Ever had an issue with SMA inverters losing their serial number? Here’s how to fix it!
This is an example of this happening to me recently, and I’ll give some more details below the video, if you’re struggling with this same issue.
I’ve only ever seen this happen on the first iteration of the Core 1 inverter, the -40 model. The symptom is a wifi signal from the inverter that’s showing a “0900” number in the SSID. For instance, in a normal SSID, I’d expect to see the name be “SMA3000XXXXXX”— basically, “SMA”, plus the serial number visible on the exterior inverter label. But when the inverter loses its serial, it makes up a completely different serial for itself, usually starting in “0900”. In my case, I was seeing “SMA0900022963”.
This issue can cause problems with communication and general administration of the device, so it should be fixed, if possible. However, I’ve never seen this issue be responsible for lost power, so it’s a low-level problem, in the grand scheme of things.
The fix for this can only be accomplished through Level 2 of SMA’s tech support (call +1 (877) 697-6283). Level 1 will get your information, tell you your case number, and send you to Level 2.
Level 2 will need to screen-share with your laptop (Windows only), while your laptop is on the same network with the inverters themselves. You need to visit the login page of the inverter, but instead of the ending url being “login” (i.e. “https://<IP-Address-of-inverter>/#/login”), it needs to be “loginadvanced” (i.e. “https://<IP-Address-of-inverter>/#/loginadvanced”).
From there, to log into the “Service” user group, SMA’s tech will need to generate a password from that serial number you saw in the WiFi SSID earlier. In my case, “900022963”. There’s often a lot of confusion from the technician at this part. They’ll be fine, they’ll figure it out eventually. Last I knew, their password generates from the “serial number”, WITHOUT any zeros at the beginning.
Once the Service user group has been logged into, the only thing that needs done is typing in the correct serial number in Parameters->Type Label->Type Label->Serial Number.
Easy peasy, but you’re heavily reliant on that password from SMA for this fix.
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