Autel Charge 4+

Wow, just a few days after I posted this, they released an update that included what I was asking for. Excellent!

Original: I’ve been using this app with my MaxiCharger for a couple of months, and it’s great. The app is fast and responsive and I like being able to see my charging data to see how much money I’m saving by driving on electricity. My only complaint is that when my car has completed charging, there is no way to see the data from the current session unless I unplug the car or remotely start the car to resume the current flow. All you can see is that the charging has stopped. The data is there, but the app just hides the current charge session data from view. I would like it a lot more if the app would tell me that the charging had stopped but still let me see how much energy was used without needing to unplug the car. If the developers would fix this, the app would be perfect.

I have been thoroughly impressed with Autel’s app and the associated charger. It allows me to accommodate for weaknesses in my vehicle’s abilities. Most important, I use time based pricing on my electricity. The app and charger allow me to set time windows for charging that I can be sure are respected. And it allows me to track pricing by time window. It’s a major win over the native abilities of my iX. Plus I selected a charger that is hardwired so I exceed the native chargers by 20%. A+ all around.

The only wish list item I would have - capture the VIN from the vehicle. And perhaps allow me to set an authorized list. Since we exceed native charges, a few times neighbors have asked for help with a quicker charge. The unit is inside the garage. But I can leave the cable outside. That means no ability to use RFID cards. If I could approve a few VINs and track by them, it would be absolutely amazing.

So I was not expecting much with this app after seeing the ratings, but then again, how much do you really need your app for your EV charger to do? It tells you all the information you need to know, allows you to set your settings so that cost is calculated correctly, and it has a simple and intuitive UI.

One thing I really like is that, when I first initially downloaded the app (like 5 days ago), I was setting the cost for my electricity rate but they only had an average cost and I remember thinking, it would be great if they supported TOU costs too. Fast forward 2 days later and that very functionality is available.

5/5 stars, keep up the good work dev team