Questions about Blue Oval Network

[macgyver60]

I have yet to do many long trips that require charging away from home. The three times I've done it I was lucky enough to have Electrify America DC fast chargers right where I needed them. We are now planning a trip 6 hours from home up in Lake Placid NY Which prompts two questions about the charging network.

Blue Oval has lots of networks in their network (Electrify America, EVGo, ChargePoint, Shell Recharge etc etc). In the Ford Pass app under Manage EV >> Plug & Charge the only icon listed is for Electrify America

1) Do all networks in the Blue Oval network work as Plug and Charge (In theory at least) or do we need to still use individual apps for those outside of Electrify America?
2) I still have a lot of charging credits from Ford. Will any/some of them aside from Electrify America accept the credits?

Thanks in advance for any advice

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[GreaseMonkey]

No, no and no.

P&C only works with EA, but FordPass can activate a non-EA charger so you don’t have to rely on a mishmash of apps to DCFC.

Credits only work with EA. You need to pay through FordPass (or other means) to charge on other networks.

 

[Howard]

If the network you use is one of the Blue Oval network partners, you can activate the charger via the Fordpass app and use the credit card associated with the app to pay. I have done this successfully with ChargePoint, EVGO, and Shell Recharge. You might want to check websites of network you are going to use to see if there is a specific sequence you have to follow. I have found that there are subtle differences in how you activate the charger via FP app. Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[RickMachE]

As posted often:

- Plan your trip using ABRP.
- Check every charging stop, when planning, in PlugShare.
- Check again during the trip, things change.

I can tell you in thousands of miles across 12+ states, besides EA we've rarely used a DC fast charger. Despite their issues, they beat most networks on speed of charging. Of course this is highly location specific.

 

[macgyver60]

Thanks for all the answers. You confirmed what I was already thinking but good to know for sure

 

[TheVirtualTim]

(1) Only Electrify America supports "Plug & Charge" for Ford EV's.

To use it, you must have add a payment method to your Blue Oval charging network account and once that's done you also have to enable the option in the Ford Pass app.

In theory, other network providers can implement Plug & Charge, but so far it doesn't seem like anyone else has done this.

I should note that EVgo has implemented their own technology that gives you the same effect as Plug & Charge in that once a vehicle has been enrolled (via their app) you can just plug in the connector and it will start charging (billing your account). But this is implemented a completely different way.

(2) You can ONLY use those free charging credits at Electrify America.

This is a bit confusing because Ford mentions that you get these via the Blue Oval charging network and since, as you've rightly pointed out, there are MANY vendors on the Blue Oval network, you would think you could use any of them. But you cannot. Those credits are only available if you charge at Electrify America stations AND you MUST "pay" for the charge via the Blue Oval network (typically Plug & Charge ... not sure if you can use Ford Pass to manually initiate the charge if Plug & Charge is disabled.)

A payment method has to be added to your account to use them because, presumably at some point when you exhaust the last "free" kiloWatt-hour of credit ... the very next kiloWatt-hour of energy is on you ... so they wont let you use the "free" credits unless you've also added a way to start paying for non-free energy once the free credits are exhausted.

 

[RickMachE]

Those credits are only available if you charge at Electrify America stations AND you MUST "pay" for the charge via the Blue Oval network (typically Plug & Charge ... not sure if you can use Ford Pass to manually initiate the charge if Plug & Charge is disabled.)

Yes, you can swipe a charge to use your free hours, via FordPass.

 

[ejbst25]

I occasionally have to charge on the road. I'm live in Raleigh and trips to Richmond, Charlotte, Wilmington, and sometimes Winston-Salem would require me to charge before I go home. I know some of these charging networks are more regional which is why I give you my starting point.

I tend to plan to leave early, charge as soon as I get there (before I work) in case there is a problem and I need to find another charger to get home. As previously mentioned by @RickMachE, ABRP + Plugshare are the places to start.

Apps I download and use: EVgo, EV Connect, ChargePoint (I have an at-home ChargePoint though)

Where I don't use apps: EA, Blink

The individual apps give you better details when you go back to review receipts and find places to return. (example attached from EVgo)

and Chargepoint's apps

 

[TheVirtualTim]

One of the annoyances about all the various apps ... is that it isn't just needing to download "yet another charging app" and have another account -- it's that they expect you to maintain a balance on the account.

This is basically the "Starbucks Card" of EV Charging. The "Starbucks Card" was a brilliant move by Starbucks. You get a pre-paid store card ... sometimes given to you as a "gift card" except you can refill it. The thing is ... they expect you to maintain a minimum balance on that card and they hook you up so that if your balance drops below some threshold ... they automatically grab more cash from your normal bank to refill your Starbucks Card balance.

And there are SO VERY MANY Starbucks Cards holding a balance, that Starbucks now how more money deposited that most banks. They get to use that money to invest, earn a return on it ... and it's interest-free to them.

And it gets even better still because people sometimes just abandon their Starbucks cards if they stop going to Starbucks and they don't get their money back. Starbucks just gets to keep that -- free money! Woot for them!

So the charging networks are doing the very same thing ... you not only download the app and set up the account ... you connect it to your bank or credit card and they automatically "refill" your balance if it gets too low. The combined deposits of all their account holders are basically giving them a zero-interest loan. If you're the charging network, what's not to love about that?

But for you ... if you've got a half-dozen different apps, then there goes $50+ dollars of your money locked away that you can't use and you can't get back. You get nothing for it except the opportunity to try to burn down some of that balance by using their network EXCEPT ... they'll just refill the balance right back up again.

FordPass is a bit different. You do not maintain a deposit. If you charge a few dollars worth of energy then they charge your payment card for that exact amount -- no more, no less. You aren't giving anyone a zero-interest loan.

So you set up ONE payment method in ONE app and there is no cash balance setting in the account. It is a win for the consumer in that respect.

 

[kltye]

One of the annoyances about all the various apps ... is that it isn't just needing to download "yet another charging app" and have another account -- it's that they expect you to maintain a balance on the account.

This is basically the "Starbucks Card" of EV Charging. The "Starbucks Card" was a brilliant move by Starbucks. You get a pre-paid store card ... sometimes given to you as a "gift card" except you can refill it. The thing is ... they expect you to maintain a minimum balance on that card and they hook you up so that if your balance drops below some threshold ... they automatically grab more cash from your normal bank to refill your Starbucks Card balance.

And there are SO VERY MANY Starbucks Cards holding a balance, that Starbucks now how more money deposited that most banks. They get to use that money to invest, earn a return on it ... and it's interest-free to them.

And it gets even better still because people sometimes just abandon their Starbucks cards if they stop going to Starbucks and they don't get their money back. Starbucks just gets to keep that -- free money! Woot for them!

So the charging networks are doing the very same thing ... you not only download the app and set up the account ... you connect it to your bank or credit card and they automatically "refill" your balance if it gets too low. The combined deposits of all their account holders are basically giving them a zero-interest loan. If you're the charging network, what's not to love about that?

But for you ... if you've got a half-dozen different apps, then there goes $50+ dollars of your money locked away that you can't use and you can't get back. You get nothing for it except the opportunity to try to burn down some of that balance by using their network EXCEPT ... they'll just refill the balance right back up again.

FordPass is a bit different. You do not maintain a deposit. If you charge a few dollars worth of energy then they charge your payment card for that exact amount -- no more, no less. You aren't giving anyone a zero-interest loan.

So you set up ONE payment method in ONE app and there is no cash balance setting in the account. It is a win for the consumer in that respect.

The only one issue with FordPass is it doesn't do membership tiers. So you won't get discounted rates on any networks. Is it worth having $50+ locked away somewhere for those discounts? ?

A way to combat the money being locked away thing would be to use virtual credit cards that max out at a (low) preset amount every month. Of course, that adds another layer of annoyance...

 

[ChasingCoral]

The only one issue with FordPass is it doesn't do membership tiers. So you won't get discounted rates on any networks. Is it worth having $50+ locked away somewhere for those discounts? ?

There was a very short-lived $50 Blue Oval Charging Membership that provided the same discount as EA's Pass + membership: 25% off. Hopefully that will return.

There might be a new feature coming that will allow you to start other BOCN chargers from your Sync 4A screen and bill you on card and account you set up for BOCN. It might work pretty well, too.

 

[kltye]

There was a very short-lived $50 Blue Oval Charging Membership that provided the same discount as EA's Pass + membership: 25% off. Hopefully that will return.

There might be a new feature coming that will allow you to start other BOCN chargers from your Sync 4A screen and bill you on card and account you set up for BOCN. It might work pretty well, too.

Yup I'm part of those two groups, but I figured most people aren't and didn't want to give false hope ??

 

[ChasingCoral]

Yup I'm part of those two groups, but I figured most people aren't and didn't want to give false hope ??

We can always hope good features see the light of day.

 

[bbulkow]

Reviving an old thread because it's the first result I found when I asked Google my question.

Background.

Because I have Blue Oval, now more than ever because Supercharger Network, I know I can "activate" a charge through either the network's own app, or Blue Oval.

How does my phone know which to use?

Let's say I'm signed up with both ChargePoint and BlueOval. I have both installed and enabled on my phone. How do I choose which to use? [ And the same for shell, evgo, EA.... ]

Empirically, it seems if I touch my phone to a ChargePoint, that touch gets vectored to the chargepoint app *if installed*.

Question.

If I didn't have ChargePoint installed, would that touch get routed to the Ford app, get picked up by BlueOval, and do a billing handshake?

If I really want to use BlueOval, how do I make sure the initiate is through Blue Oval instead of ChargePoint? Is there any way to initiate the charge in the Ford app itself? I can't find an obvious way.

While I suspect the answer might be a little different for different networks - that's the question.

[ A few days ago, I asked the similar question in a Ford thread about our new SuperCharger network access - apparently a person can "manually" initiate a connection and not use Plug and Charge. It's in the Ford FAQ on using SuperCharger, but I've seen no instructions about *how*. Is it in the Ford app? The Tesla app? ]

[ Asking because I'm right at the end of my included-with-car 250kwh EA, and it's time to either start using EA app directly, or keep using EA with BlueOval. All the other networks, I use the network-specific charging app primarily, even with the problems of lots of apps, lots of accounts, lots of pending balance. Both EVGo and ChargePoint has features in the app that's not available in BlueOval. EVGo has "connect and charge" directly through their service without BlueOval. Evgo also supports "reservations" at some stations. ChargePoint through the chargepoint app because work had it, and I needed wait lists (again, reservations, essentially). EA, I only get the benefit of EA subscription pricing - I probably don't want or need at the moment because I don't use public charging enough - but if I was on a road trip I might. If I'm going to use EA through the EA app, I have to make sure the Ford app doesn't get in the way? That's where my question comes from. ]

[ Final side note: I went to the EA "flagship" in San Francisco yesterday, somewhat on a lark. I probably could have gotten home with single digit miles on my GOM, but I wanted to try the Flagship, and it was great! Fie to you naysayers that we should have outdoor experiences. Well lit comfortable indoors - NO FUMES. There's a security guard, and a REALLY well stocked vending machine, and two different lounges, and wifi. But... My EA session established, and then disconnected. I went back to my car, and it seemed the EA station really wanted a credit card, so I did that and got my charge - but lost time. Why? Didn't it recognize my car? In retrospect, the panel had a "guest" and "member" UI screen, and maybe I needed to switch to "member"? Which started me thinking of the EA app "vs" BlueOval for initiation, thus the question ]

 

[zvez]

Reviving an old thread because it's the first result I found when I asked Google my question.

Background.

Because I have Blue Oval, now more than ever because Supercharger Network, I know I can "activate" a charge through either the network's own app, or Blue Oval.

How does my phone know which to use?

Let's say I'm signed up with both ChargePoint and BlueOval. I have both installed and enabled on my phone. How do I choose which to use? [ And the same for shell, evgo, EA.... ]

Empirically, it seems if I touch my phone to a ChargePoint, that touch gets vectored to the chargepoint app *if installed*.

Question.

If I didn't have ChargePoint installed, would that touch get routed to the Ford app, get picked up by BlueOval, and do a billing handshake?

If I really want to use BlueOval, how do I make sure the initiate is through Blue Oval instead of ChargePoint? Is there any way to initiate the charge in the Ford app itself? I can't find an obvious way.

While I suspect the answer might be a little different for different networks - that's the question.

[ A few days ago, I asked the similar question in a Ford thread about our new SuperCharger network access - apparently a person can "manually" initiate a connection and not use Plug and Charge. It's in the Ford FAQ on using SuperCharger, but I've seen no instructions about *how*. Is it in the Ford app? The Tesla app? ]

[ Asking because I'm right at the end of my included-with-car 250kwh EA, and it's time to either start using EA app directly, or keep using EA with BlueOval. All the other networks, I use the network-specific charging app primarily, even with the problems of lots of apps, lots of accounts, lots of pending balance. Both EVGo and ChargePoint has features in the app that's not available in BlueOval. EVGo has "connect and charge" directly through their service without BlueOval. Evgo also supports "reservations" at some stations. ChargePoint through the chargepoint app because work had it, and I needed wait lists (again, reservations, essentially). EA, I only get the benefit of EA subscription pricing - I probably don't want or need at the moment because I don't use public charging enough - but if I was on a road trip I might. If I'm going to use EA through the EA app, I have to make sure the Ford app doesn't get in the way? That's where my question comes from. ]

[ Final side note: I went to the EA "flagship" in San Francisco yesterday, somewhat on a lark. I probably could have gotten home with single digit miles on my GOM, but I wanted to try the Flagship, and it was great! Fie to you naysayers that we should have outdoor experiences. Well lit comfortable indoors - NO FUMES. There's a security guard, and a REALLY well stocked vending machine, and two different lounges, and wifi. But... My EA session established, and then disconnected. I went back to my car, and it seemed the EA station really wanted a credit card, so I did that and got my charge - but lost time. Why? Didn't it recognize my car? In retrospect, the panel had a "guest" and "member" UI screen, and maybe I needed to switch to "member"? Which started me thinking of the EA app "vs" BlueOval for initiation, thus the question ]

According to what's on fordpass for "plug and charge" in blue oval network, you literally just plug it in and it's supposed to recognize the car, plug and charge does have to be enabled. I know on my chargepoint you're supposed to have to touch the charger with your phone, but I never actually got that to work so I got one of the chargepoint cards to tap with which does work.

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