EA (Electrify America) Sucks - that is all

[kort]

Where? In US, there was always the option of a printed vaccination card - and in fact that was the primary 'certificate'.

most people didn't carry the actual vaxx card, they took a pic of it and stored it on their phones. that was enough to satisfy the vaxx police

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[whitex]

I can also solve this problem with nothing more than texting (so not even a full smart phone)

1. register your phone number with a charging provider and payment method (this is a one time setup thing)
2. when at charger have unique number on each charger stall - example 56FGRTR78
3. text charger number (example 56FGRTR78) to fixed "service number" for charging vendor 888-555-1212
4. once the text message is received stall will be unlocked/activated for charging session
5. billing info and charging fees texted back to phone to confirm stall activation and you plug in and charging begins - if you don't like the billing rates simple reply "stop" and your session is canceled
   1. no "smart" phone required, just simple texting
6. bill is based on the pre-registered phone number the text message was sent from.
7. this scenario ignores the way I activate MOST of my EA sessions - which is waiting on hold for a customer support representative because the Point-of-Sale card reader (you know the one california is requiring) isn't working/broken/non-functional.
   1. and neither is my smart phone cause the EA app SUCKS!!!

so again I simply don't buy it.

easy peasy - no smart phone required - just a cell phone.

I was with you until the above suggested solution. I would almost use the above as an example, why government officials with good intentions have no business designing a payment system. A MAJOR problem with your solution is how easily one can spoof SMS messages from phones - there is no real authentication for sending SMS messages as this is a very old system. If you setup your phone number as you described for payment, anyone with your number and a laptop (or a smartphone actually) can charge on your account by pretending to text from your phone. You could try to bandaid it with two way texting challenge passwords, which would make it harder to hack, more annoying to use (extra steps), but also not fullproof (depending on a cell network, the level of difficulty in rerouting sms messages varies) - there is a reason why most US banks will not let you use SMS as 2 factor authentication when traveling abroad (but a banking app is ok).

 

[whitex]

Where? In US, there was always the option of a printed vaccination card - and in fact that was the primary 'certificate'.

But see my other response - CC means 'anonymous': the transaction is between the card issuer and the service provider. Phone means an identity known directly to (or even issued by) the service provider. This is why Tesla can get away without CC, because non-Teslas were not envisioned as customers. (Incidentally, this is also where EA's troubles lie; it's a 3-way authentication over unreliable connections and very complex 'clients'.)

Yea, that primary printed certificate did my daughter little good when she was flying to Canada during Covid. They couldn't correlated it to online vax records. Using the phone proof of vaccination worked. While in Canada, apparently the smart phone vax records were required, as they forced my mother to get her first ever smartphone. COVID tracing in the USA was only available on Android and iOS, from the get-go.

CC are not anonymous to the vendor. One reason is that it's on the vendor to assess the trustworthiness of the payee, and if they get it wrong and it turns out to be fraud, the vendor gets a chargeback (does not get the money). Some places only take credit card and expiration, others ask for the 3 digit code on the back, others for zip code, or even full address, phone number, etc. Some will only ship to the address that matches the credit card too, to reduce fraud. There are some rules governing data retention, such as that you should never store the 3 digit number of the back of the card, but vendors absolutely know the name of the customer, and in most scenarios more than just a name.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

most people didn't carry the actual vaxx card, they took a pic of it and stored it on their phones. that was enough to satisfy the vaxx police

The primary certificate means that’s what was issued after vaccination. The app/e-wallet entry came after. You can’t take a picture of something you don’t have. The point we were arguing here is/was whether one can assume the entire population using a charger would have a phone. That’s not as clear to me as it is to some of you, and anecdotal evidence doesn’t count.

 

[Hirschaj]

On my vacation this week I had 1 massive EA fail and 4 other great EA experiences. Not terrible but still a long way from where the charging infrastructure needs to be. It’s been said multiple times in this thread already but we just need MORE chargers. Most of them seem to work well most of the time. If we had more charging stations the failures could mostly be a non-event.

A quick word about a non-EA station… this morning I tried to use a highly rated FPL Evolution station near Sunny Isles Beach. The stupid thing would not communicate with the Audi e-tron SUV at all. Also, there is no tech support available on weekends for FPL. I wasted about 30 minutes trying to get it to work. One other person showed up and connected just fine(in a Kia). I have no idea why none of the 4 charge points would talk to the Audi.

 

[jimithing]

most people didn't carry the actual vaxx card, they took a pic of it and stored it on their phones. that was enough to satisfy the vaxx police

Yep. I stuffed mine in the center console of my Taycan, where it has remained ever since. A smartphone is pretty mandatory for many things these days. I know a few dumb phone holdouts but they're old luddites. They're least likely cohort to buy an EV.

FWIW my EA experience with plug & charge has been 100% seamless and flawless since the big spring update. Prior to that, my 22kW AC and plug&charge were both nerfed.

 

[kort]

The primary certificate means that’s what was issued after vaccination. The app/e-wallet entry came after. You can’t take a picture of something you don’t have. The point we were arguing here is/was whether one can assume the entire population using a charger would have a phone. That’s not as clear to me as it is to some of you, and anecdotal evidence doesn’t count.

whatever

 

[Zcd1]

Resurrecting an old thread, just because the title still applies much of the time…

SWMBO drove to Santa Barbara CA from LaQuinta, CA for a weekend getaway. Here’s how that went:

On the outbound trip, she charged at the Glendale Fashion Center Tesla Supercharger. 16 stalls in total, 8 open when she arrived mid-afternoon on 01/29. Easy-peasy.

In Santa Barbara, the hotel had free/included L2 destination chargers, so she was able to “top up” at no extra cost.

On the return trip today, the planned stop was at Ontario Mills Mall. At this location, there are 8 EA chargers, plus 44 (!!!) Tesla Superchargers that are open to all EVs with an NACS adapter or port.

This was the charger availability when she arrived:

EA:

Tesla:

Needless to say, she used the Superchargers…

So it’s safe to say that an NACS adapter and Tesla Superchargers made this trip FAR easier and less stressful than it would have been without them…

And yes, Electrify America still often Sucks!

 

[daveo4EV]

Resurrecting an old thread, just because the title still applies much of the time…

SWMBO drove to Santa Barbara CA from LaQuinta, CA for a weekend getaway. Here’s how that went:

On the outbound trip, she charged at the Glendale Fashion Center Tesla Supercharger. 16 stalls in total, 8 open when she arrived mid-afternoon on 01/29. Easy-peasy.

In Santa Barbara, the hotel had free/included L2 destination chargers, so she was able to “top up” at no extra cost.

On the return trip today, the planned stop was at Ontario Mills Mall. At this location, there are 8 EA chargers, plus 44 (!!!) Tesla Superchargers that are open to all EVs with an NACS adapter or port.

This was the charger availability when she arrived:

EA:

Tesla:

Needless to say, she used the Superchargers…

So it’s safe to say that an NACS adapter and Tesla Superchargers made this trip FAR easier and less stressful than it would have been without them…

And yes, Electrify America still often Sucks!

the fastest charging network is the one that actually works and has an open stall…it's as simple as that.

 

[gnr3312]

If I was on the free plan I would have prob waited to get a slot. Guess it depends on how long of a wait, and if I’m in a hurry, but prefer it free than paying.

 

[Zcd1]

If I was on the free plan I would have prob waited to get a slot. Guess it depends on how long of a wait, and if I’m in a hurry, but prefer it free than paying.

We no longer have a free/included plan.

It's probably is worth mentioning that all that free/included charging is a big factor in EA's limited availability in more populous areas. That and the fact that so many EA stations are tiny - like 4-8 stalls.

 

[gnr3312]

We no longer have a free/included plan.

It's probably is worth mentioning that all that free/included charging is a big factor in EA's limited availability in more populous areas. That and the fact that so many EA stations are tiny - like 4-8 stalls.

I should’ve clarified, as I am still on the free plan then I would’ve waited. The free plan for my 2024 4S runs until 03/2027.

 

[DerekS]

the fastest charging network is the one that actually works and has an open stall…it's as simple as that.

Exactly right. Slower Superchargers are better than faster EA chargers if you don’t have to wait for a turn.

 

[Mr.Smith]

Resurrecting an old thread, just because the title still applies much of the time…

SWMBO drove to Santa Barbara CA from LaQuinta, CA for a weekend getaway. Here’s how that went:

On the outbound trip, she charged at the Glendale Fashion Center Tesla Supercharger. 16 stalls in total, 8 open when she arrived mid-afternoon on 01/29. Easy-peasy.

In Santa Barbara, the hotel had free/included L2 destination chargers, so she was able to “top up” at no extra cost.

On the return trip today, the planned stop was at Ontario Mills Mall. At this location, there are 8 EA chargers, plus 44 (!!!) Tesla Superchargers that are open to all EVs with an NACS adapter or port.

This was the charger availability when she arrived:

EA:

Tesla:

Needless to say, she used the Superchargers…

So it’s safe to say that an NACS adapter and Tesla Superchargers made this trip FAR easier and less stressful than it would have been without them…

And yes, Electrify America still often Sucks!

The Ontario Mills EA is one of the most congested that I've seen.

The thinking is if you are lucky enough to get an open charger, get it to 85% no matter how long it takes or within the free charging time limits, because you might not have access to one anytime soon.

The supercharger network isn't optimized for that.

From the many people I've talked to at these chargers, very few even understand the concept of charging and their cars don't guide them the way a Tesla does.
It's a recipe for disaster for public charging.

 

[Zcd1]

The supercharger network isn't optimized for that…

Correct - the Supercharger network (and Tesla’s entire ecosystem) is designed to simplify the owner’s experience.

EA is definitively NOT that!

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