AutoCharge

Alun · 10-03-2026 01:03PM #1

I was just looking through the ChargeAssist app settings and found an option to enable AutoCharge, where you don't need to interact with the charger at all, just plug in and it starts charging, like Plug and Charge except it doesn't need anything special on the car side of things, it relies on a unique MAC address that the charger can read from the car. You need to enable it in the app, and the first time you charge at one of their chargers you have to initiate the charge manually as before, but after that it should start automatically.

There's a compatibility list which includes my car, a Kia Niro EV, but there are some exceptions like no VW cars for example.

Anyone come across this before?

dsandson · 10-03-2026 01:18PM

Yes, a few charge point operators use this system, one is Fastned with sites in Antrim & Banbridge. I know Gridserve use it in GB now. It requires that you use their own app, but for the likes of Fastned that gives a 10% discount so perhaps worth doing anyway.

ESB ecars did dabble with it 2 years ago, but you could only enroll on it at a select few chargers. Its less secure than Plug & Charge which Ionity & Applegreen Electric use, which uses a security certificate loaded to the car which is used to verify the vehicle & account being used. Perhaps ESB found a higher rate of fraud and decided not to roll it out fully.

Alun · 10-03-2026 01:41PM

Yes, I read about it being considered to be less secure than Plug and Charge but I'd struggle to think of a way it could be abused.

liamog · 10-03-2026 03:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300868#Comment_124300868

CCS uses a protocol called GreenPHY to communicate between the charging hardware and the cars charge controller, it's a subset of the HomePlug protocol that can be used to offer networking over your domestic electrical system.

The charge controller is identified by its MAC address, the AutoCharge system is a kludged together system based on the fact that MAC addresses should be unique. By linking a given MAC address to an account the charge point operator can say when charge controller aa:bb:cc comunicates with our charger we can link that to customer #1234 and bill them accordingly.

Unfortunately MAC addresses aren't secured, the attack vectors are somebody changing the MAC address of the charge controller to a different value. The other issue is that some manufacturers (such as Volkswagen Group) use dynamic MAC addresses, this means that each time your car connects to a CCS charger it presents a different MAC address, this is often seen as a security feature and is similar to how Apple uses MAC addresses for WiFi on iPhones.

If a manufacturer uses dynamic addresses there's no way for the charge point operator to link your car to your account.

Red Silurian · 11-03-2026 11:19AM

I know that spoofing of mac addresses on laptops is a thing, effectively it fools a network into thinking that a particular laptop is connected when it's realistically another one. Not sure if the same can happen to cars but since EVs are effectively computers on wheels I'm guessing that's where the security issues lie.

The exact benefit to the criminal is questionable but my guess is they could charge their car up using your account if their car spoofed your cars mac address. Of course given that most public chargers have CCTV and all cars have reg plates it should be easy to catch somebody doing this

As an aside It's nice that more car brands can now pretend to be a Tesla at least 😁

unkel · 11-03-2026 11:25AM

Plug in and the car just starts charging? No need for any phone app, phone reception, charge card or payment card? Wow, that's fantastic. It sounds a bit like the Tesla supercharger system from 2012