Over-the-air (OTA) updates push new firmware to a charger remotely, over its existing network connection, so new features, protocol support, and bug fixes arrive without a technician visiting the site or any hardware being replaced.
Why It Matters More for Chargers Than Most Devices
A charger installed today may need to serve vehicles, connectors, and charging standards that don't fully exist yet at the time it's specified. OTA updates are what let a charger's capabilities keep pace with that after installation — a new authentication method, a protocol revision, a bug fix for a specific vehicle model — without physically opening the unit or sending an engineer.
For a single home charger, this is a convenience. For an operator managing hundreds of chargers across multiple sites, it's the difference between deploying a fix in an afternoon versus a multi-week site-visit schedule.
How It's Delivered
OTA updates are typically pushed through the same channel a charger uses for OCPP management — the charger checks in with its backend platform, is notified an update is available, downloads it, and applies it, usually scheduled for a moment the charger isn't mid-session.
Neutron's Approach
Our hardware supports OTA firmware updates managed centrally through Electron, so improvements and fixes can be rolled out fleet-wide without a site visit.
Do OTA updates interrupt an active charging session?
Well-designed OTA update systems schedule updates for when a charger is idle, or defer them until the current session finishes, rather than interrupting a vehicle mid-charge.
Can a charger without OTA support still get firmware updates?
Only manually, usually requiring a technician to connect a laptop or a physical media device on-site. For any fleet of more than a few chargers, that becomes slow and expensive compared with pushing the same update to every unit remotely.
Managing a growing fleet of chargers?
Electron pushes firmware updates fleet-wide without a single site visit.
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