Search
Close this search box.
Contact Us

SMARTBIRDS FAQ & SETUP

Master Your Smartbirds Experience

Navigate through the ease of setup, technical nuances, and common troubleshooting scenarios with our comprehensive guide. Whether you’re just beginning or looking to delve deeper into Smartbirds’ offerings, this page is designed to provide you with the necessary insights. Explore, learn, and harness the full spectrum of features Smartbirds brings to your energy management endeavors, propelling you towards an optimized and enlightened experience.

smartbirds poly faq header big – Smartbirds FAQ​

Connect your Smartbirds dongle

The different ports of the Smartbirds dongle

Smartbirds p1 input – Smartbirds FAQ​

P1 input

This is the only port that can be used to plug the Smartbirds dongle into the smart meter.

Smartbirds p1 passthrough – Smartbirds FAQ​

P1 passthrough

Intended for specific situations, this port allows to get the Smartbirds dongle data on another asset. please note that this second port is powered like the Smartbirds dongle via the P1 port of the smart meter. If you are experiencing some perturbation after usage of the passthrough P1 it’s probably linked to an overconsumption of your added device on the power supply provided by the smart meter. In that case we recommand you to install a powered splitteIntended for specific situationsIntended for specific situations

Smartbirds relais – Smartbirds FAQ​

Relay

This port allows you to control an asset of your choice via the Smartbirds app.

This feature is on its way—thanks for staying tuned!

Smartbirds FAQ & Troubleshooting

Navigating the complexities of modern energy management can raise several questions. Our FAQ section is meticulously crafted to offer you immediate answers to the most common inquiries about Smartbirds, our advanced energy insight tool. From integrating real-time energy flow insights into your daily life to leveraging our technology for enhanced efficiency and sustainability, find quick, straightforward answers designed to streamline your energy management experience. Dive into our FAQs to uncover how Smartbirds can transform your approach to utility management, making it smarter, more intuitive, and aligned with the future of energy.

Categories

Installation

Setup

Data

Support

Installation

As soon as the Smartbirds dongle is connected to your smartmeter, you can start with the activation of the Smartbirds dongle by following the different steps with their explanations (creation of an account, attribution of your dongle to your account, entry of your wi-fi password) in the Smartbirds application.

During the installation and setup of the dongle, one of the first steps is to scan the QR code on the back of your Smartbirds dongle. With this step, your dongle will be associated with your account.

In the case of a power cut, your Smartbirds dongle will no longer be powered and won’t be able to transmit data. When the power comes back, the dongle will do a restart and should work normally again.

In the case of a Wi-Fi failure, data will no longer be transmitted to the cloud and therefore neither you nor your service providers will have any information for the duration of the disconnection. However, a certain amount of data will be stored locally on the Smartbirds dongle to be sent when the Wi-Fi connection is working again to complete your consumption diagrams afterwards.
Please note that besides the instantaneous values of your consumption, the index of your total consumption is also communicated. So even if the connection has been interrupted for a long time, the total amount of energy consumption can still be determined correctly.

No, this is not possible.

The Smartbirds dongle can be installed by yourself without any intervention from your DSO or an electrician: To access the P1 port you can remove the green cover of the Smartmeter by pushing and pulling it down. The P1 port is now accessible, and the dongle can be connected to it. The cover can then be reattached by leading the Smartbirds dongle connection cable through the small hole at the bottom edge of the green cover. This step can be completed in just a few minutes.
Do not remove the seals placed by the DSO on the Smartmeter (this would trigger a fraud alarm to your DSO)

If your Smartmeter is in the technical room of your condominium to which you do not have access, please contact your co-ownership manager to give you access.
If your Smartmeter is installed behind a plexiglass cover, please contact your DSO to help you with the installation of the Smartbirds dongle.

Setup

It’s very important that the standard 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is supported. Most routers (e.g., Fritzbox) provide 2.4 and 5 GHz networks. Only 2.4 GHz is compatible with the Smartbirds dongle. When your dongle is far away from your router, it is recommended to use a Wi-Fi repeater to strengthen your Wi-Fi connection. With a bad Wi-Fi connection, you will encounter gaps on the diagram or your dongle’s connection will drop down.

This option is not supported for security reasons.

We know that sometimes the Wi-fi connection is restricted due to the placement of the Smartmeter(e.g. cave with thick walls). That’s why we will soon offer a version using a new mobile technology that has been developed (LTE-M dongle), so that you can use the Smartbirds dongle even without access to Wi-Fi.

In case you need to connect your dongle to a new Wi-Fi connection, you can use the feature ‘Change connection configuration’. When you click on this button, you will be guided to a page where they explain that you need first to reset your dongle correctly. After you confirm that you reset the dongle, than you will be forwarded to the activation page where you need to activate your dongle with the new Wi-Fi connection.

Yes, you can user your actual Smartbirds dongle in your new home. After connecting to the new Smartmeter, you can continue with the installation using the Smartbirds application, explained in the FAQ ‘I have a new router. How do I reconnect my Smartbirds dongle to it?’

Data

All data are provided by the network operator via the P1 port.

The Smartbirds dongle communicates the energy data read from your smart meter through your Wi-Fi connection or using LTE-M dongle to a cloud platform hosted in Europe using secure communication via https. From this cloud, the data will be transmitted to your mobile application.

The OBIS code values will be transmitted from the Smartbirds dongle to the cloud in an interval of 10 seconds. This ten second resolution data will be kept in the cloud for seven days and then deleted. Weekly aggregations and monthly aggregations will be kept for a period of 4 years.

OBIS codes (“Object Identification System”) are used in electronic data communication in the energy market to uniquely identify measured values (energy quantities, meter readings) and abstract data in electronic data exchange.
The OBIS code system is described in IEC 62056-61 for the electrical energy environment and in DIN EN 13757-1 for non-electrical environments.
smart meters use OBIS codes internally to classify the transmitted data points.

In the “Connect” tab of your Smartbirds application you have an overview of all the partners with whom you can share your data. You will find your network operator, research institutes, but also service providers. By selecting a specific actor, you will receive information about the data sets he wants to have access to and a description of the purpose and way of processing the data.
The service providers will also explain the benefits of their service and the possible costs.
You can then give your consent individually to the parties you want.

The DSO will be able to associate the predefined energy data you choose to share with them with a concrete address using the serial number of your Smartmeter. In this way, he would have additional information about the data already collected today by the Smartmeter for better predicting the energy flow. The added value of the Smartbirds dongle lies in the near real-time transmission of data and its ten-second resolution. This will allow your DSO to check the accuracy of load forecasts on the grid and improve the management of the distribution of electrical energy. This will enable him to use the existing network capacities more efficiently, which in turn will reduce the network usage costs for the end customer.

Yes, you can refuse to share or to stop sharing your data with your network operator. The application will still work, and you will still be able to see all the data collected from your Smartmeter to the dongle Smartbirds.

Each data sharing consent can be stopped at any time by going back to the “Connect” tab of the Smartbirds application and click on ‘Deactivate Service’.

You are in control of your data. If you decide to share your data, we will ensure that it is communicated via secure communication interfaces. The communication between the Smartbirds dongle and the cloud is secured via TLS.

As required by the GDPR, we will delete all data relating to an individual who had chosen to not use the Smartbirds dongle anymore.

In accordance with the requirements of the GDPR, we will provide you, upon request, with a log file containing all the data we have collected from you. You just need to click on the requestGDPR button which you will in the ‘Settings’ of your dongle Smartbirds in the application.

For a dongle: ‘Factory Reset’. For the whole account: delete the account (click on the button ‘Delete my user

 account’.

delete data smartbirds faq nexxtlab – Smartbirds FAQ​

Support

You need to check if you have accepted the terms and conditions of use. To access it, you need to go to the ‘Settings’ icon, which is at the bottom right of your app, after that you click on ‘My Smartbirds dongles’ and choose your dongle. At the end, you see the ‘Terms and Conditions’ below the ‘Status: Active’ and click on it to accept them at the end.
If this does not help, please contact your dongle provider.

The weak wi-fi connection between the dongle and your router is the main cause of the holes in your diagrams. I advise you to test your internet connection from the place of the dongle.
The wi-fi analysis we use:
On Android:
Download the Wifi analyser app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vrem.wifianalyzer
It works directly.

On iOS:

Download Airport Utility from Apple:

https://apps.apple.com/befr/app/airport-utility/id427276530
Open the application.
Exit the application, go to your settings, and scroll to the bottom of the page where the applications are listed. Find Airport Utility and select the wifi scanner option at the bottom. Then you can go back to the Airport Utility application and at the top right you will see a scan button that you can press.

Place your phone where you put your dongle, to see the signal quality. Then go back to the wi-fi analysis application and run your scan.
Once you see the list of wi-fi’s, identify yours and note all the information. An RSSI closer to 0 is good, the closer it gets to -90, the worse it will be and a reason to lose your wi-fi.

To improve your internet connection with the dongle, move the dongle closer to the router or install a wi-fi repeater which improves the connection.

In case, your RSSI is closer to 0(good wi-fi connection, please contact your dongle provider.

Remove the cable from the dongle and wait for 1 minute. After waiting, put in again the cable in the P1 port of the dongle Smartbirds. If the dongle doesn’t react at all (no lights coming out), contact your dongle provider.

 An additional Smartbirds dongle can be added by selecting ‘Settings’ -> ‘My Smartbirds dongles’ -> click on the ‘+’ in the upper right corner and you will be able to configure one additional dongle to the same account.

add different smartbirds doongles step1 faq nexxtlab – Smartbirds FAQ​add different smartbirds doongles step2 faq nexxtlab – Smartbirds FAQ​

 To activate the service, you need to go to ‘Connect’ then select ‘Discover service opportunities’ and select your DSO. Then you scroll down and click on the button ‘Activate the service’ and your service will be activated.

activate services dso step1 smartbirds faq nexxtlab – Smartbirds FAQ​activate services dso step2 smartbirds faq nexxtlab – Smartbirds FAQ​

The values shown in the application are for information purposes only and cannot be considered for billing purposes.

In case you need to connect your dongle to a new Wi-Fi connection, you can use the feature ‘Change connection configuration’. When you click on this button, you will be guided to a page where they explain that you need first to reset your dongle correctly. After you confirm that you reset the dongle, than you will be forwarded to the activation page where you need to activate your dongle with the new Wi-Fi connection.

reconnect smartbird dongle step1 faq nexxtlab – Smartbirds FAQ​ reconnect smartbird dongle step2 faq nexxtlab – Smartbirds FAQ​

NEXXT NEWS

Stay updated with our Nexxt News newsletter! Receive updates on our blog articles, event participation, company news, and other exciting announcements. Be the first to know about our latest insights and developments.