# Introduction

Pair your users' vehicles and chargers to unlock charging control on more vehicles, improve command reliability, and simplify your integration.

Beta: EV Charger Pairing is in beta and enabled by default for all customers on API version `2024-10-01` or later. We're actively expanding capabilities ahead of General Availability. See the [release changelog](https://developers.enode.com/api/changelog/updates/2025-11-17-ev-charger-pairing-now-in-beta) for details.

## Prerequisites

- An Enode API client configured for API version `2024-10-01` or later
- A working [Vehicle API integration](https://developers.enode.com/docs/vehicles/introduction)
- Familiarity with [LinkUI](https://developers.enode.com/docs/link-ui/introduction) for device linking
- A webhook endpoint configured to receive events (see [Webhooks](https://developers.enode.com/docs/webhooks))

## Why pair EVs with chargers?

- Many vehicles lack charging control capabilities
- Even controllable vehicles have unreliable commands. Conflicts with charger schedules, incorrect charger modes, or an offline vehicle can cause failures.
- Integrating both APIs separately means building your own logic to unify data and route commands

### Why not just integrate with the charger?

A charger-only integration gives you control but no visibility into the vehicle. Without State of Charge (SoC) and battery capacity:

- **You can't optimize charging.** You don't know how much energy the vehicle needs or when it's full. The vehicle may not reach the target charge by departure time.
- **You can't deliver a good UX.** Users expect to set a departure time and target SoC, then let your app handle the rest. Without vehicle data, you can't show battery level or confirm charging will finish on time.

## How EV Charger Pairing works

EV Charger Pairing has two stages: **established** and **activated**.

### Established

A vehicle and charger become paired when they're linked to the same user. This happens automatically, you don't need to call a separate endpoint or wait for the user to plug in.

Once paired:

- The vehicle unlocks startCharging, stopCharging, and location capabilities, making it eligible for managed charging.
- Vehicle interventions blocking these capabilities are suppressed (given the charger can now provide control).

### Activated

A paired vehicle and charger become activated when plugged into each other. We detect this automatically based on data from both devices.

Once connected:

- `pluggedInChargerId` appears on the vehicle ([Get](https://developers.enode.com/api/reference#getVehicle), [List](https://developers.enode.com/api/reference#listVehicles), [webhooks](https://developers.enode.com/api/reference#user-vehicle-updated))
- `pluggedInVehicleId` appears on the charger ([Get](https://developers.enode.com/api/reference#getCharger), [List](https://developers.enode.com/api/reference#listChargers), [webhooks](https://developers.enode.com/api/reference#user-charger-updated))
- Send charging commands to the vehicle. We route them to the right device.
- Vehicle responses may include data from the charger (like `chargeRate`), so values may differ from the vehicle's first-party app
- The vehicle gains control capabilities (like `startCharging`) through the charger

When unplugged, `pluggedInChargerId` returns to `null`. Capabilities gained through the charger remain available.

## Pairing in practice

Reliability and performance vary across vehicle and charger OEMs. Here are examples of how charger pairing addresses common technical challenges.

| Scenario                   | Standalone Linked Vehicle (Vehicle API)      | Standalone Linked Charger (Charger API)                               | Vehicle API (augmented by EV Pair)                                |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Start/Stop Charging        | Not supported                                | Supported                                                             | Supported                                                         |
| Location Detection         | Not supported                                | Supported (set location at home)                                      | Supported (reliable charging location)                            |
| Set Max Current (or Power) | Not supported                                | Supported                                                             | Planned for GA                                                    |
| Control Reliability        | Low or variable charging action success rate | Alternative path to send commands and dynamically troubleshoot issues | Highest action success rate (orchestration across assets)         |
| Plug-in detection          | Slower detection                             | Faster detection                                                      | Fastest detection (proactively poll the vehicle to confirm state) |

[Read next: Integration considerations](https://developers.enode.com/docs/ev-charger-pairing/integration-considerations)