Remote commands

Remote commands let you act on a connected charger from the platform — restarting it, starting or stopping a session, or freeing a stuck connector — without sending anyone to the site.

​

Overview

Every command here acts on a charge box that’s already Online: it travels over the charger’s live OCPP connection, so a charger that’s offline can’t receive one. Getting a charger to that state is covered under Charger activation. The commands fall into three groups. Each command is available two ways: run it by hand in Connect, or send it programmatically through the Spirii API. The behaviour is identical; the API reference for each is linked in its section below.

​

Restarting a charger

It helps to separate two words the platform uses precisely. A reset is the command you send to tell a charger to restart. A reboot is the restart that actually happens — which can also be triggered by the charger itself, for instance after a firmware update or a power cycle. There are two kinds of reset, and choosing between them is the main decision on this page. A soft reset restarts only the charger’s software while the hardware stays powered, taking roughly 30 to 60 seconds. Queued data and configuration are preserved. This is the one to use for applying configuration changes, planned maintenance, or troubleshooting a communication problem — including while drivers may be charging. A charger that responds to a configuration change with RebootRequired needs a soft reset to make the change take effect. A hard reset forces a full hardware reboot, takes roughly one to three minutes, and carries a risk of losing data that hasn’t been persisted. Keep it for a unit that’s unresponsive, or one where a soft reset has already failed. Most charge boxes keep their configuration, connector availability, local authorisation lists, and charging profiles across a reboot; active sessions, network connections, and cached data are cleared and re-established. Behaviour varies by model, so confirm against your hardware’s documentation. Send resets in Connect from the charge box, or through the API: reset for either kind, or reboot as an alias for a soft reset.

​

Managing sessions

​

Remote start

A remote start begins a charging session without anyone touching the charger. You send the connector ID — say DE*SPI*E00012345*1 — and an authorisation identifier, a token, and the charger moves to Preparing straight away, even if no vehicle is plugged in yet. A ConnectionTimeOut sets how long it waits for a vehicle before returning to Available. This is the only way to authorise a session without a physical action at the charger, such as tapping an RFID token or a payment card. It’s what starts a session from a driver app or from Connect, and it’s the tool your support staff reach for when helping a driver who can’t get a session going on site.

​

Remote stop

A remote stop ends a session that’s already running: you send the transactionId of the active session, and the charger responds Accepted or Rejected. It’s used less often than remote start, since unplugging the vehicle already stops a session — but it’s useful when a session is stuck and your support staff need to force it to end. Both commands trigger the charger’s standard StartTransaction and StopTransaction messages, so billing and the session record stay accurate. Run them in Connect, or via start transaction and stop transaction in the API.

​

Managing connectors

​

Unlock connector

An unlock command releases a connector’s lock, sent against a specific connector ID. If a session is active on it, the charger completes that session first, then unlocks. Whether it works depends on the hardware:

• It applies only to AC sockets with electronic locks — the case where a driver brings their own cable.
• On CHAdeMO connectors the charger controls the lock, so an unlock should succeed.
• On Type 2 and CCS connectors the vehicle controls the lock, so an unlock may not succeed.

Not every manufacturer implements this fully, so confirm the behaviour for your hardware. In practice it’s for the case where a driver has released the cable at the car but it stays latched in the charger’s socket, and your support staff try to free it. Run it in Connect, or via unlock connector in the API.

​

Change availability

Changing a connector’s availability takes it out of service or brings it back, without affecting the rest of the charge box. Set a connector Inoperative to stop new sessions on it — for maintenance on a single connector while the other connectors on the unit keep charging — and Operative to return it to service. Run it in Connect, or via change availability in the API.

​

Choosing a command

​

Dependencies & limitations

• The charger must be online. Commands travel over the live OCPP connection; a charger that isn’t connected can’t act on them.
• Resets end active sessions. In most cases a soft or hard reset interrupts and ends whatever session is running.
• Hard reset can lose data. Unpersisted data may not survive a hard reset, which is why it’s a last resort.
• Unlock depends on the connector. It works on AC sockets with electronic locks; on Type 2 and CCS the vehicle holds the lock, so it may not succeed, and support varies by manufacturer.
• These act on the charger’s real state. To change only the status a driver sees in an app — without touching the charger — use Temporary EVSE status instead.

​

Related