Will my charge point still work if the company goes under?

It should still charge. The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 require a charge point to remain capable of charging a vehicle when it loses its connection to a communications network. What stops is the app-side control, history and remote features.

Why does my charging always start a few minutes late?

That is deliberate. The regulations require a randomised delay of up to 600 seconds at the point charging would start or change rate, so thousands of cars do not all switch on at the same second. The owner is able to cancel it for a given charge.

Why did it default to charging overnight when I first set it up?

Smart charge points must come with pre-set default charging hours outside peak times, and you must be offered the chance to accept, remove or change them when you first use the unit. The regulations define peak hours as 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays.

Can I find out how much electricity it has actually used?

The unit itself has to record it. Smart charge points must measure the energy and the time for each session, and let the owner see any session within the previous 12 months, any month in that period, and the whole 12 months — accurate to within 10%.

Low risk

Updated 30 August 2026

The App Stopped Working Or The Brand Has Disappeared

The charge point still has power, but the app will not log in, the schedule is gone, or the company behind it has stopped trading.

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EV charge point installation, illustrative image

What's happening?

A modern home charge point is two things bolted together: an electrical device on your wall, and a service running on somebody else's servers. When the second half goes — a company ceases trading, an app is retired, an account system is migrated badly — owners find features they paid for simply gone. The law anticipated part of this. The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 require that a charge point remains capable of charging a vehicle even when it loses its connection to a communications network, so a unit whose back-office has vanished should still charge. The regulations also require that, when a charge point is sold, the information supplied with it states the period, if any, for which software updates will be provided — which is the question worth asking before you buy, and the document worth digging out afterwards. What you lose without the service is the scheduling, the usage history and the remote control, not the ability to put electricity in the car.

What usually causes it?

The manufacturer or operator ceasing trading, taking its cloud service with it
An app retired or replaced, with accounts migrated to a new platform that your model does not support
Firmware no longer maintained, so a phone operating system update breaks the pairing
Home Wi-Fi changed — new router, new password, or a network moved to a band the unit cannot join
A unit installed and commissioned on the installer's account rather than yours, then never handed over
A tariff or energy supplier integration withdrawn, so scheduling that ran through the supplier stops

Is it dangerous?

No. A charge point that has lost its app is an inconvenience, not a hazard — and by law it should still charge without a network connection. The one thing to avoid is treating a dead app as a reason to improvise: leaving the car on a three-pin lead permanently, or letting somebody unqualified open the unit to reset something, creates risks the intact unit did not have.

Can I fix it myself?

Start with the network rather than the company. Re-pair the unit to your Wi-Fi following the manual, since a router change is a far more common cause than a collapse. Check whether the unit was ever registered to you: if the installer's email is still the account owner, ask them to transfer it. Dig out the documentation supplied at sale, which should state how long software updates were promised. If the unit has default charging hours set in it, those are stored in the unit itself and should still run offline. If you are on a time-of-use arrangement and scheduling has stopped, most cars can also be told when to charge from the car's own settings.

When should you call an EV charger installer?

Call an installer when the unit will not charge at all offline, which is not how it is supposed to behave, or when the only route back to a working schedule is replacing the unit. Also call one before buying a replacement, since a modern unit may not use the same mounting, cable entry or protective arrangement, and the existing circuit needs checking against what the new unit requires.

What will the EV charger installer actually do?

Confirm the unit still charges with the network disconnected, as the regulations require
Re-commission the unit onto your own account and network where the original setup was the installer's
Check for a firmware route that restores local scheduling without the withdrawn service
Assess the existing circuit, protection and mounting against a replacement unit's requirements
Fit and commission a replacement charge point on the existing circuit where the old one is beyond support

Frequently asked questions

We’re happy to answer all your questions.

Sources & References

A Charge Point Living Outside, And A Lead Worth StealingCaution You Have Solar But The Car Still Charges From The GridLow risk EV Charger Not WorkingCaution

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