On this page
- 01 Before the site visit: what to collect for each station
- 02 Where EV chargers from different brands keep the OCPP URL
- 03 The steps on each station, in order
- 04 When a station does not connect to the platform
- 05 After the station is online: test the OCPP messages
- 06 Connecting stations from different brands to ELVO
- 07 Frequently asked questions
- 08 Read next and resources
- 09 Try it with one station of each brand
You’re taking over a site that already has charging stations, or a client wants their old stations and the new ones on one platform.
EV chargers from different brands all connect to a platform the same way. You give the station internet, the platform’s OCPP URL (the address it connects to) and its own Id, then restart it. Each brand has its own setup tool, and some make you ask for access first.
The stations talk to the platform over OCPP, the open protocol between a charging station and its management software. If a station speaks OCPP and lets you change its OCPP URL, it can usually move to another platform. A few manufacturers also have to approve the new platform first.
An installer we know won a client who already had stations on site and wanted them on the same platform as the new ones. Until then, adding one RFID card meant going to the station and connecting to it over Bluetooth with the manufacturer’s app. They had to repeat that at every station, and often it didn’t work. After the move, the client adds cards, reads faults and restarts stations from a desk. You can try the same with one station of each brand on a 30-day free trial of ELVO.
Before the site visit: what to collect for each station
Do this part at your desk, before you go. You’ll need access to each brand’s setup tool, the passwords set on the stations, and sometimes a firmware update. Create every station on the new platform too, with its Id, because a platform refuses the connection from a station it doesn’t know.
- Find out which stations can move without a site visit. You normally have access to the old platform and the new one at the same time. If a station lets you change its OCPP URL online, you open it in the old platform and replace the OCPP URL with the new platform’s OCPP URL. No one has to go to the station for that.
- Write down the brand, model and serial number. Many brands use the serial number as the station’s Id, so copy it exactly and check whether the brand adds a prefix or capital letters.
- Find out how each station gets online: network cable, WiFi or SIM card. A SIM on the old provider’s mobile contract has to be swapped, and that usually means a site visit.
- Make sure you can get into each brand’s setup tool. Some manufacturers only give it through an account they create for you, so ask before you go.
- Get the passwords, PINs and admin cards set on each station from whoever set them up. The label or flyer on the station only has the factory ones.
- Update the firmware while the station is still on its old platform. On some models older firmware hides the OCPP URL setting or won’t connect.
- Keep access to the old platform until one station of each model works on the new one.
Where EV chargers from different brands keep the OCPP URL
A station talks to one platform at a time. It stores that platform’s OCPP URL and its own Id. You change both in a different place on each brand: a Bluetooth phone app, a web page on the station’s WiFi, a laptop on a cable, or the manufacturer’s portal.
These are a few common brands, as examples. For any other brand, the manufacturer’s installation guide shows where to set the OCPP URL.
| Brand and model | Where you set the OCPP URL and the Id | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| ABB Terra AC | TerraConfig phone app over Bluetooth, paired with the serial number and PIN from the station’s leaflet | ABB creates the installer account. The Id is the station’s serial number. Free charging is on by default, so switch it off |
| ABB Terra DC | ABB or an ABB-certified partner sets up these stations | Ask ABB who can change the OCPP URL |
| Alfen | ACE Service Installer, a Windows program, on a laptop connected by network cable | You need an Alfen installer account and the station password. Restart if the station does not restart itself |
| Autel MaxiCharger | Autel Config phone app over Bluetooth, after you scan the station’s QR code | Autel support issues the app account. Ask Autel which firmware shows the setting for another platform |
| Delta AC MAX | Web page, from a laptop on the station’s own WiFi or on a network cable | The station’s WiFi is named “Delta-” plus the serial number. Switch it off after setup, as Delta advises |
| KEBA KeContact P30 x-series | Web page at the station’s IP address, with the first login from its configuration label | In a group of stations, only the main station talks to the platform |
| MENNEKES AMTRON Professional | Web page at 192.168.123.123, from a laptop on the micro-USB port | Log in with the user name operator and the password from the commissioning data sheet. Menu Backend, then Save, then Restart |
| Schneider Electric EVlink Pro AC | eSetup phone app over Bluetooth | Bluetooth stays open for 2 hours after the first power-on. Later, the admin card opens it for 10 minutes. From the factory it charges without a card |
| Vestel EVC04 | Web page, from a laptop on a network cable | From the factory the station gets its IP address from the site network. Find it on the router, or set DIP switch 2 inside the cover so the station answers at 192.168.0.10 |
| Wallbox | Wallbox app: Settings, External Management, OCPP | The station must be online and added to your Wallbox account first. It restarts by itself after you save |
Some stations add the Id to the end of the OCPP URL themselves. On those, type the OCPP URL without the Id. If you add it too, the Id appears twice and the platform refuses the connection.
The steps on each station, in order
The order is the same for every brand. Copy the OCPP URL and the Id from the platform instead of typing them, because one wrong character stops the connection. When the platform shows the station as connected, you’re not done yet: run a few real charging sessions before you leave.
Before you start, make sure you have:
- internet at the station itself. On WiFi, test the signal at the station, not next to the router. On a SIM, make sure the card is active and has data;
- the manufacturer’s tool and your login for it;
- the OCPP URL and the station’s Id, copied from the new platform;
- a choice between
ws://andwss://at the start of the OCPP URL.
With ws:// the connection between the station and the platform isn’t encrypted. With wss:// it is, so no one on the network can read or change what the two send each other. For wss:// the station has to trust the platform’s certificate. That takes the matching root certificate, the file that vouches for the platform’s certificate, and plenty of stations don’t carry all of them.
Use wss:// if the platform offers it and the station supports it. Use ws:// if the station has no wss:// option, can’t load the platform’s root certificate, or the platform only gives you ws://. The station must use exactly what the platform gives you. ws:// usually runs on port 80 and wss:// on port 443.
Then, on the station:
- Open the settings with the manufacturer’s tool.
- Enter the OCPP URL exactly as the platform shows it. The start (
ws://orwss://), the port and the slash at the end all count. - Enter the Id exactly as you created it on the platform. Capital letters count too. Don’t use spaces or special characters, because some brands won’t accept them.
- Leave the password and certificate fields empty unless the platform gave you something to put there.
- Set the station to check every card with the platform. If it’s left on free charging, or checks cards only against its own list, it lets anyone charge without the platform deciding.
- Save and restart. Most stations only pick up a new OCPP URL after a restart. Saving alone often isn’t enough.
- Wait until the platform shows the station online. On a cable or WiFi that’s usually a few minutes. On a SIM it can take a lot longer.
- Run several real sessions before you leave. Tap a card, start and stop a session from the platform, and check that the energy readings reach the platform.
When a station does not connect to the platform
Go through four checks, in this order: the OCPP URL, the Id, the restart and the internet connection. Most stations that won’t connect have one wrong character in the OCPP URL or the Id. On a wss:// OCPP URL, one extra test tells you whether the certificate is the problem.
Start with the OCPP URL. Compare it with the platform one character at a time. A missing or extra slash at the end is enough to stop the connection, and so is wss:// where the platform gives ws://. After you save, read back what the station actually stored.
Next, compare the Id with the platform, capital letters included. Then restart the station after your last change.
If all of that looks right, look at the internet connection. On a company network a firewall can stop the station from reaching the platform, so ask whoever runs the network to let it through. On a SIM, check the data and the access point name (APN) the SIM needs.
If everything else checks out and the OCPP URL starts with wss://, try the ws:// version once. If the station connects that way, the certificate is the problem. Load the platform’s root certificate onto the station, or update the firmware, which can bring it along.
After the station is online: test the OCPP messages
A connected station has only shown that it can open the connection. Before you hand the site over, test that the OCPP messages work in both directions, on one station of each model. Start with the mandatory tests, because a failed one means the station isn’t ready. Run the recommended ones if the station has that function.
| What you test | What should happen | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Connection | The station sends its start-up message (BootNotification), reports the status of each connector and keeps sending its heartbeat | Mandatory |
| Settings | The platform reads the station’s settings list, and the station accepts a changed setting | Mandatory |
| Charging with a card | A session starts and stops with an RFID card at the station and remotely from the platform. Energy readings (MeterValues) arrive during charging | Mandatory |
| Connector and restart | The platform takes a connector out of service and puts it back (ChangeAvailability), and the station reconnects after a soft reset | Mandatory |
| Status on request | The station answers when the platform asks for its status or an energy reading (TriggerMessage) | Mandatory |
| Reconnection | After you cut its internet for a minute, the station reconnects by itself | Recommended |
| Refused cards | An unknown, blocked or expired card can’t start a session | Recommended |
| Power limits | The station takes a charging profile on a connector, reports it back and deletes it on request | Recommended |
| Reservations | A reserved connector waits for the right card, and a cancelled reservation frees it | Recommended |
| Firmware, diagnostics, local card list | The station takes a firmware update, sends a diagnostics file and stores a card list | Optional |
If a test fails on one model, fix it before you move the other stations of that model. On a big site, move a small batch of each model first and watch it for a few days.
Connecting stations from different brands to ELVO
On ELVO, every brand that speaks OCPP connects with the same two values: the OCPP URL shown in the platform and the Id you gave the station. After that you manage cards, prices, faults and power limits for all brands in one account.
If the stations are already running, create each one in ELVO with its Id, one at a time or from an Excel file. If the model isn’t on the list, create the model first with its brand, model name and connectors. Copy the OCPP URL from the top right of the screen. It ends in /ocpp/. If a station wants the Id inside the OCPP URL, put it after the last slash.
If a station doesn’t connect, its status in ELVO tells you where to look. Not activated means the platform has never heard from it, so check the OCPP URL, the Id, the restart and the internet connection. Offline means it connected once and then lost its link, so check its internet.
If one brand needs a setting changed, open the station’s Configuration tab. It loads the station’s full settings list and shows which ones you can edit. Change a value while the station is online, and the station either accepts it or tells you why it refused.
If you want to follow the tests, the station’s Logs tab lists every connection, status message and charging event. Faults from all your stations are listed in one error log. Our EV charger uptime guide explains the codes.
If several brands share one supply, put their stations in one load balancing group with one limit in amperes. The platform splits that limit between the stations in the group. Run the power limit test on each model before you add it.
ELVO is compatible with 700+ charger models and holds an Open Charge Alliance certificate, Full and Security, registered as OCA.0016.1071.CSMS in June 2025.
Frequently asked questions
What is an OCPP URL?
The OCPP URL is the address of the platform a charging station connects to, for example ws://my.elvo.io/ocpp/. It starts with ws:// or wss://. Some stations need their Id, also called charge point ID, added after the last slash. A platform that isn’t the manufacturer’s own is often called a third-party OCPP server.
Can EV chargers from different brands run on one platform?
Yes, if each station speaks OCPP, the open protocol between a charging station and its management software, and lets you change its OCPP URL. Brands differ in the tool you use for that and in how well they handle the OCPP messages, so test one station of each model.
Why does my charger not connect after I changed the OCPP URL?
Usually because of one wrong character. Compare the OCPP URL and the Id with the platform, including the slash at the end and any capital letters, and make sure the Id isn’t there twice. Restart the station, then check its internet. On an encrypted OCPP URL, the station may be missing the platform’s root certificate.
What should I test after I connect a charger to a new platform?
Test that the OCPP messages work in both directions, on one station of each model. The mandatory tests cover the connection, the settings, charging with an RFID card and remotely, taking a connector out of service, a soft reset and status on request. A station that fails one isn’t ready.
Do I need a site visit to move a charger to another platform?
Not always. You normally have access to both platforms at once. If the station lets you change its OCPP URL online, you change it from the old platform. Other stations need a tool on site, like a Bluetooth app. A SIM on the old provider’s contract usually means a site visit too.
How do I connect a charger brand that is not on the ELVO list?
Create the model yourself with its brand, model name and connectors, then add the station like any other. On the station you set two values: the ELVO OCPP URL, shown at the top right of the platform, and the station’s Id. When it connects, its status changes from Not activated by itself.
Read next and resources
Read next:
- What is OCPP? A practical guide for charging operators
- OCPP charger compatibility: how to check before you buy
- EV charger uptime: what downtime costs and how to fix it
Resources:
- Manufacturer guides: ABB Terra AC, TerraConfig, Alfen, changing the back office, Delta AC MAX manual, MENNEKES AMTRON Professional manual, Vestel EVC04 installation guide, Wallbox, OCPP setup
- ELVO manual: connecting a station to the platform
- ELVO manual: Configuration tab and station logs
- ELVO manual: load balancing
Try it with one station of each brand
Start with one station of each brand. Try ELVO free for 30 days, with no sales call and no contract commitment. Connect those stations, run the tests on each one, and move the rest of the site once they pass.
ELVO Team. We operate CPMS for manufacturers, distributors, installers, and operators across Europe and beyond.
Published 30 September 2026.