What you need
An Aalto account and a payment method. That’s all. You don’t need an account with the network that runs the charger, and you don’t need a card or fob from them.
You can start a charge from the Aalto app on iPhone and Android, or from the map in a phone browser. Starting from a computer works differently, and that’s covered further down.
Choose the stall and connector
Open the station and select the stall you’re parked at. Stalls are listed by the number printed on the physical unit, so read it off the charger rather than counting along the row. Some sites number them in an order that isn’t the order they’re arranged in.
Then pick the connector you’re actually using. Where a stall offers more than one plug, they’re listed separately with the connector type and the maximum power that stall can deliver.
Getting either of these wrong is the single most common reason a charge fails to start, because Aalto tells the network to start that specific stall and connector, and the network waits for a car on that one.
Sign in
If you aren’t signed in, selecting Start charge sends you to dashboard.saldoenergy.com to sign in or create an account, then brings you straight back to the charger you were looking at.
That domain is correct and it is not a phishing redirect. Sign-in for every Aalto surface lives there, which is why the address bar changes. If you have used Aalto before you’ll get the sign-in form; if you haven’t, you’ll get the create-account form instead.
You don’t lose your place. The station, stall and connector you picked are still selected when you come back.
Add a payment method
The first time you charge, add a card. On iPhone you can use Apple Pay, which is a faster way to add a card rather than a separate way to pay.
Before you confirm, Aalto tells you that you’re authorizing a temporary pre-authorization hold on your payment method and a charge for the session itself. The hold is not a payment, and the amount is shown before you confirm.
If you have more than one card saved, you can change which one this session uses before you start.
Plug in, then start
Do it in this order, and do the last two steps close together:
- Get everything ready first. Stall, connector, signed in, card confirmed.
- Plug in, and push until the connector clicks.
- Select Start charge.
The order matters more than it looks. Most chargers arm themselves when you plug in and only hold that state for a couple of minutes, so plugging in and then spending time creating an account or adding a card can leave the charger stood down by the time you start. If that happens the start fails, and you have to unplug, wait about 30 seconds and plug back in. Why didn’t my charge start? covers this in more detail.
How you know it worked
After you select Start charge you’ll see Starting Charge Session with a clock counting down from two minutes. Aalto is waiting for the charger to confirm the session has begun, which is up to about two minutes on most networks and about a minute on some.
When the charger confirms, the session screen opens on its own and shows power, energy delivered and an estimated cost. The charger itself usually shows a light or a message at the same time.
If the clock runs out, you’ll get an error rather than an open-ended wait. Why didn’t my charge start? lists what each message means.
Starting from a computer
On a computer, Start charge opens a panel headed Start charging with a QR code and the line “Scan with your phone to charge at this location.”
That isn’t a limitation of the website. Scanning takes you to the same charger page on your phone, which is where the charge has to be started, since you need to be at the charger with your car plugged in. The panel also links to the mobile app.
If Start charge isn’t available
A greyed-out button always carries its own explanation. Hover over it on a computer, or tap it on a phone, and a short message says why. The four possible reasons and what to do about each are in Why didn’t my charge start?.
One case that message doesn’t currently describe well: if we don’t have published pricing for a station, the button is unavailable and the tooltip says the network is down for maintenance. If you’re standing at a charger that looks perfectly healthy and see that message, this is the likely reason, and starting it with the operator’s own app or card will work.
Free chargers
Some chargers cost nothing to use, and there’s no payment for Aalto to process, so there’s nothing to start.
In the iPhone app, selecting Start charge tells you the charger is free and to plug in to begin. On the web the button is simply unavailable. Either way, plug in and the charger starts on its own.
If it doesn’t work
Work through Why didn’t my charge start? first. It maps the exact message on your screen to what caused it.
If you’re still stuck at the charger, use Need help? on the station or session screen. It prefills a message with the station or session ID we need, which is faster than describing the site from memory.