Flo x5 evse initial observations... mixed impressions...

[babakp]

So I decided to buy the Flo x5 via the dealer and although my order was firmed up a week earlier and delivery was scheduled, it arrived two weeks after I received the car!!

That said, it is very well built and I’m glad to be supporting a Canadian manufacturer despite the higher than average price for a 30amp evse.

Installed it and it charges the car as it should without any issues

HOWEVER, there are a few disappointing matters as follows;

- the web site as well as the installation guide included in the package says 24/7 support but when I called this wasn’t the case and we only have 8-5 work days support. !! This advertised 24/7 support was one of the key factors in my deciding to buy Flo...

- the web module via plc does not work. I have been talking to tech support do a week now to no avail. The agent doesn’t seem to know much about this and just reads off of some wiki content then undertook to go talk with engineers and get back to me now four days later there is no word.
All three lights come on the plc which indicates connection to the evse and internet but the web portal says pending installation.
There is no online resource from knowledge base in their web sote or discussion boards about this.
Beginning to regre not having gotten one of the more established makes that also include WiFi!!

To their credit, I think the plc solution is a more reliable way of web connectivity but their support has left me wondering...

 

[Kosta]

So I decided to buy the Flo x5 via the dealer and although my order was firmed up a week earlier and delivery was scheduled, it arrived two weeks after I received the car!!

That said, it is very well built and I’m glad to be supporting a Canadian manufacturer despite the higher than average price for a 30amp evse.

Installed it and it charges the car as it should without any issues

HOWEVER, there are a few disappointing matters as follows;

- the web site as well as the installation guide included in the package says 24/7 support but when I called this wasn’t the case and we only have 8-5 work days support. !! This advertised 24/7 support was one of the key factors in my deciding to buy Flo...

- the web module via plc does not work. I have been talking to tech support do a week now to no avail. The agent doesn’t seem to know much about this and just reads off of some wiki content then undertook to go talk with engineers and get back to me now four days later there is no word.
All three lights come on the plc which indicates connection to the evse and internet but the web portal says pending installation.
There is no online resource from knowledge base in their web sote or discussion boards about this.
Beginning to regre not having gotten one of the more established makes that also include WiFi!!

To their credit, I think the plc solution is a more reliable way of web connectivity but their support has left me wondering...

my PLC works great , generates email at initial connection, done charging , unplugged ... started at install when i plugged it in , never did anything else to it .. have you activated an account on flo app ? that shows my vehicle connected , charging power used etc ... no surge protected duplex , etc .. I am a techno-oblivious , if I do not need to know it to get it to work , its all greek to me ...

 

[babakp]

Does your router need a password to allow access to internet?

What puzzles me is that all three lights on plc are constant green indication all good to go buy app is not working. And no it’s connected to power exactly as in inatructions

I’m disappointed at Flo support since this shouldn’t wait over a week to be resolved.

 

[Kosta]

It does have a password , I can't recall setting it up , plugged in beside router using the short cord supplied , I just plugged it in and the three lights went green almost instantaneously . I used the charger id# in the app as one of my charging stations , flo app free to download .. plugged car in when the Mrs returned from work on the day the electrician installed it , and emails commenced ,

 

[babakp]

Just an update which may be useful to some;

My setup was a bit of an over kill but exactly by the book

I ran a 6 gauge wire off of a 60 amp breaker on my main panel into a sub-panel to another section of my basement

That made possible running a wire from the new sub panel off of a 40 amp breaker into a NEMA 6-50 plug in the garage.

On the same sub panel I added a 15 amp breaker into a 110 volt plug right beside the sub panel dedicated to plugging in the plc unit for the Flo x5 which was connected via an Ethernet cable to my WiFi router.

All three lights on the plc were green but the charger was marked installation pending and would not work.

Not having heard anything back from the Flo tech support I decided to experiment as follows;

I took the plc and plugged it into a similar plug beside my main panel and connected Ethernet to WiFi router and voila, it worked immediately!!

One would assume that the plug by the sub panel dedicated to the Flo x5 would be the logical best connection point for internet access via plc... apparently not and I have no explanation as to why the indirect power source is working and the direct power source does not although both scenarios result in theee solid green lights on the plc

 

[Thomasm]

I bought my Flo X5 through the VW dealer and even though it was pricey I decided to go with them since it was made locally. Anyway I don't want to get into my long story, but I have a defective charger that I've been trying to have serviced by FLO's technical support. In a nutshell , these guys are amateurs. Their support is no-existent. They don't reply to emails, they do't pick up the phone half the time and when they do the call end with them saying they need to look at the log files from the PLC.....and never follow up with me. I'm running after them, so I've had it with their BS and I'm returning this POS to the dealer and buying a Chargepoint or Juicebox for almost half the price.