# Stuck With Proprietary or Discontinued Submeters? Your Options

Source: https://submeter.com/replace-proprietary-submeters/
Publisher: National Exemption Service (NES), https://submeter.com. Last reviewed September 2026.

If only one company can read your meters, or the maker dropped them, you still have options. Most properties keep some meters and replace others.

## What can I do if my submeters are proprietary or discontinued?
Start by finding out what's actually installed. If another company can read the meters, keep them and change only the billing company. If the meters are sound but their radios only talk to one vendor's system, new nonproprietary transmitters can often go on the existing meters. If the meters themselves are worn out, replace them with nonproprietary ones you own. Most properties end up with some of each, and the work can be phased so billing never stops. NES surveys the system for free and handles whichever mix fits.

A billing company gets bought and support goes quiet. A manufacturer drops a product line. Or you buy a property and nobody can tell you what's on the wall. In a lot of these cases the meters work fine. The trouble is that only one company can read them.
## How do you know if you're locked in?
- Your contract says the provider owns the meters, or that you owe a buyout to leave
- Other billing companies say they can't read your system
- Parts and replacement transmitters are only available from your current provider
- The manufacturer discontinued the product, or the cellular network your gateway uses is shutting down
- Service calls go unanswered and meters keep going dark
Any one of these is reason enough for a survey. Read the equipment section of your contract first. Who owns the meters decides most of what happens next.

## What are your options?
| Option | When it fits | What changes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Keep the meters, change the billing company | Another company can read the meters as they are | Only the reading and billing. No equipment cost. See [switching submetering providers](https://submeter.com/switch-submetering-providers/). |
| New transmitters on the old meters | The meters are sound, but the radios are proprietary or discontinued | Nonproprietary transmitters go on the existing meters. The pipe usually isn't cut. |
| Replace the meters | The meters are worn, leaking or reading low, or no transmitter fits them | New nonproprietary meters you own, phased in by building |
A survey usually turns up a mix. One building might take new transmitters while the one next door needs new meters.

## How do you switch without a gap in billing?
It starts with a free survey. A technician identifies each meter type and its age, and whether it can be read or retrofitted. NES replies within one business day of your request, and you get a written plan and price within five.
The work goes building by building. Units still on the old system keep billing until their building switches, so nobody gets skipped and nobody gets billed twice. Each unit gets a final read on the old meter and a first read on the new one.
As each building goes live, it gets daily reads, MyReads leak alerts, and our bilingual resident support line.

## What should you ask before signing with anyone?
Ask who owns the meters, and get it in writing. With NES, you do. Ask whether another company could read them, and for the brand and model so you can check. NES meters are nonproprietary.
Ask about buyout or removal fees, since some contracts charge you to leave. Ask what the warranty covers and for how long. NES offers optional extended warranties on meters it sells and installs. And ask about the markup on hardware. We sell meters at cost.
NES sells meters from nine manufacturers, including Badger Meter, Master Meter, Neptune and Sensus. The [full brand list](https://submeter.com/submeter-brands/) links to each one's support page. For every question to ask a provider, see [how to choose a submetering company](https://submeter.com/comparing-submetering-companies/).
Meters down at your property?. Tell us how many units, what brand is on the wall if you know it, and what you are seeing. A specialist replies within one business day.

## Questions
**What is a proprietary submeter?**
A meter, or a meter's radio, that only one company's system can read. If that company leaves, raises prices or stops supporting it, you can't just hand the meters to someone else.

**Do I have to replace all my meters to switch providers?**
Usually not. If another company can read the meters, only the billing changes. If just the radios are proprietary, new transmitters can often go on the existing meters.

**My submetering system was discontinued. What now?**
Get a survey before more meters fail. Sound meters can often take nonproprietary transmitters. Worn ones get replaced in phases so billing keeps running.

**Can NES read meters another company installed?**
Often, yes. The survey is free, and it tells you which meters NES can read, which can take new transmitters and which need replacing, before you sign anything.

**Will residents notice the change?**
They'll get notice before any water shutoff, and each occupied unit is down for under 30 minutes on a typical install. Their bill will come from NES, with our support number on it.

**Are NES meters proprietary?**
No. Every meter NES installs is nonproprietary. You own it, and any company can read it.