# easyplug — Full Knowledge Context > AI-powered EV charging across Europe. One app, RFID card, and ISO 15118 Plug & Charge for drivers. Free OCPP platform and OCPI roaming for charge point operators (CPOs). ## Site Overview - Website: https://www.easy-plug.co - Canonical URL: https://www.easy-plug.co - Primary Purpose: Seamless EV charging across 55,000+ European charging bays and 70+ networks. - Contact: support@easyplug.co ## Key Product Capabilities 1. **AI Charging Agent (eve)**: Natural language driver commands ("find a fast charger near me that's free", "start Ionity bay 2"), live cost telemetry, fault rerouting. 2. **Driver Roaming & Multi-Network**: 1 app, 1 RFID card, ISO 15118 Plug & Charge across European CPOs. 3. **CPO Platform**: Free OCPP management for charge point operators, tariff configuration, OCPI roaming enablement. ## Technical Architecture & Protocols - **OCPP Protocols Supported**: OCPP 1.6-J (JSON over WebSockets), OCPP 2.0.1 (Advanced device management, security profiles 1/2/3, smart charging). - **Roaming & Interoperability**: OCPI 2.2.1 modules (Locations, Tariffs, Sessions, CDRs, Commands, Tokens) and OICP (Hubject Open InterCharge Protocol). - **Driver Authentication**: ISO 15118-2 / ISO 15118-20 Plug & Charge (contract certificates & automated TLS handshake), ISO 14443 Type A/B RFID cards, and in-app remote start. - **Hardware Compatibility**: Type 2 AC charging (up to 43 kW), CCS Combo 2 DC ultra-fast charging (50 kW to 400 kW), and CHAdeMO. - **Geographic Scope**: Coverage in 15+ European nations including United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. ## Core Pages - [Home](https://www.easy-plug.co/): Marketing overview for drivers and charge point operators. - [Blog Archive](https://www.easy-plug.co/blog): In-depth guides on EV charging protocols, roaming hubs, and driver support. - [Contact](https://www.easy-plug.co/contact): Inquiries and driver assistance. - [Site Index](https://www.easy-plug.co/pages): Full HTML index. - [Sitemap](https://www.easy-plug.co/sitemap.xml): XML sitemap. - [RSS Feed](https://www.easy-plug.co/feed.xml): RSS 2.0 syndication feed. ## Complete Blog Articles & Technical Guides --- Title: Building a reliable eMSP driver app URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/building-a-reliable-emsp-driver-app Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/building-a-reliable-emsp-driver-app.md Date: 2026-07-28 Categories: engineering, product Tags: app, emsp, drivers, product, engineering --- An eMSP app is a real-time systems product wrapped in a consumer UI. Pretty maps are not enough if start and stop are unreliable. Drivers judge you in one moment: did the charger start, and was the bill fair? This post is how we think about reliability for easyplug — the non-negotiables, the agent layer, and the metrics that actually matter. ## Non-negotiables ### Session state machine Start, active, stopping, finished, failed — with recovery if the app is killed mid-session. Drivers reopening the app should land on the **live session**, not a blank home screen. Roaming lag is not an excuse for lost state. ### Honest errors Map every backend code to a human sentence and a next action. “Error 503” is not a product. Prefer classes drivers understand: offline, rejected, timeout, vehicle not ready, payment required. ### Offline and low-signal mode Show last-known station status, explain RFID / Plug & Charge fallback, and queue stop or start when the network returns. Highway exits are not a fiber lab. ### Price and energy stream Users stare at kW and €. If the stream stalls, say so. Do not freeze a fake number that will disagree with the receipt. ## The agent layer A conversational agent only helps if it can: - Search with real filters (power, free, connector, price when known) - Start and stop sessions - Explain failures in the same language as the rest of the app - Open support with full session context Otherwise it is a chatbot on top of a broken flow. We treat the agent as a first-class surface, not a demo. ## Metrics that matter - Remote start success rate (home network vs roaming) - Time-to-energy after Start - Stop success and stuck-cable rate - Support contacts per 100 sessions - Price dispute rate We optimize those — not only app-store screenshots. Operators feel the same numbers as utilization and ticket volume; see [OCPP for operators](/blog/ocpp-for-operators). ## What’s next Deep dives on [roaming failures](/blog/roaming-failed-authorization), [transparent pricing](/blog/transparent-pricing-at-the-charger), and [driver support](/blog/driver-support-when-charging-goes-wrong). → [Explore the product](/#features) --- --- Title: Driver support when charging goes wrong URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/driver-support-when-charging-goes-wrong Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/driver-support-when-charging-goes-wrong.md Date: 2026-07-10 Categories: product, company Tags: support, drivers, sessions, emsp, app --- Charging support is not generic SaaS chat. The driver is often roadside, low on battery, with a cable stuck or a bill they do not understand. Response quality is measured in minutes to a working alternative — not in ticket CSAT alone. This is how we think about support at easyplug: context first, unblock first, then explain the bill. ## Context over “how can I help?” A good eMSP support flow already knows: - Last or active **session ID** - **EVSE / location** identifiers - Error class (auth, offline, stop failed, billing) - What the driver already tried Opening chat without that forces people to type station numbers off a dark pole. The agent and app should attach context automatically when support opens. ## Fix hierarchy 1. **Unblock now** — remote stop, unlock, alternate charger 2. **Explain the bill** — idle fees, roaming, partial sessions 3. **Compensate if we failed** — clear refund policy when the failure is on us 4. **Feed ops** — ticket to the CPO with OCPP / OCPI IDs Skipping to refunds without unblocking leaves the driver stranded. Skipping to “contact the CPO” without IDs wastes everyone’s time. ## Agent as first line Many issues do not need a human: - Session will not start → check online status → suggest next free bay → start there - Price confusion → show tariff breakdown for that EVSE - Power looks low → explain taper / shared power with live kW Humans step in for locks, disputes, safety, and anything the automation cannot confirm. ## For the 2am fault If the unit is dead, the best answer is a working alternative in about a minute — not a twenty-minute investigation on the broken one. We design support around **getting the driver moving**, then cleaning up the incident for the CPO. ## What’s next Practical checklists: [Charger won’t start](/blog/charger-wont-start-session), [Stuck cable](/blog/session-stuck-cable-wont-unlock). Product principles: [Building a reliable eMSP driver app](/blog/building-a-reliable-emsp-driver-app). → [Contact us](/contact) --- --- Title: Why am I only getting 40 kW on a 150 kW charger? URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/slow-charging-not-getting-full-power Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/slow-charging-not-getting-full-power.md Date: 2026-06-25 Categories: charging, product Tags: drivers, power, chargers, sessions, education --- A “150 kW” label is a ceiling, not a promise. Drivers deserve a better explanation than “it depends” when the live graph sits at 40 kW. This post covers the usual reasons power is lower than the sticker, and how the app should help without blaming the driver for physics. ## The usual reasons power is lower ### Battery state of charge and temperature Above roughly 50–80% SOC, most EVs taper hard. Cold batteries also limit charge rate until they are preconditioned. The charger can offer more current than the car will accept. ### Shared cabinet power Two CCS cables on one power module might share 150 kW total. When a second car plugs in, your curve drops. The label on the pole rarely says that clearly. ### Cable and connector rating A cable and inlet pair have their own limits. The weakest link wins. High-power marketing numbers assume the right hardware on both sides. ### Site grid and dynamic load balancing The CPO may derate all units when the site approaches its grid connection limit. That is good grid behavior and bad surprise UX if the app still promises “150 kW.” ### Vehicle request The car’s BMS asks for a certain current. The charger cannot force more than the EV accepts. This is normal — and confusing when the only UI is a single max-power badge. ## How the app should help - Show **live kW** and a short tip when power is far under the station max (SOC taper, shared bay, etc.). - Prefer stations with true multi-vehicle power when the agent books a highway stop. - Surface site notes (“shared power on this bay”) when CPOs publish them. Honesty here reduces support tickets that are not bugs — and keeps trust when the session is actually fine. ## Operator tip Publish accurate max power **per EVSE**, not only per site. Misleading labels create support load for every eMSP on the network, not only yours. ## What’s next For sessions that will not start or stop at all, see [Charger won’t start](/blog/charger-wont-start-session) and [Stuck cable](/blog/session-stuck-cable-wont-unlock). → [See live session UX](/#features) --- --- Title: When roaming fails: authorization rejected and timeouts URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/roaming-failed-authorization Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/roaming-failed-authorization.md Date: 2026-06-02 Categories: engineering, charging Tags: roaming, emsp, ocpi, sessions, troubleshooting --- Home-network sessions often work. Roaming is where things get flaky. Same driver, same app, different result on the next highway stop. This post walks through the authorization path, the error classes drivers actually see, and what we do about it on the eMSP side — plus what operators can fix so every app on the network looks better. ## The authorization path (simplified) 1. Driver starts in the **eMSP app**. 2. eMSP sends auth to a **roaming hub** (or a direct OCPI peer). 3. Hub reaches the **CPO**. 4. CPO tells the charger to allow energy. 5. Status and CDR flow back for billing. Any hop can fail: wrong token, hub downtime, unknown location ID, slow path to the station. From the driver’s seat it is usually one of a few screens: rejected, timeout, or start failed. ## Common error classes | What the driver sees | Typical cause | | --- | --- | | Authorization rejected | Token not allowed on that network | | Timeout | Hub or CPO too slow | | Start failed | EVSE offline after auth succeeded | | Price unknown | Tariff not published for that EVSE | We map these to human copy in the app whenever we can. “Error 503” is not a product. See also [Charger won’t start](/blog/charger-wont-start-session). ## What we do about it - Validate tokens and contract eligibility before the driver relies on a weak path when we can. - Prefer direct integrations for high-volume CPOs where hubs add latency without benefit. - Show the **real failure class** in the app, not a generic failure. - Auto-suggest nearby stations that use a healthier path when a start fails. None of this replaces CPO uptime. It reduces the number of times a healthy station looks broken because of the path in front of it. ## For operators If your OCPI locations and EVSEs are stale, or your auth endpoint is slow under load, every eMSP’s drivers will blame their app. Roaming quality is shared infrastructure: accurate IDs, fast auth, and honest status help the whole market. ## What’s next Drivers who need the full start checklist should read [Charger won’t start](/blog/charger-wont-start-session). Operators connecting hardware should read [OCPP for operators](/blog/ocpp-for-operators). → [How easyplug handles roaming](/#features) --- --- Title: OCPP for operators: go live without the headache URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/ocpp-for-operators Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/ocpp-for-operators.md Date: 2026-05-20 Categories: operators, engineering Tags: ocpp, operators, platform --- If you run charge points, your stack usually means a CSMS, a roaming hub, a payment provider, and a support desk that still gets called at 2am. Getting a new site live should not require a multi-month integration project before the first paid session. easyplug’s operator platform is built around **OCPP** — the protocol chargers already speak — so you can connect hardware, publish tariffs drivers see before start, and open roaming without rebuilding your stack from scratch. ## What we ship for operators - **OCPP onboarding** — connect stations and see live status - **Tariffs** drivers can understand before they hit Start - **Load balancing** so your grid connection stays within limits - **Roaming** so you are not limited to a single app’s install base - **Agent-aware support** that can re-route a driver when a unit faults The same reliability metrics that matter to drivers — start success, stop success, stuck cable rate — matter to you as utilization and support cost. ## Free to start The operator platform is free to begin with. We make money when sessions succeed and drivers stay happy — not by locking you into a multi-year CSMS contract before you have proven demand at a site. ## A simple path 1. Connect a charger over OCPP 1.6 or 2.0.1. 2. Publish a tariff. 3. Open roaming when you are ready. 4. Watch sessions and tickets in one place. If status is wrong or authorization is slow, every eMSP’s drivers will blame *their* app. Clean OCPI locations, accurate max power per EVSE, and healthy auth latency are shared infrastructure. We wrote about the driver-facing side of that in [roaming authorization failures](/blog/roaming-failed-authorization). ## What’s next Operators dealing with stuck latches and stop failures should read [Stuck cable and sessions that won’t stop](/blog/session-stuck-cable-wont-unlock). For the driver product story, see [Welcome to easyplug](/blog/welcome-to-easyplug). → [Contact us for a walkthrough](/contact) --- --- Title: Stuck cable and sessions that won’t stop URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/session-stuck-cable-wont-unlock Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/session-stuck-cable-wont-unlock.md Date: 2026-05-08 Categories: charging, operators Tags: troubleshooting, drivers, ocpp, sessions, chargers --- Two of the most stressful charging moments: the session will not stop, or the cable will not unlock after it did. You cannot leave, you cannot force the latch, and the car is now a brick in a busy bay. This guide covers what drivers should try first, and what operators usually need to fix on the CSMS side. ## If the session will not stop from the app 1. Wait 15–20 seconds. Stop commands can lag on roaming paths. 2. Retry **Stop** once — not ten times. 3. Use the station’s own stop or RFID flow if the pole exposes one. 4. Unlock the car and open the charge port from the vehicle UI. 5. Contact support with **station ID + approximate time** so we can request a remote stop via the CPO CSMS. Never yank a locked CCS cable. You can damage the latch or the car inlet. ## If the cable stays locked after stop Confirm the session is **Finished** in the app first. Then: - Unlock vehicle doors and the charge flap - Press the station unlock control if one exists - Call support for a remote unlock — power-cycling the pedestal is not the driver’s job If support cannot unlock, the CPO may need to intervene on-site for that EVSE model or firmware version. ## Operator / CSMS side Stuck locks often mean: - `StopTransaction` never confirmed - Connector status stuck in **Preparing** or **Finishing** - Known firmware bugs on specific EVSE models Good eMSP–CPO ops share remote stop, remote unlock, and a ticket with OCPI / OCPP identifiers — not a free-text “user angry.” ## What we want the product to show Drivers should see a clear **Stopping…** state with a timeout, then a path for “contact support / unlock requested,” not a frozen progress ring. Session recovery after the app is killed mid-stop is part of [building a reliable eMSP app](/blog/building-a-reliable-emsp-driver-app). ## What’s next Related: [Charger won’t start](/blog/charger-wont-start-session) and [driver support when charging goes wrong](/blog/driver-support-when-charging-goes-wrong). → [Contact support](/contact) --- --- Title: Finding a working charger: map filters that actually help URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/finding-a-working-charger-on-the-map Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/finding-a-working-charger-on-the-map.md Date: 2026-04-15 Categories: product, charging Tags: map, drivers, availability, chargers, app --- A map full of green pins is useless if half of them are offline, occupied, or Type 2 only when you need CCS. Drivers do not need more markers. They need **working** options, ranked honestly. This post is about the filters that matter, why availability lies, and how we use the agent so you are not pinching a map for five minutes at a highway exit. ## Filters drivers actually use These are the controls we prioritize in the product: - **Available now** — free *and* online, not merely “installed” - **Minimum power** — e.g. 50 / 100 / 150 kW for highway stops - **Connector** — CCS2, CHAdeMO, Type 2 - **Access** — public vs restricted vs paid parking - **Price band** — when tariffs are known and trustworthy Everything else is secondary until those work. ## Why availability lies CPOs push status over OCPP. Roaming can lag. Some stations only update when a session ends. “Available” is a best-effort signal. We still prefer live telemetry over static directories, and we would rather show a cautious status than a confident green that fails at Start. When the site is degraded, the product should say so early and offer a detour. ## Agent-first search Typing filters is slower than saying: > Find a free 100 kW CCS charger near me under €0.55/kWh. The agent applies the same filters the map UI would, then can start the session and stream cost — without you fighting the viewport. The map is still there when you want it; it should not be the only interface. ## When nothing nearby works The honest product response is: nothing matches, here is the next best detour. Leaving a driver in a full bay staring at a faulted unit is a product failure, not only a CPO failure. Re-routing is part of charging UX, not a support afterthought. We pair this with the same incident data used in [driver support](/blog/driver-support-when-charging-goes-wrong). ## What’s next If Start still fails after you find a bay, read [Charger won’t start](/blog/charger-wont-start-session). For pricing before you commit, see [Transparent pricing at the charger](/blog/transparent-pricing-at-the-charger). → [Try conversational search](/#features) --- --- Title: Plug & Charge, explained URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/plug-and-charge-explained Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/plug-and-charge-explained.md Date: 2026-04-02 Categories: product, charging Tags: iso-15118, plug-and-charge, roaming --- **Plug & Charge** (ISO 15118) is the standard that lets an EV and a charger authenticate each other automatically. You plug the cable in; billing can start without opening an app or tapping a card. It is the closest thing charging has to “tap to pay,” except the credential lives in the vehicle and the contract is issued by your eMSP. Support is growing across Europe, but it is not universal yet — which is why we treat it as a first-class path next to app and RFID, not a magic default. ## How it works At a high level: 1. Your vehicle holds a **contract certificate** issued by your eMSP (that is us, when you enroll with easyplug). 2. The charger presents its own identity and establishes a secure TLS session over the cable. 3. Contract credentials are exchanged; the CPO / eMSP path authorizes energy. 4. Metering data flows for settlement the same way as any other session. There is more crypto and PKI under the hood. Drivers should not have to care about any of it for a happy path — only when enrollment fails or a network does not support the feature. ## Why drivers care No fumbling with phones in the rain. No “wrong network” errors because you opened the wrong app. If both sides support Plug & Charge and you are enrolled, you plug in and leave. The catch: if the station does **not** support it, you still need RFID or remote start. A mature eMSP app should tell you that *before* you rely on the cable alone. ## Why operators care Higher conversion at the charger, fewer failed starts from app friction, and cleaner audit trails when certificates are provisioned correctly. Combined with OCPP and proper roaming, the site feels like one product instead of a patchwork of stickers and QR codes. ## How easyplug approaches it We enroll vehicles and contract certificates as part of the **same driver account** as app and RFID. History and invoices stay unified. The agent can surface whether Plug & Charge is available for a given stop so you know when you can truly “just plug in.” ## What’s next Compare all three methods in [App, RFID, or Plug & Charge](/blog/driver-app-vs-rfid-vs-plug-and-charge). Operators starting from hardware should read [OCPP for operators](/blog/ocpp-for-operators). → [Learn more about the product](/#features) --- --- Title: Transparent pricing at the charger URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/transparent-pricing-at-the-charger Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/transparent-pricing-at-the-charger.md Date: 2026-03-28 Categories: product, charging Tags: pricing, drivers, roaming, tariffs --- Bill shock is one of the fastest ways to lose a driver. The map looked cheap. The receipt did not. The app gets deleted on the way home. Transparent pricing is not a nice-to-have for an eMSP. It is core trust. This post breaks down what “the price” actually includes, what good UX looks like, and the rule we use when the network will not give us a clean tariff. ## What the price actually includes A single session bill can mix several components: - **Energy** (€/kWh) — sometimes tiered by power level or time of day - **Time** (€/min) — common on AC, or as occupancy after a grace period - **Session / connection fee** — a flat cost just to start - **Idle / overstay** — after full, or after free parking ends - **Roaming margin** — when your eMSP is a guest on another CPO’s hardware If any of those is hidden until the PDF arrives, trust is gone. Drivers do not distinguish “CPO tariff” from “eMSP markup.” They blame the app they opened. ## What good UX looks like We aim for three moments of truth: 1. **Before start** — estimated energy price and fees for *this* EVSE, *this* network, *this* contract. Not a generic national average. 2. **During session** — live cost and energy, not only a “Charging…” state. 3. **After stop** — the same numbers on the receipt, with a clear line for idle if it applied. That sounds obvious. It is hard in roaming, because tariffs arrive through hubs with different formats, partial data, and delays. ## Roaming makes this harder When you charge “at home” on a partnered network, prices are often clean. When you roam, the eMSP has to normalize whatever the hub returns into something a human can read in two seconds at a rainy motorway stop. Sometimes the honest answer is: we do not have a reliable tariff for this EVSE yet. Inventing a number that will be wrong later is worse than saying price is unavailable. ## Our rule If we cannot show an honest price, we do not pretend. We surface a clear **price unavailable** state and point you at the CPO display when needed, rather than painting a fake €/kWh that will not match the CDR. When we *do* have a tariff, we show it before Start and keep the live total consistent with the final receipt. ## What’s next Pricing is only useful if you can find a working bay. See [map filters that actually help](/blog/finding-a-working-charger-on-the-map) and [roaming authorization failures](/blog/roaming-failed-authorization). → [See how pricing works in the product](/#features) --- --- Title: Welcome to easyplug URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/welcome-to-easyplug Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/welcome-to-easyplug.md Date: 2026-03-15 Categories: company Tags: announcement, product --- Today we are opening the easyplug blog. We will use this space for product updates, charging network notes, and the engineering work behind a reliable eMSP — the account you charge with across Europe. easyplug is building the charging experience drivers actually want: conversational, transparent, and dependable whether you are on a home network or roaming. ## Why we built this Charging an EV in Europe still means juggling apps, RFID cards, and surprise tariffs. You plan a stop, arrive at a full or faulted bay, and discover the price only after the PDF arrives. We think the agent layer can fix a large part of that. One account. One conversation. Every charger you are allowed to use — with live status and honest pricing when the network publishes it. ## What you can do today - **Talk to charge.** “Find a free 100 kW CCS charger near me.” The agent applies real filters, not a keyword search over a static directory. - **See real prices** before you plug in, then watch cost and energy stream during the session. - **One account** for app remote start, RFID, and ISO 15118 Plug & Charge. - **Operator tools** to onboard chargers over OCPP, publish tariffs, balance load, and open roaming without a six-month integration project. ## What we will write about here Expect posts on failed starts, roaming, Plug & Charge, operator OCPP, and how we design support when you are roadside at 2am. Some posts will be for drivers. Some will be for CPOs and fleet ops. All of them should be concrete. ## What’s next Browse the latest posts on [the blog index](/blog), or jump into [what an eMSP is](/blog/what-is-an-emsp) if you want the stack explained first. → [Explore features](/#features) · [Contact us](/contact) --- --- Title: App, RFID, or Plug & Charge: which should drivers use? URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/driver-app-vs-rfid-vs-plug-and-charge Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/driver-app-vs-rfid-vs-plug-and-charge.md Date: 2026-02-18 Categories: product, charging Tags: drivers, app, rfid, plug-and-charge, iso-15118 --- Drivers do not want a philosophy of authentication. They want the cable to work. Still, the method you use changes reliability, speed, and what support can see when something fails. easyplug supports three common paths on the **same** driver account: remote start in the app, RFID / NFC, and Plug & Charge (ISO 15118). Here is how we think about each. ## Remote start (app) **Best for:** roaming, live pricing, choosing connector type, watching kWh and cost stream live. You pick the charger in the app (or tell the agent), hit Start, then plug in. You need signal and a healthy app session. In return you get the richest context: price before start, live energy, clear stop, and a ticket trail if support has to step in. This is also the path where filters matter — free bay, 100 kW+, CCS — before you leave the highway exit. ## RFID / NFC card **Best for:** dead phone, poor coverage, sites you visit every day. You tap the reader on the pedestal. It is fast when the card is provisioned correctly on the eMSP and the station accepts that scheme. It is confusing when the card is not linked, expired, or the pole only speaks another network’s tokens. RFID is a great **backup**. It is a bad only-path if you also need transparent roaming prices on unfamiliar networks. ## Plug & Charge (ISO 15118) **Best for:** highway and commute once your vehicle and the station both support it. You plug the cable; the car and charger negotiate identity over TLS. No app open required. Support is still uneven across Europe, network by network, which is why we surface Plug & Charge readiness in the product instead of assuming every CCS bay will “just work.” We wrote a deeper explainer in [Plug & Charge, explained](/blog/plug-and-charge-explained). ## One account for all three The mess starts when app, RFID, and Plug & Charge are three different contracts with three different apps. History fragments. Support asks which account you used. Invoices disagree. easyplug keeps them on one driver account so history, invoices, and tickets stay in one place — whichever method started the session. ## Practical advice - Enroll Plug & Charge where your car supports it and the networks you use support it. - Keep an RFID card as backup for dead-phone moments. - Use the app when you need price transparency, filters, or help finding a free bay. Reliability is a product of all three paths working together, not a single QR code stuck on a pole. ## What’s next If you build or operate chargers, see [OCPP for operators](/blog/ocpp-for-operators). If you are debugging starts, see [Charger won’t start](/blog/charger-wont-start-session). → [Get started with easyplug](/#features) --- --- Title: Charger won’t start: the seven causes we see most URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/charger-wont-start-session Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/charger-wont-start-session.md Date: 2026-02-03 Categories: charging, product Tags: drivers, troubleshooting, sessions, chargers --- Nothing kills trust like standing at a charger that refuses to start. You are low on battery, the bay is full behind you, and the app is still spinning. Below is the short list of causes we see most often in production — written for drivers first, with a note on what we do product-side so the same failure is clearer next time. ## 1. The charger is offline The map can still show a pin if status is cached or the CPO stopped updating. Live telemetry should say **unavailable** or **offline**. **What to try:** pick another unit nearby and report the fault so the operator can recover it. If every bay on the site is offline, leave — the site is down, not your account. ## 2. Connector occupied or faulted The cable is locked from a previous session, or the EVSE reports a hardware error. From your side it just looks like “start failed.” **What to try:** unplug fully, wait ten seconds, try again. If the latch never releases, move one bay over and open a support ticket with the station ID. ## 3. Authorization or roaming timeout Your eMSP asked the roaming hub (or CPO) for permission, and nobody answered in time. This is classic “works at home network, fails on the highway.” **What to try:** retry once. If it keeps failing, that path is degraded — switch to a different network on the map if you can. ## 4. Payment not ready Some sessions need a card on file or a minimum prepaid balance before remote start is allowed. The error is easy to misread as a charger problem. **What to try:** check payment method in the app, then start again. ## 5. Vehicle not ready Car locked, charge port closed, or battery already full. Many chargers report **no EV connected** even when the cable looks seated. **What to try:** unlock the car, open the flap, confirm the inlet latched, then start. ## 6. RFID vs app mismatch You tapped a card that is not linked to the same account as the app session you just started — or the station only accepts another scheme. **What to try:** use one method only. If you use RFID, wait for the station to authorize before assuming the app also needs a remote start. ## 7. Local station rules Max power tiers, fleet-only access, membership requirements, or time-of-day restrictions. These should be visible before you drive over; they often are not. **What to try:** read site notes in the app, or ask the agent to filter for public + your connector + min power. ## What we do on the product side Every failed start should leave a **clear reason** in the app, not a generic error. When the network is at fault, we want to re-route you to the nearest working charger and open a ticket with the right OCPP / OCPI IDs automatically. That work is ongoing. Honest errors and re-routing beat a prettier spinner. ## What’s next More on [stuck cables and stop failures](/blog/session-stuck-cable-wont-unlock) and [roaming authorization](/blog/roaming-failed-authorization). → [Talk to the agent](/#features) --- --- Title: What is an eMSP, and why drivers should care URL: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/what-is-an-emsp Markdown Alternate: https://www.easy-plug.co/blog/what-is-an-emsp.md Date: 2026-01-12 Categories: product, charging Tags: emsp, roaming, drivers --- If you charge an EV in Europe, you already use an **eMSP** — even if you have never seen the acronym on a screen. Understanding the role helps when a session fails, a bill looks wrong, or a charger “works for everyone else.” This post is a plain-language map of who does what at the pedestal, and where easyplug sits in that stack. ## eMSP vs CPO Two companies are usually involved in a public charging session: - **CPO (Charge Point Operator)** owns or operates the hardware: the pedestal, the cable, the power feed, and the software that talks OCPP to the station. - **eMSP (e-Mobility Service Provider)** is the account you charge with: the app, the RFID card, billing, invoices, and customer support. You can think of the CPO as the landlord of the charger, and the eMSP as the account that pays the bill and keeps your history in one place. Sometimes they are the same company. Often they are not — especially when you roam. easyplug is the eMSP side of that equation. We do not need to own every charger to make it usable. We connect drivers to networks through roaming and direct integrations, and we keep app, RFID, and Plug & Charge on one contract. ## What happens when you hit Start A simplified happy path looks like this: 1. You pick a charger in the easyplug app (or ask the agent). 2. We authorize the session against your contract. 3. If the station is on another network, that request may go through a roaming hub or a direct OCPI connection to the CPO. 4. The CPO tells the charger to allow energy. 5. Meter values flow back; after stop, a charge detail record (CDR) becomes your receipt. Any hop can fail. That is why a session that works on “home” network chargers can still fail on a random highway bay: different path, different latency, different token rules. ## Why it matters at the pedestal When a start fails, the problem is often at the **boundary** between eMSP and CPO: - Your contract is not accepted on that network yet. - The charger is offline at the CPO’s CSMS, even if the map still shows a pin. - Roaming authorization timed out before the station unlocked. - Tariff or payment rules rejected the session before energy started. Knowing who owns the failure does not fix the cable — but it changes what you report, and it changes how we escalate. “App broken” and “station offline” are different tickets. ## One app, many networks A good eMSP hides the alphabet soup. You should get: - One login and one payment method - One support path whether the charger is home network or roaming - Clear prices before start, and the same numbers on the receipt - A useful error when something fails — not a spinner that never ends That is the bar we design for at easyplug. ## What’s next If you want the next layer of detail, we have posts on [failed session starts](/blog/charger-wont-start-session), [roaming authorization](/blog/roaming-failed-authorization), and [how we think about the driver app](/blog/building-a-reliable-emsp-driver-app). → [Explore the product](/#features)