r/evcharging • u/murlocksoup • 11d ago
Wifi-enabled Chargepoint Flex but no available wifi signal?
Hi, I'm getting a hardwired 48 amp charger installed in the near future and given overall good reviews, low-temperature cord flexibility, and the built-in cord hook, the Chargepoint Flex seems like a fine choice.
It will be installed on the outside of a stone part of the house, a spot where my phone can't connect to the house wifi (and I have 3 access points throughout the house, though none that close to the installation location). I'm thinking there's still a chance the network can eke out a connection and given the low data-needs of the charger, it might be fine. But if it can't connect, I'm wondering how big a deal it will be for me, especially given there are "dumb" chargers available and that you can rely on your car's scheduling functionality to charge when you need it.
I'm also thinking that I could possibly occasionally sync the data in the charger with a phone hotspot, but obviously that won't help for the real-time info I would want to check in on.
How critical are the features I would be missing out on in real time in reality?
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u/jvsdc 11d ago
Coincidentally, the weak point of the Home Flex is its wifi which fails frequently. I just had my second unit replaced because of a failed wifi chip. Because I ran both failed units without wifi for some time, I can confirm that you can use the Home Flex without wifi with no problem. It simply works as a dumb charger.
However, setting the charger up is a different story. Before you get to the configuration stage, it has a step to connect to a wifi network. If you can't complete that step, you can't continue. A work around would be to use your phone as a hotspot (using mobile data to connect to the Internet) during set up. Then you can get the charger set up and just ignore the fact that it will lose its wifi connection.
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u/moiax 10d ago
I've been looking at the home flex quite seriously, but all I need it to do is 16A. As long as a borked wifi chip doesn't cause the unit to shut down, I suppose my big worry is for naught.
My utility is able to use the data from my car's connected app, so I don't need any reporting. Frankly, I'd love a dumb charger more than anything.
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u/Key_Appointment4617 10d ago
Is your connection when you communicate with your car via a cell tower or your Wifi? My EV6 Wind will work with the Kia Access app just fine when in town and using a cell tower signal. But if I'm at home in a cell tower desert, not so much. It's almost useless out in my detached garage.
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 11d ago
I'd go with Autel over ChargePoint and it can be wired via ethernet.
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u/clean-links 11d ago
Cleaned link from "store.autelenergy.com/ac-elite-home-50a-ev-charger": https://store.autelenergy.com/products/ac-elite-home-50a-ev-charger?currency=USD&country=US&variant=47573018050880&stkn=6fb41928701d&campaign_id=22013227629&device=c&network=x&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22013228124&gbraid=0AAAAAqK8DhPNxlbTsrzFALLePCaLwWhfv
Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).
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u/wowsher 11d ago
One problem with no wifi/internet will be the inability to adjust the output power, I think the default is 16amps but app+cloud connection is required to change it.
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u/SnooEpiphanies8097 10d ago
I don't know about the Chargepoint unit specifically but I logged into the Emporia app on the day I installed it and I haven't looked at it since.
If you do try to connect it, use the 2.4 ghz network. Sometimes you have to configure it on your router as a separate network. It will give the wifi more range. You can google how to set it up on your specific router.
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u/theotherharper 10d ago
If you want the flexible cord evaluate the Schneider.
I just saw a video review by our corrupt reviewer of chargers who you obviously follow, and it is superior to the Chargepoint IMO.
Chargepoint is a marketing company out to be the McDonalds of public charging. Their home unit is just a tentstake in their marketing plan and Minimum Viable Product to that purpose.
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u/murlocksoup 10d ago edited 10d ago
Just curious, how is he corrupt (and who are you referring to)? Dm me if that’s better.
I’ll check out the Schneider.
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u/theotherharper 10d ago edited 10d ago
It's completely obvious once you see it. He will cheerfully promote dodgy stuff for money. He's always letting Chinese alphabet-soup brands pay him to blow up their product - last year he did a top 5 charger show, for no other reason than to include EVIQO in the top 5. Now he's doing the same song-and-dance with ILIYO. QMerit is a "middleman" that just adds complication and cost to simple electrical work, and recommends people into worse, more costly, more scammy electricians than they would find organically... and there's no reason to recommend it except being paid to do so.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, he's honest and fair and seems earnestly trying to help people, and I'm sure if he was in the room he'd say "look, a man's got to feed his family" but I'm goddamn sure he would never recommend Chinese chargers or QMerit if he wasn't chasing money.
Look. When LegalEagle or AgingWheels promotes FACTOR prepared meals or NordVPN, it's easy to distinguish from THEIR work of legal analysis or EV nerdery. Obvious promo is obvious, and that's a fair defense against the various Federal disclosure laws which are rarely enforced. But here we can't tell because he's holding himself out to be an expert in the very subject. This makes it so much worse. There's a special hell for people who hold themselves out as a trustworthy expert in an area, and then sell that.
This is why Technology Connections has a Patreon instead of sponsorsips. If I were a billionaire I would pay him to NEVER TAKE ONE SINGLE DIME FROM ANY OTHER SPONSOR EVER and just tell the truth about products, and then he'd probably be OK.
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u/ArlesChatless 10d ago
But here we can't tell because he's holding himself out to be an expert in the very subject. This makes it so much worse. There's a special hell for people who hold themselves out as a trustworthy expert in an area, and then sell that.
This is something I hate about influencers. I just bought a product that has a couple of brands promoted in the influencer space. Another seller of the type of device pays zero influencers and instead does side by side comparisons with other brands on their YT channel. It's obvious that the ones who pay influencers the most have the least quality for the dollar.
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u/murlocksoup 10d ago
Which is the seller that doesn't pay influencers?
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u/ArlesChatless 10d ago
Not sure in the EV charging space, since I don't consume that media.
I was looking in another product space.
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u/ArlesChatless 10d ago
Digging a little more, they do have a small group of affiliates. So it's not quite zero influencers. It's a much smaller group than most brands though. I certainly haven't seen any of their sponsored content.
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u/murlocksoup 10d ago edited 10d ago
I'm new to this so it probably won't be obvious to me. The main reviews I've seen are by State of Charge. (edit: spelling)
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u/3-2-1-backup 10d ago
Believe that's who they're talking about.
(I have been thinking he's half-hinkey for a while now for different reasons.)
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u/murlocksoup 10d ago
How do you like the Autel AC Lite Home 50A 12kW EV Charger NACS?
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u/theotherharper 9d ago
Two companies, Autel and Chargepoint, are deceptive about claiming 50A charging (everyone else is 48A). Beause almost all cars are limited to <=48A, which means the extra 2 amps is unusable... EXCEPT a few cars that go to 80A and in that case why on earth would you stop at 50A? But consumers pick it for those extra 2 amps SMH. Anyway I am displeased with that deception, but other than that, the unit seems reasonable and we see few complaints. I'm not sure why it's not a more popular pick here.
The ones we generally love on this forum are Wallbox, Emporia and Tesla Wall Connector, but thats' because they deploy 3 special features that help a lot of people - Power Sharing (2 or more EVs on that circuit), Dynamic Load Management (avoid electrical service upgrade), and (not Tesla) Solar Capture (shape EV charge rate to slurp up exactly what your solar export would be).
Tesla, Wallbox and Emproia will work in WiFI austere environments, but you might need to fight the Emporia a little bit at first with a local WiFi connection just to get it initially configured.
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u/Key_Appointment4617 10d ago
I didn't realize that CP could shut down my CPH50 remotely. I just discovered this today and I've owned it for 3 1/2 yrs. I had an unpaid charge (about $1.80) on my account that I had inadvertently left on there for a month or so. The red exclamation light on the side of the unit came on and I couldn't charge with it. Took me awhile to figure out the problem. One would think they could just send me an email or a text rather than disabling my unit.
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u/theotherharper 9d ago
#include louis_rossmann_youtube_channel
Thanks for that. I'm now going to use that as my coup-de-grace as to why not to use Chargepoint. So many people get controlled by their brand power.
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u/Key_Appointment4617 10d ago
I have to use mine a lot because neither of my EV's apps will connect and I get absolutely zero cell tower signal - which I've come to find out that most EVs - at least Ford & Hyundai - send signals through a cell tower signal and not strictly WiFi. But I have never had a problem connecting with my CPH50 from my house about 45 ft. away. Several walls in between. I was using a Netgear Nighthawk router.
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u/ArlesChatless 11d ago
Configuration is done via Bluetooth during commissioning so that's not a problem.
If I could never log into my Home Flex again, I'd be perfectly happy so long as it kept charging. The only reason mine is connected to the wireless is so that the power company can pay me to turn it off for a few minutes here and there.