Driver FAQs

Yes, as a courtesy to other drivers trying to use the charge station, we ask that you move your EV when your charge is complete.  Please note that some locations may charge a high price if you leave your EV connected after it has completed charging.  Pricing policies are listed on the station port screen in the app.  Drivers can turn on notifications from your account page in order to receive an SMS and/or email once their charge is complete.

For most stations, you can simply unplug the charger from your vehicle to end your session.  For some Level 3 (DCFC) chargers, you may need to hit a stop button on the charger to end your session.  If you started your session with an RFID card, you may need to swipe your RFID card again in order to end your session.

If you are having trouble with a charging station, please contact us using the customer support form in the app, or contact our 24/7 driver support line at 888-717-4544 and select the option for "driver having issues at a charger" from the prompts.  Our team will assist and help you find you an operational charging station if the issue cannot be resolved over the phone.

The owner or “Site Host” of the charging station can create a pricing policy or allow drivers to charge for free.  A pricing policy will charge a fee for either energy (kWh) consumed or time spent charging.  There could also be additional fees if a vehicle is left connected to the station for extended periods of time.  You can view the pricing policy within each station’s info page on the ChargeSmart EV mobile app.  Simply scan or manually enter the station’s QR code to view the station info and pricing policy.

You can control your notification settings from your account page.

Level 2 equipment offers charging through a 240V, AC.  Level 2 charging equipment is compatible with all-electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles.  Depending on the battery technology used in the vehicle, Level 2 charging generally takes 4 to 6 hours to completely charge a fully depleted battery.

Level 3 equipment, also called DC fast chargers, use a high-voltage DC plug.  Most Level 3 chargers provide an 80% charge in 30 minutes.  This type of Level 3 equipment is not compatible with all vehicles, and the charge itself is not accepted by all vehicles.  Level 3 chargers are being deployed across the United States in public or commercial settings.  Check your vehicle guide to see if your EV is able to accept Level 3 charging.

The listed station power is a maximum charging rate that station can provide, but a number of factors can cause your EV to charge at a slower rate.  Usually, the charging rate is limited because the vehicle is limiting the charging rate.  The most common causes of a lower rate are:

• the EV’s maximum allowed charging rate is lower than the charger’s max rate.

• The EV is limiting the charging rate because the battery is nearly full (example: over 80% SOC).

• The EV is limiting the charging rate because the battery pack isn’t functioning correctly.  Refer to your EV’s manual to learn more.

You can register your key fob by clicking the Add Key Fob button on your account page.

Roaming stations are stations that are part of a different network.  Imagine having Verizon as your cell phone network, but you have access to use Sprint cell phone towers - that’s essentially how roaming stations work.  Roaming stations are not part of our network, so while you will be able to use our app to charge at these stations, there can be reduced functionality for those stations on our app.

We do not control the pricing for those stations.  Pricing is controlled by the roaming network.  We highly recommend reading all the pricing details before charging.

There can sometimes be roaming fees that you may be charged using a roaming station. That fee will be listed on the station details screen or in our app.

The QR Code scanner will only work on roaming stations if the roaming network provided us the QR codes for their stations for us to support.  Sometimes the roaming network does not provide that information, in which case scanning the QR code will not work.

You can call our 24/7 support line, and they will provide you with support or they will provide you the correct phone number to dial for those stations.

In order to encourage availability of the station for all drivers, we are currently limiting everyone to holding one active reservation at a time.

We want everyone to benefit from the reservation system, which means that people can count on stations being available for them when they are able to use them.  Penalties are assessed when people make reservations and then either show up quite late, skip their appointment, or stay well past their reservation window is over.  If you have too many penalties, you will be temporarily unable to use the reservation system.  This way, everyone has a fair chance to use the chargers.  To review how to use the reservation system well, refer to the reservation instruction guide.

No.  While using the ChargeSmart EV mobile app, you can use your ChargeSmart EV account to access charging on any partner network.

To see roaming stations, ensure that you turn on the ‘Include roaming stations’ filter in the map view on your ChargeSmart EV app.  Roaming stations are denoted by unique colored tags based on the particular network.

To begin a charging session, you can use the same process you use to start charging at the ChargeSmart EV stations.  Scan the station’s QR code or find the station on the map, click the connector you have plugged into, and select the ‘Begin Charge’ button.

Your key fob card will work at ChargePoint stations that have an RFID reader.  At this time, your RFID card will not work at Shell Recharge stations, but you can use the mobile app to begin charging sessions at those stations.

The cost of charging at a roaming station is set by the roaming partner.  We do not add any additional fees in order to use the roaming station.

There are no fees to charge between networks.