I'm mostly writing this in case its of use to a future person googling "MG ZS EV OVMS iOS installation" like I was a couple of days ago.
This won't be of interest to the casual reader (hi Ben!)
If you've bought pre-2022 MG EV you'll have realised that there's no app available in the UK. The main downside of that is that when you plug into a public charging station and walk away to get a cup of coffee you can't tell how much you've charged and keep having to come back and check. There are other irritations but that's the main one for me.
You can fix this by installing an open source device on the ODB port of your car and installing a free app. The open source device is not free. It's about £200. You can get it from OpenEnergyMonitor. It comes with a SIM card so it can transmit data. If you have a right-hand drive MG ZS you want the "Generic OBD2 Cable (right)".
When your box arrives it will look like this:
Then you have to install it. It looks daunting but it's pretty straight forward, you just have to follow lots of instructions. It seems to be around the same technical level as installing a smart TV on your wifi. You just have to have the confidence to plough through technical documents which are aimed way over your head. Fortunately there's a great video to help you.
This is the installation guide. It's clear and well-written and comprehensive. But, for the casual just-want-to-get-the-app-running user it's too comprehensive. There's lots you don't need to know about but which you're not sure if you need to understand. That's where Mr EV comes in.
His video will tell you how to get it all done. Watch it first, then go through it bit by bit along with the instructions. It is really clear and helpful and well shot.
The only places where I struggled were:
- At 14:38 when he says "enter your module details" it wasn't obvious to me that the username has to be 'admin' not your module username.
- At 16:20 I went a bit fast and pressed 'proceed' before I'd set up the hologram account. Just take your time and do what Mr EV tells you.
- I think the hologram options have changed a little since the video was recorded. The account options seem to have changed a little, but it's OK you can still get a very cheap one.
But, basically, follow all those instructions and you should be OK.
And physically plugging it into the ZS is also straightforward. The ODP port is not behind a specific panel as in the video, it's just sort of there, behind the plastic bit down below the right of the steering wheel. I want to say 'dangling' but it's not that loose. Maybe 'exposed' is the right word. It plugs in straight-forwardly. I haven't worked out yet what to do with the box and wires, for now I've just stuck them in the door storage thingy.
The wrinkle I struggled with was getting the app connected. It seems insoluble - but don't worry, it's soluble!
To get this all working you need to get an account set up with an OVMS server. There's an Asia-Pacific one at https://www.openvehicles.com/ and a European one at https://dexters-web.de/. It doesn't seem to matter which one you use except the iOS app seems to be automatically configured as though you're using the Asia-Pacific one. And this is a bit hard to spot.
So, you should set up the settings in the actual app as directed. This is pretty clear. But, then, if you're using iOS and the dexters-web account you have to go the iOS settings app (this one)...
And you have to scroll down until you see the Open Vehicles app...
And you have to go in there and change the server setting to ovms.dexters-web.de...
Until you do that it won't work. And it won't tell you why not. I had to dive pretty deep on the forums to work out what was going on.
And that's it. Hope it helps. Good luck.