Octopus Energy Smart Meter Warning: Rights, Issues & Fixes

If you’ve got an Octopus Energy smart meter with an In-Home Display that keeps losing connection, or you’re one of the 133,000 UK customers still sitting on an old Radio Teleswitch meter, you’re probably wondering what happens next. The June 2025 cutoff for RTS meters is real, and Octopus has been pretty clear: upgrade or risk losing control of your heating and hot water. This guide breaks down what you can refuse, what you can’t ignore, and how to fix the most common display problems yourself.

RTS meters shutdown deadline: 30 June 2025 ·
UK households affected: 600,000+ ·
Octopus customers with RTS meters: 133,000 ·
Remaining unmigrated (end of May): 314,935 homes

Below is a summary of the key details about the RTS meter situation, based on official supplier and government sources.

Can I refuse a smart meter from Octopus?

This is probably the first question on most people’s minds, and it’s a fair one. Nobody likes being told what to do with their own home.

Rights to refuse installation

There’s no legal requirement forcing any UK household to accept a smart meter installation. According to Citizens Advice guidance, smart meters are not mandatory. You have the right to refuse installation, and no energy supplier can force one into your property. That said, refusing when your current meter is about to become obsolete creates a practical problem: your heating and hot water controls depend on technology that’s about to stop working.

Octopus Energy policy

Octopus Energy has been proactive in urging RTS customers to switch before the deadline, sending letters and emails to their 133,000 affected customers. The supplier is offering a free Octopus Home Mini device to anyone who opts for the upgrade—a small screen that connects to your smart meter and shows real-time usage and cost data. The company has also fast-tracked the switch for its customers, covering nearly a quarter of affected households as of early 2025, according to The Independent.

Do I have to have a smart meter?

The short answer is no—but the longer answer involves some real consequences you need to weigh.

Legal obligations

Smart meters remain voluntary in the UK. Ofgem, the energy regulator, has not mandated household-level smart meter adoption. However, the infrastructure that makes certain tariff benefits possible is being switched off. Radio Teleswitch Service equipment receives updates through Long Wave radio broadcast, which is being migrated to other platforms, effectively ending RTS communication capabilities on 30 June 2025. After this date, a meter’s timings might not work as expected and heating and hot water supply could be affected, according to Octopus Energy’s help centre.

RTS meter shutdown impact

Without the RTS signal, heating and hot water may be continually left on or off, or charging may occur at the wrong time of day. Suppliers cannot confirm how much electricity has been used during off-peak hours, potentially resulting in much higher electricity costs. Those who do not make the switch to smart meters in time may be overcharged for electricity or see their hot water and heating cut off, The Independent reported.

What is the downside of having a smart meter?

Smart meters aren’t perfect. The technology works well for most people, but documented problems do exist—and they tend to cluster around the In-Home Display.

Common problems

Common IHD problems include showing incomplete data, not showing any information or a blank screen, losing connection with the smart meter, and showing incorrect data, according to Which? research. The In-Home Display devices need to be within a few metres of the electricity meter to connect properly, and thick walls can disrupt the connection. If an IHD stops showing energy usage or prepayment balance, customers should wait for an hour and check if this information has come back, Citizens Advice recommends. After moving an IHD to a different location, it should connect to meters within 24 hours and show energy usage or balance.

Bill accuracy concerns

The good news is that even if an IHD is not working, the smart meter itself may still be sending readings to the supplier. If regular meter readings appear in an online account, the smart meter is working fine and the supplier is connected. If a first-generation SMETS1 smart meter was installed by another supplier, the IHD can sometimes stop working when a customer joins a new supplier—this is a known compatibility issue that Octopus has documentation on.

Can you go back to normal meter from smart meter?

Once you’ve got a smart meter installed, the physical removal process is more complicated than a simple phone call.

Removal process

Technically, you can revert to a traditional meter, but it requires an engineering appointment and a physical meter swap. This isn’t something your supplier can do remotely. Suppliers only have to help with IHD issues if the IHD is less than one year old, though some suppliers including Octopus Energy, E.ON Next, Good Energy, OVO Energy, Scottish Power, Utilita Energy, and Utility Warehouse have agreed to help with IHD issues beyond this period, per Citizens Advice guidance.

Replacement options

If your smart meter has stopped working after switching suppliers (particularly with SMETS1 meters), contact your new supplier after 48 hours. If the issue persists, they should send an engineer to reconfigure or replace the device. Smart meters can be programmed remotely to switch between peak and off-peak times, making them the best technical replacement for RTS meters, and Octopus Energy offers its free Home Mini as a replacement display option.

Do smart meters cost more?

This is one of the most persistent myths in UK energy, and it deserves a straight answer.

Billing myths

Smart meters do not inherently cost more than traditional meters. The device itself is free—suppliers install them at no charge as part of the national smart meter rollout. Your tariff rates don’t change based on whether you have a smart meter. What can change costs is switching to a time-of-use tariff that smart meters enable, such as Octopus’s Agile tariff, which can save money but requires understanding the pricing structure.

Actual cost impact

The potential savings come from having accurate automatic readings—no estimated bills, no surprises. Without RTS signal, suppliers cannot confirm how much electricity has been used during off-peak hours, potentially resulting in much higher electricity costs for those who don’t upgrade. The Octopus Home Mini device is offered free to RTS customers who switch, helping you track real-time usage and cost data to identify potential savings opportunities.

How to fix common smart meter problems

Most smart meter issues don’t require an engineer. Try these steps before calling Octopus.

1. Restart the IHD: Power off the In-Home Display completely, wait 30 seconds, and turn it back on. Many connectivity issues clear this way.
2. Check positioning: Move the IHD within a few metres of the electricity meter. Thick walls and long distances are the most common causes of signal loss.
3. Wait it out: If the IHD stopped showing data, wait at least one hour before troubleshooting further. Data sometimes takes time to refresh.
4. Relocation reconnection: If you moved the IHD, give it up to 24 hours to reconnect. Don’t repeatedly reset it during this window.
5. Check online account: If regular meter readings appear in your online account, the smart meter itself is working fine and sending data to Octopus.
6. Switching supplier delay: After switching to Octopus, wait 48 hours before contacting support about IHD issues. Some reconfiguration is normal during the transition.
7. Contact support: If none of the above works and your IHD is under one year old, Octopus Energy will help with repairs or replacement under their extended support commitment.

RTS shutdown timeline

The phase-out of Radio Teleswitch meters follows a phased schedule confirmed by Octopus Energy. If your online account shows regular readings, your billing is accurate even with a broken display screen, but for more information on smart meter issues and fixes, you can find Off-peak train times explained.

The implication is that households not yet upgraded will face resumed disruption risk as the rollout accelerates from March 2026.

What experts say

“The equipment which broadcasts the RTS signal will be switched off on 30 June 2025, affecting more than 600,000 customers. Those who do not make the switch to smart meters in time may be overcharged for electricity or see their hot water and heating cut off.”

— The Independent (news reporting, cited in Octopus Energy press coverage)

“Without RTS signal, heating and hot water may be continually left on or off, or charging may occur at the wrong time of day. Suppliers cannot confirm how much electricity has been used during off-peak hours, potentially resulting in much higher electricity costs.”

— Octopus Energy Help Centre (official supplier guidance)

Summary

The Radio Teleswitch system that has controlled off-peak heating and hot water for hundreds of thousands of UK homes since the 1980s is being switched off. Octopus Energy has been clearer than most suppliers in warning their 133,000 affected customers, offering free Octopus Home Mini devices as an incentive to upgrade before the deadline. The legal reality is that smart meters remain voluntary—you cannot be forced to accept one—but an RTS meter left in place after 30 June 2025 will lose its ability to communicate off-peak tariff timings, leaving you potentially overcharged with heating and hot water running at unpredictable times. If you’re one of the remaining 314,935 households still on an RTS meter at the end of May, the case for acting now is straightforward: switch before the phased rollout resumes in March 2026, when supply chains and engineer availability may be stretched. For Octopus Energy customers specifically, the free Home Mini offer removes the cost barrier to getting real-time usage visibility—something that helps you catch billing errors and potentially save money on time-of-use tariffs.

The takeaway for RTS customers is to act before the March 2026 restart of the phased rollout, when demand for engineers and installations will surge again.

Related reading: Band 7 NHS Pay Scales · How to SORN a Car

Octopus Energy users facing smart meter woes aren’t alone, as the British Gas smart meter warning details similar intermittent connectivity losses and ‘dumb mode’ glitches plaguing British Gas customers.

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