[Lou C]

I received my Charge Station Pro (CSP) via FedEx on Thursday, 28 July 2022, and my electricians came to the house yesterday, 2 August 2022, to mount the CSP on my garage wall and to hook it up to the circuit they installed in March 2022. The electricians did a beautiful job, and when power was applied to the charger, it showed solid blue LEDs (as expected).

(Note – I am NOT using my Lightning as a home power backup source. I have had a propane whole-house backup generator for five years.)

With the CSP powered on, It was all downhill from there.

The next step in the installation process was to employ the Charge Station Pro Setup app. After selecting “new station setup” on this app, the CSP’s Station ID (“SWA…..”) was supposed to appear on my iPhone’s list of available WI-Fi networks. Nope, didn’t happen.

I started over and re-tried the steps numerous times without success. Finally, I called the number on the cover of the CSP’s Installation Guide (800-392-3673). After listening to Ford’s version of their “automated directory service from hell,” I selected “Ford Pass,” which seemed to be the best choice of all the selections offered. Wrong!

Long story – I spent a total of 110 minutes on the phone with six different Ford representatives and got no resolution. Fortunately, the third representative I spoke with (“Molina”) was a real sweetheart. She stuck with me on the phone as we tried to find a solution. Finally, she suggested that we hang up and continue the call after she did more research on her end. I agreed because I needed to recharge my phone, and I was severely frustrated.

After hanging up with Molina, I moved my Lightning from the driveway into the garage and parked it next to the newly-mounted CSP. Just for grins, I started the CSP Setup app again from scratch and immediately the CSP Station ID (“SWA….”) appeared on the list of available Wi-Fi networks. Molina did call me back soon thereafter, and she stayed with me on the phone while I successfully completed the setup process in the Ford Pass app.

Bottom Line: In my situation, the CSP Setup app did not work until I moved my Lightning next to the CSP. None of the six Ford representatives had a clue that this might help. I was ecstatic to finish the installation of the CSP but very pissed that I spent five hours in a hot garage having to screw with it. And, the resolution happened by accident and not on purpose!

 

[FM_Jack]

I'm close to installing this, so this is very helpful.

 

[Lou C]

I'm close to installing this, so this is very helpful.

Good Luck!

Other Suggestions:
Make sure that the Charge Station Pro Setup App and your Ford Pass app are both open when you begin the setup process..

Be sure you know the identity of your home Wi-Fi network and its password. You will need both of these to link the CPS to your home network.

There are two locations for your CPS Station ID. There is one decal attached to the CPS itself under the white cover. A second decal is attached to the front page of the CPS Installation Guide. Your station ID should begin with the letters "SWA." You will be looking for the SWA number on your phone's list of possible Wi-Fi networks.

 

[FM_Jack]

Be sure you know the identity of your home Wi-Fi network and its password. You will need both of these to link the CPS to your home network.

I'm not liking this aspect of the set up. But I get it.

 

[SteelTerp87]

I received my Charge Station Pro (CSP) via FedEx on Thursday, 28 July 2022, and my electricians came to the house yesterday, 2 August 2022, to mount the CSP on my garage wall and to hook it up to the circuit they installed in March 2022. The electricians did a beautiful job, and when power was applied to the charger, it showed solid blue LEDs (as expected).

(Note – I am NOT using my Lightning as a home power backup source. I have had a propane whole-house backup generator for five years.)

With the CSP powered on, It was all downhill from there.

The next step in the installation process was to employ the Charge Station Pro Setup app. After selecting “new station setup” on this app, the CSP’s Station ID (“SWA…..”) was supposed to appear on my iPhone’s list of available WI-Fi networks. Nope, didn’t happen.

I started over and re-tried the steps numerous times without success. Finally, I called the number on the cover of the CSP’s Installation Guide (800-392-3673). After listening to Ford’s version of their “automated directory service from hell,” I selected “Ford Pass,” which seemed to be the best choice of all the selections offered. Wrong!

Long story – I spent a total of 110 minutes on the phone with six different Ford representatives and got no resolution. Fortunately, the third representative I spoke with (“Molina”) was a real sweetheart. She stuck with me on the phone as we tried to find a solution. Finally, she suggested that we hang up and continue the call after she did more research on her end. I agreed because I needed to recharge my phone, and I was severely frustrated.

After hanging up with Molina, I moved my Lightning from the driveway into the garage and parked it next to the newly-mounted CSP. Just for grins, I started the CSP Setup app again from scratch and immediately the CSP Station ID (“SWA….”) appeared on the list of available Wi-Fi networks. Molina did call me back soon thereafter, and she stayed with me on the phone while I successfully completed the setup process in the Ford Pass app.

Bottom Line: In my situation, the CSP Setup app did not work until I moved my Lightning next to the CSP. None of the six Ford representatives had a clue that this might help. I was ecstatic to finish the installation of the CSP but very pissed that I spent five hours in a hot garage having to screw with it. And, the resolution happened by accident and not on purpose!

Thank you! This is very helpful for when I get mine installed

 

[BeeLightning]

excellent info. Thanks

 

[DannyElectruk]

Has anyone gotten the Invalid Target Device error? I am unable to connect to my charger in the charge station app even though it is setup in my ford pass. I am unable to get the charger to "unpause" and in the ford app it states I can only resume charging at a charge station and I have no idea what that means

 

[kyaman]

This is definitely a rant... I was looking to see if there was some magic I was missing... I see that that is not the case, so I think the rant is justified.

In my case I waited for the charger for almost three weeks even though it was "included" with my version of the truck. I complained to Ford and the dealer and Sunrun multiple times and they were completely useless. Finally I got the charger last week... First installation date Sunrun was a no-show, next day they showed up, installed the charger, and I can charge, but NONE of the software works. (They installed the wrong brand breakers and the wrong amperage (90 instead of 100) even though they came to the house and took a zillion photos months ago, but let's not even talk about that...)

The wifi ssid is NOT broadcast at all, the installers spent hours trying to figure it out, with no luck. So, I was at it today... Yes, I did a hard reset multiple times, waited, stood on my head, boiled frog legs, and prayed, to no avail... By the way, I am super tech savvy... Anyways, I am not spending any more time on it. I will keep complaining. They can send another one for all I care. I called the number listed for CEO office but it was out of service...

Basically all this fancy stuff is NOT prime time ready, as much as they wanted to declare victory. Big part of the reason I decided to with an extended range Lariat was the fancy stuff (the inverter, using the truck as a batter etc), and now I think it is going to be a total flop on that front! If they want to charge premium prices they need to deliver a premium product and experience, and the whole experience really stinks.

Hopefully the truck itself is better. (I haven't been able to use it much at all, since I could not charge all this time.)

By the way, having a separate app to just set up a charger, and then connect to the other app etc... Right there, you know it's going to be messed up.

 

[JPOntario]

Installed Pro Station and dealing with same issue, no SWA appearing in our wifi. Tried pulling truck as close as possible nothing...brought out the witching sticks....still nothing

 

[Obi66]

By the way, having a separate app to just set up a charger, and then connect to the other app etc... Right there, you know it's going to be messed up.

Totally agree with your rant. I had all the same problems connecting to wifi and, as you say, why 2 apps?? I finally gave up on the CSP app completely and I just plug the truck in to the charger and use the controls from the FordPass App or the truck itself. I have it set to start charging at midnight and charge to 90%. Honestly, every morning I charge I expect to see that it's failed, but it has so far worked great. N = 3 though, so limited experience.

FYI - had a new 100 amp breaker installed and have the charger running at 80 amps in a covered car port like area.

 

[greatbreweh]

I received my Charge Station Pro (CSP) via FedEx on Thursday, 28 July 2022, and my electricians came to the house yesterday, 2 August 2022, to mount the CSP on my garage wall and to hook it up to the circuit they installed in March 2022. The electricians did a beautiful job, and when power was applied to the charger, it showed solid blue LEDs (as expected).

(Note – I am NOT using my Lightning as a home power backup source. I have had a propane whole-house backup generator for five years.)

With the CSP powered on, It was all downhill from there.

The next step in the installation process was to employ the Charge Station Pro Setup app. After selecting “new station setup” on this app, the CSP’s Station ID (“SWA…..”) was supposed to appear on my iPhone’s list of available WI-Fi networks. Nope, didn’t happen.

I started over and re-tried the steps numerous times without success. Finally, I called the number on the cover of the CSP’s Installation Guide (800-392-3673). After listening to Ford’s version of their “automated directory service from hell,” I selected “Ford Pass,” which seemed to be the best choice of all the selections offered. Wrong!

Long story – I spent a total of 110 minutes on the phone with six different Ford representatives and got no resolution. Fortunately, the third representative I spoke with (“Molina”) was a real sweetheart. She stuck with me on the phone as we tried to find a solution. Finally, she suggested that we hang up and continue the call after she did more research on her end. I agreed because I needed to recharge my phone, and I was severely frustrated.

After hanging up with Molina, I moved my Lightning from the driveway into the garage and parked it next to the newly-mounted CSP. Just for grins, I started the CSP Setup app again from scratch and immediately the CSP Station ID (“SWA….”) appeared on the list of available Wi-Fi networks. Molina did call me back soon thereafter, and she stayed with me on the phone while I successfully completed the setup process in the Ford Pass app.

Bottom Line: In my situation, the CSP Setup app did not work until I moved my Lightning next to the CSP. None of the six Ford representatives had a clue that this might help. I was ecstatic to finish the installation of the CSP but very pissed that I spent five hours in a hot garage having to screw with it. And, the resolution happened by accident and not on purpose!

I too had a horrific experience with this today, in fact never did figure it out and had to hang up on ford guy BUT...... I said to him several times I think i am to log into the charger itself much like my WEMO light switches to program the wifi info but he was insisting I was to log into my home wifi which I said obviously I am always logged into that wifi when home? Ford tech support for retail really has had little training he was totally lost on the phone with me.

Now thank you for the SWA..... part as I was looking for FORD or PRO CHARGER something obvious not SWA.... so I will go at it again, FORD make the SWA part as the wifi network we are logging into more clear that info printed is BRUTAL! Also that SWA only appeared once most of the time it was not present in the wifi list. Grandma never gona get her car charged like this, I am very tech savvy (like understanding the wemo login was the right thought) and I could not get it to work. Grandma going to start pumping gas all over that charger outlet

 

[Kawartha Lightning]

Did anyone get the Charge Station Pro (CSP) working in addition to Lou C (I've taken several swings at it, all misses). I thought the FordMyPass App was terrible, until I tried to get the Ford's EVSE app working (brutal).

 

[BK1]

I too had a horrific experience with this today, in fact never did figure it out and had to hang up on ford guy BUT...... I said to him several times I think i am to log into the charger itself much like my WEMO light switches to program the wifi info but he was insisting I was to log into my home wifi which I said obviously I am always logged into that wifi when home? Ford tech support for retail really has had little training he was totally lost on the phone with me.

Now thank you for the SWA..... part as I was looking for FORD or PRO CHARGER something obvious not SWA.... so I will go at it again, FORD make the SWA part as the wifi network we are logging into more clear that info printed is BRUTAL! Also that SWA only appeared once most of the time it was not present in the wifi list. Grandma never gona get her car charged like this, I am very tech savvy (like understanding the wemo login was the right thought) and I could not get it to work. Grandma going to start pumping gas all over that charger outlet

The instructions show “SWA…” as an example of what to look for when identifying the WiFi to connect. But to your point, it oddly appears intermittently during setup. I kept restarting the CSP app and had better luck making it discoverable when I did that.

 

[Kawartha Lightning]

Another user was able to guide me in the right direction. If you are looking for the same information I was looking for, forget the Wi-Fi and everything else. Use the myFordpass app. Click “Account” at the top. On the next screen go all the way down to the bottom. Click on the “charge station“ icon at the bottom and then select “insights“

 

[704eer]

Have tried to get this setup multiple times with no success. Connecting to the SWA… WiFi but not being recognized in the FCSP app.

 

[joescherrman]

Charger works good. As far as setup, I get as far as entering password. Says "incorrect."

 

[SCVLightning]

I see that Sunrun is the preferred installer. Will they be able to provide me a charger or do I have to get it from Ford first?

 

[joescherrman]

Charger works good. As far as setup, I get as far as entering password. Says "incorrect."

Kept trying and finally works.

 

[joescherrman]

I see that Sunrun is the preferred installer. Will they be able to provide me a charger or do I have to get it from Ford first?

Sunrun doesn't serve Iowa so I had a local electrician install my Ford Power Station Pro (FPSP) . I bought the FPSP off a guy advertising in one of these forum topics. The FPSP is included win your purchase of the Extended Range F-150 Lightning. BUT...does not ship to you until after your dealer reports you vehicle sold and delivered.
Standard Range does not come with the FPSP but you can purchase from Ford. There are other chargers out there beside Ford.
Lots of great info throughout the different forum topics. Using the search feature helps me find topics of interest.

 

[THEsocalledfan]

Sunrun doesn't serve Iowa so I had a local electrician install my Ford Power Station Pro (FPSP) . I bought the FPSP off a guy advertising in one of these forum topics. The FPSP is included win your purchase of the Extended Range F-150 Lightning. BUT...does not ship to you until after your dealer reports you vehicle sold and delivered.
Standard Range does not come with the FPSP but you can purchase from Ford. There are other chargers out there beside Ford.
Lots of great info throughout the different forum topics. Using the search feature helps me find topics of interest.

You pulling the full 80 amps?