Motorway ‘blipper’ / smart tags - For ALL news, advice, how to get one and what’s best, irrespective of the country

[MrC99]

It is a mystery as to why it didn’t work.

Just an utter guess but with Fulli & probably the same for all other tag suppliers you have to associate the number plate with the tag (presumably so that the toll booth can work out what class of vehicle) so perhaps it wasn't able to read your number plate ?

 

[leadfarmer]

Just an utter guess but with Fulli & probably the same for all other tag suppliers you have to associate the number plate with the tag (presumably so that the toll booth can work out what class of vehicle) so perhaps it wasn't able to read your number plate ?

The number plate is only needed for Italy, Spain and Portugal

France doesn't use it

 

[siddo]

My (usually hugely reliable) Emovis tag * went into an unexpected sulk on Monday morning at 08:15 at the payage barrier at St Omer. The Frenchman driving a hire truck was very cross. A French woman stopped to assure me I was in the wrong lane, as to use the automatic lane, I needed a blipper. She retreated rapidly (as the French are expert at) when I waved the blipper in her direction.

Happy days.

I am now talking to Emovis’ office ooop north, to try to establish if this was a one off glitch (with either the tag or the barrier’s reader) or if the tag itself is suddenly faulty.


* I have used Emovis tags since they first became available to UK owners.

Hopefully a one off. I'm off the end of next week & hope it's drama free with my Emovis.

 

[wessie]

The number plate is only needed for Italy, Spain and Portugal

France doesn't use it

au contraire

on the new sections such as on the A13 between Caen and Paris, the system will read your number plate if the tag is not picked up

you even posted this in the thread I started

Post in thread 'Free flow tolls becoming more widespread including near Caen'

May 19, 2025

What a fortuitous thread!

I happened to drive up the A13 today with the new "péage flux libre"

Thankfully due to this thread I changed the reg on my tag from my bike to my car this morning or I'd have been scuppered

• leadfarmer

• 

 

[Wapping]

Just an utter guess but with Fulli & probably the same for all other tag suppliers you have to associate the number plate with the tag (presumably so that the toll booth can work out what class of vehicle) so perhaps it wasn't able to read your number plate ?

Not so with the France only Emovis tag.

I have never had any number plate registered. I use the same tag (and all previous Emovis tags) in assorted cars (including other people’s), motorcycles and my motorhome. The system correctly assesses the vehicle’s classification, I can only assume by some form of wizardry.



Emovis have always billed me appropriately, always according to the vehicle’s classification at the time of triggering the charge.

Should Emovis contact me to tell me that I need to register the vehicle’s number plate, I’ll do so. Should the detector fail to recognise the blipper, I’ll deal with that as and when.

 

[leadfarmer]

au contraire

on the new sections such as on the A13 between Caen and Paris, the system will read your number plate if the tag is not picked up

you even posted this in the thread I started

Post in thread 'Free flow tolls becoming more widespread including near Caen'

May 19, 2025

What a fortuitous thread!

I happened to drive up the A13 today with the new "péage flux libre"

Thankfully due to this thread I changed the reg on my tag from my bike to my car this morning or I'd have been scuppered

• leadfarmer

• 

You’re absolutely right, I’d completely forgotten about those, and I went through a number of them around Honfleur and Le Havre a month or so back

 

[Wapping]

on the new sections such as on the A13 between Caen and Paris, the system will read your number plate if the tag is not picked up

Surely, if the new French system doesn’t pick up the tag (by which I mean fails to bill the tag) then it makes no difference if the number plate is linked to the tag or not?

Or have I misunderstood something? It is more than likely.

 

[MrC99]

It might depend on how the system works out what class of vehicle to levy the correct charge for. Whether this is by number plate lookup or some form of vehicle recognition I've no idea. It's done at the time of tag detection as the normal toll booths display the vehicle class as you pass through.

I'm taking a van over in a couple of weeks so will be interesting to see if it charges that correctly.

 

[wessie]

Or have I misunderstood something? It is more than likely.

yes

maybe read the thread I mentioned above

there are 3 ways to pay the free flow motorway tolls. Owning a TAG is not required.

1. If you own a tag then your account will be charged
2. you can register your car's reg no on the relevant website and the system uses ANPR, much like paying the ULEZ charge in London
3. you can pay at a post office or other shop with a terminal within 72 hours by quoting your reg plate as this also uses ANPR, again like ULEZ.

Now, as the system is geared up for using ANPR this provides a fail safe for tag owners, should you go past the scanner and it is having a bad day. This prevents you getting a fine for not paying your toll within 72 hours. Fulli offer this facility and you can change the reg plate easily online if you use a different vehicle.

With APRR/Mango/Fulli or whatever they are called this week, you register a reg plate as their tag works in other countries, as they have all of the necessary transponders in one device. Your Emovis tag is inferior as it only speaks French with a single LiberT transponder, so I believe they have been slow to recognise ANPR is a thing in France. I also believe you can link an Emovis tag that speaks other languages to use in Spain/Portugal/Italy but it is a separate unit with the other transponder types fitted.

 

[Wapping]

1. If you own a tag then your account will be charged

As I thought…

I own a tag, therefore I’ll be charged and debited via the tag *. No mention of linking a specific vehicle to my Emovis tag. Nor any instructions from Emovis to do so. When I have to, I will.

If I subscribe to an Italian / Spanish tag from Emovis, I will have to ascribe a number plate to the tag, of course.



* I went through the gate free payage point in June and July, billed correctly by the tag each time. It was the first time I realised the tag bleeped. I always thought the bleep was external.

 

[er-minio]

Question for other badge users.

The badge I use on my GS gave me some issues this August.
It wasn't recognised at the first gate from Calais (I got a paper ticket), then at the exit the barrier opened automatically.
For the rest of France I had to be cautious at the gates as sometimes it would be very slow to be detected or I had to pull the bike back a metre or so.

In Italy zero issues. Always passed through at speed, but the gates on the Autostrada are better than the French counterparts.

On the way back same story.
At the last gate before Calais I got stuck as well and had to ring help (and raged).

The badge in the car zero issues.
Badge I had for the GS before (this buggy one is a new one, in white) zero issue.


Anyone encountered this?
I'm baffled just as it worked flawlessly in Italy, so I wasn't sure if it was some temporary issue with French gates or not.

Or shall I just mark it as defective and send it back?
I'm on Ulys, but the bagdes are all the same.

I can also see that where I got stuck at Calais I got charged like a car, but I can contact them to get that fixed.

 

[wessie]

I was given a new fulli tag recently. Only used in the bike. As we had a massive storm to ride through to get to La Rochelle I took the motorway. It was slow to react to the first gate but did not issue a ticket. Had to stop then the barriers opened. Same when leaving the peage. So, it's not just you ...

 

[er-minio]

Thanks Wessie.

I asked 'cause all these years I had absolutely zero issues in getting it detected on the bike.
I also noticed they removed a couple of bike Telepeage gates up north.

At the gates in the northen part of the motorway network you have to stop anyway, by design, and then they open.
Only the south ones and Italy allow you to go through at speed (the ones with 30 indicated).

In my case I had issues with both the stopping and 30 ones. I assumed it was a temporary glitch of the motorway gates, especially as it only happened on the French side.

I might have another short French trip before winter on the bike. I'll investigate again.

 

[MrC99]

I've had this once on the bike - on the A85 at Angers when I had to take a ticket. The exit booth worked OK and I was charged correctly. I've used the same tag for both car & bike several times since so I just put it down to the booth not detecting the tag properly (seem to remember it was heavy rain & not sure if that had anything to do with it).

 

[Wapping]

For the first time ever, my Emovis tag was excruciatingly slow a couple of weeks ago at St Omer, in the car.

I would guess about three minutes before it activated the barrier. Even then, I’m not so sure that it wasn’t the remote operator lady, who I was talking to via the ‘Aidez moi’ button.

On my return, I contacted Emovis, who assured me that all was well with the tag.

 

[er-minio]

Ok. Same.
So they have some "technical issues" on their side.

 

[siddo]

I have experienced the gate not opening loads.
Hopefully on Friday it's fixed.

 

[leadfarmer]

I’ve had a few slow to open recently, maybe it’s a thing

 

[Sly]

Anyone used ULYS?

They want a copy of my national identity card, passport, driving license and bank statement to get my tag sent out - thinking they can GTFO.

 

[er-minio]

Anyone used ULYS?

I've been a client for quite a few years now.
They never asked any ID when I signed up to be fair, but I suspect a lot of those companies send out the blippers to people in the UK, they are then not able to set SEPA payments and the blippers are never returned. Hence the request for ID (probably one of the above).

I initially set up with a different company before ULYS, they weren't able to set-up the SEPA, they blamed me and they got aggressive at some point.
I returned the blipper, but never checked if they actually got it.

I also think Ulys charged me a deposit (40 euros) at some point when I exchanged a blipper. Never checked if they actually returned that money to be fair... I should.
I have 2 active blippers with Ulys, but over the years I had to swap another couple (one dead battery and once they sent me the wrong blipper) so we had quite a lot of back and forth.

Works perfectly fine otherwise.