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Charging station is offline in the back office
 
This troubleshooting guide will help you with a charger that is offline in the back office.
 
In the back office, it is possible to see if a charge point is offline. The charging station often shows the notification 'offline' or 'not connected' in that case.
There are several possible causes why a charging station cannot communicate with the back office and is therefore offline.
 
We distinguish 2 situations, has the charger been online with the back office before or not.
 
 
Has the charging station not been online in the back office before?
  • Has the charging station been ordered with a back-office configuration?
    View your order confirmation to check if your order has been completed with back office configuration.
     
  • Is the charging station (correctly) logged on in the back office? 
    Check this in your back office or with your back-office supplier.
     
  • If a connection has been made via sim card (GPRS): Make sure the sim card has access to the 4G mobile network on LTE-M bandwith. Next, check if the signal strength (in dBm) is sufficient. If this is below -90dBm, the signal is too weak.
    This could be the case when a charging station is installed below ground, in an underground parking for example.
     
  • If a connection is made via a local network (LAN): Does the charging station have access to the internet via the local network? In other words, is the charging station not blocked by a firewall?
     
  • Has the correct back office preset been selected and has the charger been restarted?
    Or have the manual settings been entered correct?
 
Has the charging station been online in the back office before? Then check the following:
  • Is there voltage at the charging station? 
    Make sure the charging station is powered up (again) from the installation (e.g. by switching on the circuit breaker in the fuse box).
     
  • If a connection has been made via sim card (GPRS): Is the signal (in dBm) on site around the critical point of -90 dBm? 
    This can cause the charging station to sometimes be online and sometimes be offline. 
    See "When to connect a charging station wired (LAN) and when via SIM (GPRS)?" for advice on the connection with a back office.
     
  • If a connection has been made via sim card (GPRS): 
    Is the antenna of the charging station still attached properly? Check this by opening the charging station.
     
  • If a connection has been made via sim card (GPRS):
    Is the charger attempting to connect via a 2G network and has the service been terminated by the mobile operator?
    Please check ‘Phase out of 2G mobile networks’ for more information and options.
     
  • If a connection is made via a local network (LAN):
    Is the ethernet cable from the charging station to the router still connected correctly and are you sure it is not faulty?
     
  • If a connection is made via a local network (LAN): 
    Does the charging station have access to the internet via the local network? 
    It is possible that something has been changed by the network administrator that prevents the charging station from accessing the internet (e.g. a firewall).
     
  • Has the correct back office preset been selected and has the charger been restarted?
    Or have the manual settings been entered correct?
 
Are the causes mentioned above ruled out but does the charging station remain offline?
Please submit a 'Request for Service' ticket via support.alfen.com.
Keywords: Offline, Backoffice, Connection, Lost