Where the setting lives
In the Zaptec Portal (portal.zaptec.com): Installations → your installation → Settings → Authentication → Type. It is a setting for the whole installation, not per charger.
Step by step
- Update the firmware from the portal. Minimums for native OCPP: Go EU 2.4.2.4, Go UK 2.5.1.0, Go 2 3.2.1.0, Pro 7.5.4.0.
- Permissions: under User Groups in the portal, Allow OCPP 1.6J must be enabled for your organisation. If another company administers the installation, the owner has to grant you access (four-character partner key).
- Make sure every charger is online and no charging session is running; otherwise the mode change is not applied.
- Installations → your installation → Settings → Authentication → Type: switch to OCPP 1.6J authentication.
- In OCPP Central System URL enter your brand's base URL (below), without the serial number: Zaptec appends it by itself, in upper case. In Initial device password enter the password the panel gave you when you added the charger.
- Save. Each charger's identity is its serial number (ZCS…, ZAP…) in upper case: register it like that in the panel. They show as connected within a couple of minutes.
What to enter to connect it to askacharge.com
| OCPP server URL | wss://askacharge.com/askacharge/ocpp/your-brand — your-brand is your brand's identifier on askacharge.com (shown under Chargers → Add, with the full URL ready to copy). The charger appends its own identity; if your unit only has a URL field and no identity field, enter the full URL: …/ocpp/your-brand/identity. |
| Charge point identity | The same one you register in the panel when adding the charger. Case-sensitive. With Zaptec, the serial number is the easiest choice. |
| Username and password | Required. The username is the charger identity and the password is the one the panel shows when you add the charger (shown once; if lost, generate a new one from the charger's page). Without it the server rejects the connection. This is OCPP Security Profile 2 (Basic Auth over wss://). If your model only supports unencrypted ws://, it can be allowed charger by charger on its page in the panel, and the password is still required. |
| Protocol | OCPP 1.6J (JSON) or OCPP 2.0.1. Subprotocol ocpp1.6 / ocpp2.0.1. |
| Before connecting | The charger must be registered in the brand with that identity; otherwise the server rejects the connection. Register under Chargers → Add. |
Want to check it before signing up for anything?
Point your charger at our OCPP test server: free, no account, over wss:// or ws://. You will see what it sends live and we will tell you what would fail when you connect it for real.
Where it usually fails
- With native OCPP you lose Zaptec's own phase and load balancing; what remains is the standard OCPP smart charging the platform sends. The other mode, OCPP Cloud, keeps the balancing but goes through Zaptec's cloud and needs an agreement with them.
- If Authorization required is off, the charger sends an empty idTag and sessions are attributed to nobody: turn it on or set a Default ID tag.
- Do not put the serial number in the URL: it would appear twice and the server rejects the connection.
- Initial device password is a setting for the whole installation, and askacharge.com generates a different password per charger. With several Zaptec units on one installation, set the same password on all of them from the panel: on each charger, OCPP Security → "Or type a password…" → Use this one.
If your brand isn't here
The procedure is always the same; what changes is where the setting lives: look in the manufacturer's app, in the charger's web interface (by its IP) or in the installer software for a section called OCPP, Back office, Central System or Server. You need to be able to enter the URL and, nearly always, the identity. If the field is locked or missing, the manufacturer has tied the charger to its own platform: read what to do when the manufacturer locks or switches off its server.
Other brands
WallboxPulsar Plus, Pulsar Max, Pulsar Pro, Commander 2, Copper SBAlfenEve Single S-line, Eve Single Pro-line, Eve Double Pro-line, TwinAutelMaxiCharger AC Lite, AC Wallbox, AC Elite, AC UltraGrizzl-EGrizzl-E Smart, Grizzl-E Smart v2 (North America)V2CTrydan, Trydan ProCircontroleNext Elite, eNext Park, Raption, Wallbox eHome (with communications module)EaseeHome, Charge, Charge Core, Charge Lite, OneKEBAKeContact P30 x-series (and c-series as clients), P40ABBTerra AC (W7, W11, W22)Schneider ElectricEVlink Pro AC, EVlink Smart Wallbox, EVlink ParkingTeltonikaTeltoCharge (all variants)IngeteamINGEREV Fusion Wallbox, Fusion Street, RapidOrbisViaris Uni, Viaris Combi+, Viaris CityWebastoUnite, Unite MID, Next, PureOpenEVSEOpenEVSE, EmonEVSE (ESP32 WiFi module)SiemensVersiCharge 48A, VersiCharge Blue 80A, VersiCharge IECgo-eCharger Gemini, Gemini flex, Gemini 2.0, Pro, HOMEfix/HOME+ (V3)EtrelINCH Home, INCH Pro, INCH DuoEVBoxElvi, BusinessLine Gen4 (Everon closed 1 Dec 2025)myenergizappi v2.1 (built-in Wi-Fi/Ethernet)VestelEVC04 (AC7, AC11, AC22; also Home Smart and other-brand units built on the EVC04)MENNEKESAMTRON Professional / Professional+, AMEDIO Professional / Professional+, AMTRON Charge ControlABLeMH2 and eMH3 (Controller or standalone), eM4 (Controller and Single)AlpitronicHypercharger HYC50, HYC150, HYC200, HYC300, HYC400 (DC fast charging)CircutorURBAN T22, URBAN T22-C2, URBAN WBDeltaAC MAX SmartFroniusWattpilot Go, Wattpilot Home, Wattpilot FlexHuaweiFusionCharge AC (SCharger-7KS-S0, SCharger-22KT-S0)GAROGLB+, GTB+, Twin+, LS4, Entity ProSMAEV Charger BusinessBrands that do not open up: Tesla, ChargePoint, Emporia, Pod Point, Ohme, JuiceBox (Enel X), Enphase, FLO, Blinkwhy, and what to do
Related reading
- OCPP errors: why your charger won't connect or charge, and how to fix it
- Your charger manufacturer shut down: how to get back in control
- Charge point management software: what it is, what it costs and how to choose
- Your EV chargers in Home Assistant, without giving up billing
- askacharge.com technical documentation (OCPP, API)