Hive Hot Water Not Working? How to Find the Real Fault

First: does your Hive control hot water at all?

Hive can only control hot water if you have a boiler and a hot water cylinder and a dual channel receiver, the version with separate heating and hot water controls. If you have a combi boiler, Hive usually controls the heating only. The combi makes hot water on demand whenever a tap opens, and Hive has no say in it. In that case there may be no hot water option in your app, and a combi with no hot water is a boiler fault, not a Hive fault. Our guide on no hot water from a combi boiler is the place to start.

Hive also normally controls the boiler heating the cylinder, not the electric immersion heater. If you rely on an immersion heater for your hot water, check its own switch and timer.

Check the mode and the schedule

Most Hive hot water problems turn out to be a setting. In the app, open hot water and look at the mode.

• Off means exactly that. Hot water will not heat until you change it.
• Schedule means it only heats during the time slots you have set. If you are running the tap outside those slots and the cylinder has cooled, it will be cold. Check the slots, and check they still cover the mornings and evenings when you use water.
• On means it is asking for hot water all the time, which the cylinder thermostat then controls. Our guide on constant hot water explains when that makes sense.
• Holiday mode, if it was used over the summer, can leave hot water off until the date you set. Check it has ended.

How to boost hot water on Hive

Boost is the quickest test. In the app, open hot water, choose Boost and pick how long you want it to run. Hive will call for hot water for that period, then go back to whatever mode it was in before. On most setups you can also boost from the Hive thermostat itself using its menu, and some receivers have a hot water button that does the same.

Give it at least 30 to 45 minutes before judging. A cylinder that was fully cold takes time to heat, and water at the tap will warm gradually rather than all at once. If the pipe going into the cylinder from the boiler gets warm within a few minutes of boosting, the system is responding.

Read the receiver lights

The receiver is the small wired box that replaced your old programmer, usually on the wall near the boiler or in the airing cupboard. On a dual channel receiver there is a light for heating and a light for hot water. The exact colours and patterns vary between models, so check the Hive guide for yours, but the logic is the same.

• Hot water light on while boosting: Hive is sending the signal. The fault is in the heating system. Go to the next section.
• Hot water light off while the app says boost or on: the signal is not reaching the receiver, or the receiver is not acting on it. Check the receiver has power and is not showing a lost connection. Restarting the hub and, if needed, re-pairing the thermostat and receiver often sorts it.
• No lights at all: the receiver has no power. Check the fused spur feeding the boiler and controls, and the fuse board. Our guide on a boiler not working after a power cut covers what else can reset after an outage.

Hive is calling, but the water is still cold

If Hive is doing its part, you have the same fault you would have with any programmer. On a system with a cylinder, the signal from the receiver has to open a motorised valve, which then tells the boiler and pump to run and sends boiler water through the coil inside the cylinder. A cylinder thermostat strapped to the tank also has to be calling for heat.

• The cylinder thermostat is turned right down, or has failed, so it tells the system the water is already hot. It is the small dial on the side of the cylinder.
• The motorised valve for hot water has failed. Its motor or its switch wears out with age, and it is one of the most common reasons for a Hive install that was working to stop giving hot water. Heating often still works.
• The boiler itself has a fault, in which case the heating will usually be off too. Check the display for a code.
• If the hot water only comes on when the heating is on, that points to the valve or its wiring. Our guide on hot water only working when the heating is on explains the pattern.

If the hot water stopped working right after Hive was fitted, the wiring from the receiver to the valve or wiring centre may be wrong. That is the installer's to put right, so contact them first.

Hub offline or app not responding

The Hive hub connects your system to the internet so the app can talk to it. If the hub goes offline, because the router has restarted or the broadband is down, the app cannot send commands. On most setups the thermostat and receiver keep following the last schedule on their own, so hot water may still heat at its usual times, but you will not be able to change or boost it from your phone until the hub is back. Check the hub lights, restart your router and the hub, then try again.

When to call a heating engineer

If the receiver shows it is calling for hot water and the cylinder stays cold, the fault is in the plumbing and controls, not the app, and Hive support will not be able to fix it. That is where we come in. We test the valve, the cylinder thermostat, the wiring centre and the boiler, and find which one has stopped answering. We have 20 engineers across London and carry the common valve motors and thermostats. Call 020 4652 5111 or send an enquiry and tell us what the receiver lights are doing, which saves time on the visit. Our rate is on the pricing page and agreed before we attend.