD3 and an Ohme could try? Pretending they have an egolf?
Using the default charger profile settings, an ID.3 (being dumb) and Ohme Home Pro will regularly fail to charge properly. To make it work reliably Ohme had to remotely change the charger settings for myself and several others off this forum, such that the Ohme sends different data signals to the car when it pauses a charge (including when first plugged in if it is not due to charge immediately). This somehow prevents the ID3 from limiting the charge rate, which it otherwise did upon the charge restarting. Among other things, it also stops the car from locking the cable in (which obviously it shouldn't). The plus point is that it does mean scheduled charging via the Ohme works reliably, but I don't think it has yet been made the default by Ohme, and it's clearly not a solution that works exactly as intended. Personally I wouldn't risk signing up to OI with this combination.
ID.3 Family Pro Performance (Jan 22), Makena Turquoise / East Derry alloys. Ohme Home Pro charger.
ItshardtobuyId3
Posts: 258
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:53 pm

Post by ItshardtobuyId3 »

sidehaas wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 3:31 pm
MotMot wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:29 pm I believe it can work with either a car OR charger that is supported - as you can leave the charger in dumb mode and let the car manage the charging OR leave the car in dumb mode (with say an 80% charge limit) and let the charger choose when to charge.

Maybe someone with an iD3 and an Ohme could try? Pretending they have an egolf?
Using the default charger profile settings, an ID.3 (being dumb) and Ohme Home Pro will regularly fail to charge properly. To make it work reliably Ohme had to remotely change the charger settings for myself and several others off this forum, such that the Ohme sends different data signals to the car when it pauses a charge (including when first plugged in if it is not due to charge immediately). This somehow prevents the ID3 from limiting the charge rate, which it otherwise did upon the charge restarting. Among other things, it also stops the car from locking the cable in (which obviously it shouldn't). The plus point is that it does mean scheduled charging via the Ohme works reliably, but I don't think it has yet been made the default by Ohme, and it's clearly not a solution that works exactly as intended. Personally I wouldn't risk signing up to OI with this combination.
I’ve just switched to a Cupra Born that is running version 3. I mentioned all the trouble I’d had at the dealership and they said it was a software issue and they’d had the same problems and it’s been fixed.

I was pretty skeptical but I’ve not had the same problem with it. There is no API support yet but the problem we both had isn’t there. My Born seems to cope with charging situations my ID3 wouldn’t have. There’s a good chance 3.0 will sort the ID3 too 🤞

Edit: I’d not sign up to OI yet either but it’s probably not far from working. I wouldn’t mind betting the reason it’s not supported yet is they know about all the problems people like us have had.
ID3 Life Pro Performance
Glacier White
East Derry alloys
Driver Assistance pack
[traded in for]
Cupra Born V1 with Typhoon Alloys - Aurora Blue - Tech pack L
User avatar
Utumno
Posts: 1727
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2021 12:34 am
Location: Oxfordshire

Post by Utumno »

davidwalton wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:41 am I'm potentially about to switch from Go to IO, but I have an Ohme charger which does work with IO, so the ID.3 will be in 'dumb' mode with the Ohme controlled via IO to charge the dumb car. Not jumping just yet, waiting for the renewal email from Octopus which is expected by the end of the month. If that offers the same rate I'm on now, I'm staying with it. If Go goes up in price (fully expected tbh), I'll switch.

The ID.3 is currently on 2.3. Ohme can now connect to the VW servers to get the SoC which is a vast improvement in charging reliability when the car is as dumb as it can be. Not sure if anything will change with 3.0/3.1 in terms of Octopus being able to directly connect/control (via a dumb charger or a dumbed-down-smart charger) - we'll have to see!

When I check the current rates for Go and IO, they're identical :

Octopus Go July 2022 v1
Day unit rate: 39.84 p/kWh
Night unit rate: 7.5 p/kWh
Standing charge: 43.12 p/day

Intelligent Octopus July 2022 v1
Day unit rate: 39.84 p/kWh
Night unit rate: 7.5 p/kWh
Standing charge: 43.12 p/day

If you've been on Go for nearly 12 months already, then there's your price hike, right there. I renewed our Go in April but managed to lock in the December 2021 v1 tariff by accepting the new tariff as soon as the email came in.

Personally I'd be on IO in a flash if it wasn't going to cost me about an extra £25 a month compared to my current Go tariff (Dec 21v1, locked in until 13 April 2023).

Those 40p+ standing charges are, in my view, criminal though.
Tesla Model Y Long Range
CANCELLED : ID.3 Tour (long story :lol:)

ID3 Build & Delivery Info Tracker : https://tinyurl.com/id3tracker
Octopus Referral : https://share.octopus.energy/aqua-foal-203
User avatar
davidwalton
Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:18 pm
Location: The Cloud

Post by davidwalton »

MotMot wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:29 pm Maybe someone with an iD3 and an Ohme could try? Pretending they have an egolf?
I now have it working - VW ID.3 charging from the Ohme Go, which is being directly controlled by Intelligent Octopus (the car is 'dumb')

It wasn't easy though. I lost several weeks with myself and Octopus head-scratching as the switching process wasn't happening as it should. It turns out that the app (Android) is a bit flaky and may not be in sync with the server/user account. Even if you've recently updated the Octopus app (release or beta) to the latest version.
The result is that you incorrectly, and unknowingly, go through the direct-to-car onboarding, in which the ID.3 is not listed because it isn't supported. So you hit a brick wall no matter what you try.

After logging out of the Octopus app, Force stopping the app, clearing the Storage & Cache then running the app & logging in - the correct option to choose either the direct-to-supported-car or the Ohme is shown and you can then go through the switch process & add the charger and the VW ID.3 (which is now listed) - it then works.

I'm still on 2.3 software btw, but how it is working now renders the car software version irrelevant.
71 / 2021 ID.3 Life Pro Performance, Glacier White, Andoya Wheels
Ohme Go Smart cable / Intelligent Octopus tariff- Octopus £50 bonus referral link: https://share.octopus.energy/steel-goat-168
billybobb2019
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 11:01 am

Post by billybobb2019 »

davidwalton wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 8:52 am
MotMot wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:29 pm Maybe someone with an iD3 and an Ohme could try? Pretending they have an egolf?
I now have it working - VW ID.3 charging from the Ohme Go, which is being directly controlled by Intelligent Octopus (the car is 'dumb')

It wasn't easy though. I lost several weeks with myself and Octopus head-scratching as the switching process wasn't happening as it should. It turns out that the app (Android) is a bit flaky and may not be in sync with the server/user account. Even if you've recently updated the Octopus app (release or beta) to the latest version.
The result is that you incorrectly, and unknowingly, go through the direct-to-car onboarding, in which the ID.3 is not listed because it isn't supported. So you hit a brick wall no matter what you try.

After logging out of the Octopus app, Force stopping the app, clearing the Storage & Cache then running the app & logging in - the correct option to choose either the direct-to-supported-car or the Ohme is shown and you can then go through the switch process & add the charger and the VW ID.3 (which is now listed) - it then works.

I'm still on 2.3 software btw, but how it is working now renders the car software version irrelevant.
hi David

im fascinated by your reply, I switched to IO yesterday, set it up as i thought but no charge, strange thing though every hour during the charging widow for IO the car turned it headlights etc on on as if youd be going to it then off- our ring doorbell caught it. luckily it didnt unlock itself :shock:

im on IOS so i cant clear cache but i can uninstall and reinstall - i think the falldown was i hadnt set a charging schedule in the ohme app or set the price cap to 7.5p

has anyone got any insights ? would really appreciate the help if ive set it wrong

BB
User avatar
davidwalton
Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:18 pm
Location: The Cloud

Post by davidwalton »

billybobb2019 wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 9:22 am
davidwalton wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 8:52 am
MotMot wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:29 pm Maybe someone with an iD3 and an Ohme could try? Pretending they have an egolf?
I now have it working - VW ID.3 charging from the Ohme Go, which is being directly controlled by Intelligent Octopus (the car is 'dumb')

It wasn't easy though. I lost several weeks with myself and Octopus head-scratching as the switching process wasn't happening as it should. It turns out that the app (Android) is a bit flaky and may not be in sync with the server/user account. Even if you've recently updated the Octopus app (release or beta) to the latest version.
The result is that you incorrectly, and unknowingly, go through the direct-to-car onboarding, in which the ID.3 is not listed because it isn't supported. So you hit a brick wall no matter what you try.

After logging out of the Octopus app, Force stopping the app, clearing the Storage & Cache then running the app & logging in - the correct option to choose either the direct-to-supported-car or the Ohme is shown and you can then go through the switch process & add the charger and the VW ID.3 (which is now listed) - it then works.

I'm still on 2.3 software btw, but how it is working now renders the car software version irrelevant.
hi David

im fascinated by your reply, I switched to IO yesterday, set it up as i thought but no charge, strange thing though every hour during the charging widow for IO the car turned it headlights etc on on as if youd be going to it then off- our ring doorbell caught it. luckily it didnt unlock itself :shock:

im on IOS so i cant clear cache but i can uninstall and reinstall - i think the falldown was i hadnt set a charging schedule in the ohme app or set the price cap to 7.5p

has anyone got any insights ? would really appreciate the help if ive set it wrong

BB
In the car, set the max charge to 100% and disable any location based charging settings.
In the Ohme app, there's a few key settings. Octopus control the Ohme charger - so you don't need any schedules or price caps. In fact you don't need anything other than the basics. Here are screenshots showing my Ohme app config:

ss1.png

ss2.png

ss3.png

ss4.png

A tip I was given - Octopus work out the nightly cheap 'slots' at 5pm. So plug the charger into the car after 5pm. Then in the Ohme app, once it shows the charge is plugged in & active (blue background), select what percentage/finish time you actually want. I usually set it to 80%/05:30

You can't trust the Ohme graph though. At this stage, you're putting all faith in Octopus only charging you the cheap rate per kWh, so you have to keep an eye on it. The Tronity service shows this best so far - with clear times in the charging history. Apparently, if Octopus DO charge outside of the 'cheap slots', then they'll bill you at the cheap slot price. I've yet to see this though.
71 / 2021 ID.3 Life Pro Performance, Glacier White, Andoya Wheels
Ohme Go Smart cable / Intelligent Octopus tariff- Octopus £50 bonus referral link: https://share.octopus.energy/steel-goat-168
billybobb2019
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 11:01 am

Post by billybobb2019 »

davidwalton wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 11:42 am
billybobb2019 wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 9:22 am
davidwalton wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 8:52 am

I now have it working - VW ID.3 charging from the Ohme Go, which is being directly controlled by Intelligent Octopus (the car is 'dumb')

It wasn't easy though. I lost several weeks with myself and Octopus head-scratching as the switching process wasn't happening as it should. It turns out that the app (Android) is a bit flaky and may not be in sync with the server/user account. Even if you've recently updated the Octopus app (release or beta) to the latest version.
The result is that you incorrectly, and unknowingly, go through the direct-to-car onboarding, in which the ID.3 is not listed because it isn't supported. So you hit a brick wall no matter what you try.

After logging out of the Octopus app, Force stopping the app, clearing the Storage & Cache then running the app & logging in - the correct option to choose either the direct-to-supported-car or the Ohme is shown and you can then go through the switch process & add the charger and the VW ID.3 (which is now listed) - it then works.

I'm still on 2.3 software btw, but how it is working now renders the car software version irrelevant.
hi David

im fascinated by your reply, I switched to IO yesterday, set it up as i thought but no charge, strange thing though every hour during the charging widow for IO the car turned it headlights etc on on as if youd be going to it then off- our ring doorbell caught it. luckily it didnt unlock itself :shock:

im on IOS so i cant clear cache but i can uninstall and reinstall - i think the falldown was i hadnt set a charging schedule in the ohme app or set the price cap to 7.5p

has anyone got any insights ? would really appreciate the help if ive set it wrong

BB
In the car, set the max charge to 100% and disable any location based charging settings.
In the Ohme app, there's a few key settings. Octopus control the Ohme charger - so you don't need any schedules or price caps. In fact you don't need anything other than the basics. Here are screenshots showing my Ohme app config:

ss1.png

ss2.png

ss3.png

ss4.png

A tip I was given - Octopus work out the nightly cheap 'slots' at 5pm. So plug the charger into the car after 5pm. Then in the Ohme app, once it shows the charge is plugged in & active (blue background), select what percentage/finish time you actually want. I usually set it to 80%/05:30

You can't trust the Ohme graph though. At this stage, you're putting all faith in Octopus only charging you the cheap rate per kWh, so you have to keep an eye on it. The Tronity service shows this best so far - with clear times in the charging history. Apparently, if Octopus DO charge outside of the 'cheap slots', then they'll bill you at the cheap slot price. I've yet to see this though.
thanks again David - i’ll alter things back to how yours is and see what happens tonight - will report back! appreciated 😄👍
billybobb2019
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 11:01 am

Post by billybobb2019 »

well i did as you suggested dave - still went onto full charge as soon as i plugged it in - rang octopus and they suggested the FAQ for IO they went through it with me and was as dave had instructed but with one change of having 1 schedule set up for 80% by 5.30 on the ohme app - well i did as asked and bingo it worked. they did suggest rebooting the ohme as well which i did - let’s see if the headlights flash tonight!
billybobb2019
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 11:01 am

Post by billybobb2019 »

User avatar
davidwalton
Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:18 pm
Location: The Cloud

Post by davidwalton »

billybobb2019 wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 4:10 pm ...but with one change of having 1 schedule set up for 80% by 5.30 on the ohme app...
Thanks for the feedback! While I'm not looking at them everyday, I'm sure those Intelligent Octopus FAQ's have recently changed. But good to know they are now recommending a single schedule, which makes more sense than no schedule. I've now also created a single schedule (80% by 05:30 on all days) but I don't have to charge for a few days yet so I can't test it.

Let us know how you get on in the meantime! 👍
71 / 2021 ID.3 Life Pro Performance, Glacier White, Andoya Wheels
Ohme Go Smart cable / Intelligent Octopus tariff- Octopus £50 bonus referral link: https://share.octopus.energy/steel-goat-168
billybobb2019
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 11:01 am

Post by billybobb2019 »

odd thing happened last night - was at 74%charge when plugged in - so between 11.30pm and 5.30 am it took the charge to 77% …….. 6hrs
VengefulSeal
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2022 9:42 am

Post by VengefulSeal »

I'm still on 2.3 (until tomorrow) but I switched over to Intelligent Octopus last week, my Octopus Go was still valid for a few more months, but given the inevitable increases incoming, I thought it prudent to fix it for another year and have the extended hours of 7.5p.

First charge last night and worked fine, I was a little worried though, but all good so far.

I have looked at the FAQs - so thanks for posting them - and I've changed to a single schedule and removed the price cap on the charging. We will see how it goes...
chrisfs
Posts: 205
Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:32 am

Post by chrisfs »

VengefulSeal wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 9:27 am I'm still on 2.3 (until tomorrow) but I switched over to Intelligent Octopus last week, my Octopus Go was still valid for a few more months, but given the inevitable increases incoming, I thought it prudent to fix it for another year and have the extended hours of 7.5p.

First charge last night and worked fine, I was a little worried though, but all good so far.

I have looked at the FAQs - so thanks for posting them - and I've changed to a single schedule and removed the price cap on the charging. We will see how it goes...
Interesting - I looked into IO but thought you couldn’t have it with an id3?
MotMot
Posts: 1213
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:04 pm

Post by MotMot »

Only with an Ohme charger (at present in Beta)
Post Reply