Why a charging session won't start

If you’ve plugged in and the session won’t begin, work through the checks below in order. Most cases come down to not having an account set up, your account balance, how long you took between plugging in and pressing Start, whether you have access to the station, whether the station is in service, or a connection that didn’t complete.

1. Do you have an app and an account?

Plugging in on its own won’t start a charge. Almost all Hypercharge stations need a session started from an app — either the Hypercharge app or an authorised roaming partner app.

Only a small proportion of stations, mostly DC fast, have a credit card reader. Tapping a card on a station that doesn’t have one won’t do anything, and the RFID reader is not a card reader — it only reads RFID cards and fobs.

If you haven’t set up an account yet, see Start and stop a charging session.

2. Check your account balance

You need more than $1 in your account to start a session. Below that, the session won’t start and the station may show Blocked.

Top up in the app under your account balance, then try again.

Note

Although $1 will allow you to start a session, your session will end when your balance runs out. Adding funds doesn’t resume your session automatically, so you’ll need to restart the session from your vehicle. Make sure you have enough balance to complete the intended amount of charging given the pricing at the station where you intend to charge.

See How much balance do I need?, or turn on automatic balance reloads so it tops up for you.

3. Did you take too long between plugging in and pressing Start?

Some stations on the network time out after 60 seconds. If more than about a minute passed between plugging the connector in and pressing Start, the station may have timed out.

Unplug, plug back in, and press Start straight away — or press Start first and plug in immediately after. Either order works, as long as both happen inside the window.

Tip

The reliable habit is to find the station in the app and have the Start button ready before you plug in. See Start and stop a charging session.

4. Check whether you have access to the station

Many Hypercharge stations are private — they serve the residents, staff or members of a specific building. If you’re not on the station’s authorised list, the session won’t start and you may see Unauthorized, Not authorized to start a session, or an authentication error.

Private stations often don’t appear in the app at all, which is expected.

To get access, contact your building’s property manager, strata, or front desk. They maintain the list of who can use the station and can request that your account be added. Hypercharge support can’t grant access on their behalf.

See Find a station in the app and Station ownership and responsibilities.

5. Check the station’s status

Tap the station in the app and look at its status. A station that is Under construction, Out of service or Unknown can’t take a session right now.

See What station statuses mean for what each one indicates and what to do about it.

6. Check whether the site uses a different app

At a small number of sites, charging is paid for through a third-party app instead of the Hypercharge app. The Hypercharge app will normally tell you this when you select the station, and the branding and QR code on the station should indicate what app to use.

See Sites that use the ParkedIn app.

7. Retry the connection

If the app sits on “Connecting” and never starts, or the station times out:

1. Unplug and replug

Remove the connector from your vehicle, return it to the station’s holster, wait about 10 seconds, then plug back in and try again.

2. Check the connector is fully seated

Push the connector firmly into your vehicle’s charge port. On most vehicles you’ll feel or hear it click. A connector that looks plugged in but isn’t fully seated will stop a session from starting.

3. Sign out of the app and back in

This clears a stuck session state that otherwise blocks new sessions.

4. Try another start method

If the app isn’t working, tap your RFID card if you have one. If the card isn’t working, start from the app. If a station’s card reader is faulty, the app will usually still work.

5. Try a neighbouring station

If another station at the same site starts normally, the problem is with the individual unit rather than your account or vehicle.

If you have poor or no mobile signal

Underground parkades may have no cellular signal for some or all carriers, which stops the app from reaching the station. See Charging where there’s no cell signal.

If your vehicle reports an error

Some vehicles — particularly Teslas using an adapter — need third-party or CCS charging enabled in the vehicle’s own settings before they will accept a charge from a non-Tesla station. If you see a communication, protocol or handshake error, check your vehicle’s charging settings.

Still not working?

If you’ve worked through the above and the session still won’t start, contact support@hypercharge.com or call 1-888-320-2633. It helps enormously if you can provide:

• The station ID
• What the station’s screen or status light is showing
• Any error message, word for word
• Whether other stations at the same site work