Guy Lavoie

Well you can't really have two physical switches controlling the same light (unless you wired two relay switches in parallel or something...). Sounds like you have one switch, the one that works, actually controlling the light. The second one would probably be set up as a virtual 3 way switch, controlling the first one. If that's the case, then it probably doesn't have any load connected to it. Thus turning that switch on or off remotely, such as through the admin console, wouldn't do anything. It won't receive the command and then retransmit it as if it had been manually activated. So that sounds normal.

Well it's not zwave (it communicates by wifi) but the Venstar T7900 Colortouch thermostat can control a humdifier, and also has a cool to dehumidify (with optional reheat) function, so you can do both. It has a plugin for eisy. I have one of these thermostats, though I'm not using it for humidity control functions.

Could you post an example? Screenshot? What device type is this?

Well, just wondering what you have as a test setup and yes, if there is any kind of zwave network that operational. You mention being able to control the switch from the admin console, so I'm deducing that actual communications are working. As for Insteon vs zwave, I'm actually still new to it all. I've only been a UD user since about August, and implemented Insteon switches throughout since that time. I haven't store bought a single new Insteon device; they're all from ebay or marketplace, though a few of them were still new in box. I even bought my eisy as used. I had been using X10 quite reliably for the past 25 years... So my experience has been that Insteon seems very reliable, fast, and versatile. Then again, coming from X10, anything would appear better. As for zwave, I have several zwave door locks. I also bought a half dozen inexpensive zwave appliance modules that are actually for the purpose of creating the mesh network, since the devices I really want to use (the door locks) are battery operated so they don't act as repeaters. I also have a zwave watercop valve. All this installed in the past couple of months so I can't really say much about long term reliability. I do find the zwave reliability somewhat iffy, though my sparse network might be a factor. But it's still a bit odd that it usually works, though sometimes querying a lock will fail to respond. It's as if the network itself isn't consistent.

I've actually done that by starting linking in the admin console, then pressing the button on the device. So both methods probably work.

Is your zwave setup currently just the eisy and that one switch you're trying to configure?

It's like the supermarket. Just when you pretty well have the layout of the whole store figured out and know where to get things, they rearrange the store.

Some aspects of the admin console aren't always intuitive.

What do you mean by "outdoor remotes"? Insteon battery powered mini-remotes? Those usually need to be restored, by relinking.

Well try clicking on them to send your changes after choosing your values. That's how I do it, as indicated in my first post.

What setting(s) are you trying to change? For example if you change the heat setpoint, do you then click on the "Heat Setpoint" button left of the edit field? The fact that those are buttons (and not just labels) isn't always obvious. "Write changes" is usually for parameter or configuration (option) changes, not regular things like setpoints.

I found that Alexa announcements are slow in general (even single ones), up to a minute in some cases.

The eisy isn't considered a "hub" in that sense. You can't just walk into a chain store and buy an eisy as a shrink wrapped product. Chances are that the product will work just fine, since zwave devices are designed around a common chipset.

What device models are they? My garage thermostat example is an insteon 2441TH, and the dimmer is a 2477D insteon switch.

For your first question, did you do a "synchronize" in UD Mobile after adding the new device(s)? From the main screen, click on the three vertical dots at the upper right corner, and click on synchronize.

I just verified on mine (eisy running 5.8.4), and I have access to the other thermostat, and dimming settings.

Yes I've done a downgrade from 5.3.4 to 5.0.16c, and it worked.

Having a spare PLM on hand is always a good idea.

The easiest (and cheapest) way to couple powerline phases for Insteon is probably by installing a dual band lamplinc module on each phase of your breaker panel, and in somewhat close proximity to each other (ideally in the same room). They're plug in modules, so easy to move around. However if you have lots of other dual band devices, such as wall switches, then this will often be sufficient too. A setup with just a few devices is less reliable than one with many, as is the case with other mesh network topologies. Yes, the 2477S is dual band (has both powerline and rf communications). The dual band technology is a big part of Insteon's reliability. If the only Insteon device(s) you have are wall switches, then trying things like moving it closer to the PLM will be difficult. Tell us what you have exactly, and how they're laid out. I have a mid size setup (about 35 to 40 Insteon devices) and is a mix of dual band and powerline only devices (I bought several lots of used devices). I'd say about 2/3rds of them are dual band. I consciously set them up to have dual band switches in at least every part of the house. Some devices are also rf only, such as the battery powered Triggerlinc magentic door detectors, mini remotes, and the thermostats.

The 1181 is definitely not Insteon. It is one of Smarthome's very first X10 compatible switches. Then came the 2384, etc. Then came Insteon. On the 2477S, you should see a label with an address formatted such as 47.F2.E0 That's the device address, and what you should try entering when adding a Insteon device manually (though "Start Linking" should also work). But just start with that. The fact that the admin console says the PLM is connected is already a good start.

Have you tried manually entering the device address? Under "Link Management", click on "New INSTEON/A10/X10 Device" and enter the device address. Try this first with a 2477S or other dual band device. Also, where is your PLM plugged in? Have your existing Insteon devices worked there before?

Update what? IoX? Current version is 5.8.4

Thanks for that. I'll read it over a couple of times to make sure I grasp everything discussed. Interesting that 13 years ago apostolaskisi asked the same question, did similar tests, and is still around!

Is that discussion still on here, somewhere? I'd like to view it if possible.