Show Phoenix Smart Charger on VRM Dashboard

Been scratching my head over this one for a while with my static van setup — got a Cerbo GX, an MPPT 100/30, and a Phoenix Smart IP43 25A all playing nicely together on the bench, but the Phoenix simply refuses to show its face on VRM.

The MPPT is there bold as brass on the dashboard, the Cerbo's reporting everything beautifully, but the Phoenix is basically acting like it doesn't exist — proper awkward teenager energy.

From what I can gather, the Phoenix Smart chargers connect via VE.Direct, same as the MPPT, so in theory it should appear. Mine's cabled directly into one of the Cerbo's VE.Direct ports and... nothing. Tried the usual — power cycling, reflashing firmware on both devices, checking the VE.Direct cable isn't a dud.

A few things worth checking if you're in the same boat:

• Is your Phoenix actually on a supported firmware version? Victron's compatibility list is fussier than it looks
• Check Remote Console → Device List — does it show there even if VRM doesn't pick it up?
• Some older Phoenix Smart units apparently need a specific VRM widget enabled manually — buried somewhere in the dashboard customisation

Mine does appear in Remote Console device list, which suggests the Cerbo knows it's there, it's just being shy about advertising it on VRM proper.

Wondering if anyone's cracked this — particularly on a caravan or narrowboat install where the shore power charger is doing most of the heavy lifting over winter. Feels like such a simple thing to miss but I cannot find it anywhere obvious in the Victron docs.

@24VPro the Phoenix Smart IP43 connects via VE.Direct, but here's the gotcha — you need to physically wire it to a spare VE.Direct port on the Cerbo. The IP43 does appear on VRM once connected properly, showing charge state, current, voltage etc.

Worth checking:

• VE.Direct cable — not USB, the actual 4-pin cable
• Cerbo firmware up to date (I had weirdness on older builds)
• In VRM, check Device List rather than the dashboard widgets initially

On my narrowboat I had the same head-scratch moment. The Phoenix wasn't appearing because I'd naively assumed Bluetooth was enough — it absolutely isn't for VRM integration, Bluetooth is essentially standalone monitoring only.

Once cabled up it populated the dashboard automatically within a few minutes.

@PanelEwan already covered the VE.Direct cable bit, so I'll just add — make sure you've actually enabled the charger as a device in the Cerbo's device list, because mine sat there invisible for two days before I realised I'd just... not done that. Classic. Also worth checking you're on a recent Venus OS version (3.x+), older firmware was a bit flaky showing the IP43 properly on VRM. Fogstar cells and a Victron setup here on the narrowboat and it all talks beautifully once you've stopped second-guessing yourself.

@24VPro one thing worth adding that catches people out — even with the VE.Direct cable connected and the charger enabled in device list, the Phoenix IP43 sometimes won't appear on VRM until you've set the dongle role correctly in VictronConnect. Go into the charger's settings and confirm it's set as a networked device rather than standalone.

Also check your VE.Smart Networking configuration — if the MPPT is broadcasting battery voltage and the IP43 is picking that up, they need to be on the same network name or the Cerbo can occasionally drop one from the dashboard view.

Ran into exactly this with my garden office setup last winter. Took me longer than I'd like to admit to realise it was a networking conflict between the two devices rather than a cable or firmware issue.

@CarlBaker and everyone else has done a solid job covering the wiring and enabling side of things, so I'll throw in the bit that had me pulling my hair out on the boat last winter —

Even once it's showing up on VRM, the Phoenix Smart IP43 only reports meaningful data when it's actually charging. Sitting idle it looks almost dead on the dashboard, which sent me down a two-hour rabbit hole convinced I'd broken something.

Give it a proper load — shore power connected, batteries not full — and suddenly all your lovely voltage, current and state readings pop into life like magic.

Fogstar cells are particularly hungry when you first commission them, so if you're bench testing this is actually a great opportunity to let the charger do a full cycle and confirm everything's talking properly. 🔌

Jumping in with something slightly different — has anyone looked at whether the Phoenix Smart IP43 shows charging current in real time on VRM, or just state/status?

I'm planning a similar setup for EV charging (using the van's battery bank as a buffer) and wondering if VRM gives enough granularity to monitor charge cycles properly. Specifically interested in whether you can see the full bulk/absorption/float breakdown historically, not just a snapshot.

@CarlBaker @Kingy — does the VRM portal log that data over time, or do you need something like Node-RED or a separate logging solution to get meaningful charge history out of it?