VictronConnect v5.20 – Connect & Configure Remotely

Good day,

Two posts in one day, that could be a first! With good reason: in addition to the Venus OS v2.53 release there is an updated VictronConnect as well.

And not a small change this time as today we’re adding Remote connectivity to VictronConnect. It enables Victron devices – such as Solar Charge controllers and BMV Battery monitors – to be accessed remotely through an internet-connected GX device.

This powerful new feature allows full device monitoring & configuration from practically anywhere in the world. The user interface experience is exactly the same as if the devices were connected locally using Bluetooth, or a wired VE.Direct to USB interface.

Watch this new video by Jono to see how it all works:

There is a chapter in the VictronConnect manual that explains it in detail. Here are the most important notes:

1. The remote feature requires an internet connection and a GX device to be installed.
2. We recommend updating the GX Device to Venus OS v2.53 when using this feature. The minimum required firmware version for the VictronConnect-Remote feature is v2.40. The latest version (v2.53) adds proper handling of custom names – useful, for example, when having multiple Solar Chargers installed.
3. On the GX Device, enable Settings -> VRM Online Portal -> VRM two-way communication.
4. VE.Direct only: the VictronConnect-Remote feature is only compatible with devices connected to a GX Device having a VE.Direct interface. This includes all MPPT SmartSolar and BlueSolar Chargers; all BMV Battery Monitors are included, as well as the SmartShunt; the Phoenix Smart Charger IP43; the Phoenix Inverter Smarts; and all the lower power “Phoenix Inverter VE.Direct” models. For all Victron inverter/chargers we have another method available for remote configuration, named Remote VEConfigure. For products connected using a VE.Can network, Remote Configuration is currently under development and will be added as soon as possible.
5. The use of the VictronConnect-Remote feature will slightly increase the GX device CPU load. For the vast majority of systems everything will work well. But for systems which are already operating near their limits any additional CPU load could exceed its capability – this will typically be recognisable by slow user-interface response and/or unexpected system reboots. This especially concerns the CCGX as it is the most constrained of the GX devices. It is important to select a GX device that has sufficient performance capability in relation to the system design; for example a Cerbo GX has significantly more processing power than a Color Control GX, and is much better suited to large or complex systems. See the performance section in the GX product range comparison table.

More changes

• Add Inverter RS
• Improve the alarm notification panel
• Add Smart BMS CL
• Add Smart Battery Protect firmware update v2.04. This prevents overheating when the product is installed in a manner (both incorrect and disallowed) that results in a reverse current.
• Add various SmartSolar MPPT VE.Can models
• Add Phoenix Inverter VE.Direct firmware update v1.21. This fixes an issue where, on some units, the inverter stopped working and showed a calibration error, visible by the red and green led blinking alternately. The actual calibration data is not lost, updating to this version will fix affected devices.
• Add MultiPlus-II firmware 471
• Add a dialog explaining why there is a request, on Android, for ‘location permissions’
• Add a Linux version.

Conclusion

The development team and myself are excited to release all these features today. It has taken a lot of effort to create and extensively test these remote features so that they work perfectly in all situations and on all types of phones, tablets and laptops. My thanks to all involved, including the test team, well done!

If you see any issues, the first resource to check are the VictronConnect questions on the Community page. If you can’t find a solution there, then please add a post to the page, and select VictronConnect as the Topic in the form. We’ll be monitoring Community closely.