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The too long, didn't read questions: How do you determine where a scene should go: Alexa or ISY? And is it better to have them all on one platform? How do you define a scene with an embedded scene? In more detail, we have some scenes that are programmed on the Alexa/Echo side, and some that are programmed on the ISY/Admin Console side. For instance, "Outside lights" is a scene is programmed on the Alexa side, meaning that my wife gathered the outside lights into a scene using her Alexa app on her phone. Meanwhile, I have "Kids bathroom lights" (a set of three different lights for our kid's bathroom) programmed in the ISY/Admin Console, so when we say "Alexa, turn off kids bathroom lights", Alexa runs the scene "Kids bathroom lights", and turns off the three lights associated with that scene. The problems: Now, there are two sets of scenes, one on Alexa, one on ISY, and I often don't remember where the scenes are programmed. Additionally, if I want to modify the scenes on the Alexa, I have to have my wife do it, as we have two accounts that are not linked together. (The echos have to be in her account to run the lights, and she uses the Alexa app on her phone.) We have a lot of lights and outlets and the like, and it seems a bit crazy to have Alexa know about all of those, for ones we rarely if ever would control through Alexa, even if we might control them via a scene. We have enough of a time remembering the names of the lights we can control, which is why we started the "downstairs lights" scene (for instance), so we could remember this name and have it turn off the downstairs lights. An example. We have an "All lights" scene in ISY. We have a lot lights in this and also I have another bunch of lights to add (have the Insteon switches, just need the time to wire them in). Not only are there going to be a ton of lights in this scene, but also this is under flux and is likely to change. How do you determine where the scene should go: Alexa or ISY? And is it better to have them all on one platform? Finally, if we have an "All lights" scene defined in say the ISY platform, and there is a scene within that scene, what actually has to get added to that scene? Example: I have a "hallway lights" scene that is made from three different light switches. Does the "All lights" scene (to enable Alexa to turn off "All lights") need to include the "hallway lights" scene or only one light switch from the "hallway lights" scene?

Hi All, I'm using the latest beta software on my ISY 994i. What I'd like to do is turn down the LED brightness for my dimming (or on/off) Insteon light switches. When I pull up a page for a dimming Insteon light switch on the admin console, the page has "backlight" with a dropdown box from 0-100 an "options" button that after hitting brings up options including "No LED". Neither of these seem to do anything to the LED's brightness. Is there a way to control the LED brightness for Insteon light switches using the ISY 994i? Or do I have to manually do this? (Which is possible...hit front button for a while, three times in a row until a beep each time, then hit "off"; it's just every time there is a power outage, most of the switches forget this setting.) The only thing I don't like about these switches is this programming. I wish there was an option for no LED when off, and then when on, the correct LED would light up at the particular brightness you selected. (And the dang things would remember their programming for any power outage.)

Thank you. I had to factory reset 4...did not work, then factory reset 1, and that did work. Yeah! I never knew about the "restore device" feature, and in fact deleted the device and re-added, which was a lot of walking. These were supposed to be new from Amazon. Any reason why they would be linked?

I just installed 4 Insteon switches in our master bathroom. I created a "scene" called "Master bathroom lights" that contains all of the 4 switches. I added them to the Admin Control panel as 1, then 2, then 3, then 4. For the scene, all of them are added as responders, none as controllers. Now, when I switch #4 on, #1 turns on; when I switch #4 off, #1 turns off. I can switch #1 on or off without affecting anything (same for #2, 3). The only reason for this scene is to be able to control all the lights via Alexa: "Alexa, turn off master bathroom lights". I have something similar set up for the bathroom my kids use (three lights). I want all four switches in the Master Bathroom to be independent from any other switch but dependent to the scene "Master bathroom lights". The Admin Control indicates they are, but the actual operation indicates #4 is controller for #1. How do I debug this? Should I just remove the whole scene and recreate it?

I do have a lot invested in Insteon and actually have another 8 or 10 switches waiting for me to get the time to install them. They work well, except every time the power goes out, they forget that they were set to light the LED status on low. They turn the LED status on high, and then I have to redo setting the LED status to low. Luckily, I only do this in the bedrooms.

Interesting. One of the things I want to use Z-wave for is ceiling fans. I found the Insteon version to be not great. Where do you get the alpha firmware? I looked but could not find it.

I ended up getting rid of the siren. I can't get the new sensor to link correctly to the hub (which I only use for this purpose), and I would get random links. It worked maybe 10% of the time. My driveway is very long and the siren is inside the house. I bought a wireless magnetic driveway sensor. It's not linked to my ISY, but it works and shouldn't alarm for animals.

Hi All, well it appears I have two accounts here. This account uses my old email address, which I haven't used in at least 5 years. So, I'm not getting any emails saying someone has responded. The second account has my new email address, so I'll start using that. I added a filterlinc to a power strip on the same circuit. That fixed it! I got the outlet to link correctly to my ISY 994i. I took off the plug in module and am controlling the outlet. Thank you for the help.

Hi all, After reading through the current situation for the new motion sensor and the siren for Insteon, I'm getting concerned that Insteon was a bad idea. I have a ton of switches and motion sensors, all Insteon. Should I be considering a switch to Z-wave? How stable is a mixed Insteon/Z-wave system? Right now, I have no Z-wave products and my ISY 994i does not support Z-wave. To get Z-wave, it appears I have to order the Z-wave module from here: http://www.universal-devices.com/sales/modules/?uuid=uuid:00:21:b9:01:fa:fc&pid=1100 Then, I have to get the Z-wave module as described here: http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=Z-Wave:_Ordering/Assembly_Instructions Does this sound correct, or am I missing something? Thank you.

I'm trying to use a sensor that would trigger when a car pulls into our driveway and would sound an alarm. I ordered a new Insteon motion sensor and a siren. I have been able to get the motion sensor to work with my ISY 994i, but not the siren (says it's "unknown"). I have version 4.6.2 of the software. What other options do I have to support this? Do I have to use a Z-wave product such as the following: https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Wave-strobe-alerts-battery/dp/B00PKKM2HO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512327572&sr=8-1&keywords=aeon+siren If so, would I be able to use the Insteon motion sensor to trigger the Z-wave strobe? Thank you.

I bought a new outlet, thinking it was the outlet. Installed the new outlet, then linked...and got the same error. However, I left this outlet in and added an on/off plug in module (to control Christmas lights...that's what I'm trying to do), plugged into that outlet, and linking the on/off module worked fine. I find it odd that I can't link the outlet, but can link to an on/off module that's plugged into the same outlet. Why is that? I then took the outlet I just took out and wired it temporarily to a different circuit, and it worked fine. So, I assume there's noise on this circuit. There is a power strip on this circuit, I'm not sure what else. Do I buy a Filterlinc to filter the noise?

Thank you, Michel. I factory reset and get the same error. Since this is a hardwired device, it's a bit difficult to move. I can do it, but not today. The kids want to put up Christmas lights now. I'll move it when I can and report back.

Hi All. I successfully added two Insteon 2663-222 On/Off Outlets. I added these, then used the administrative console, "start linking" and found each of them and added them with no issues. On the third Insteon 2663-222 On/Off Outlet, I used the admin console, "start linking", found the outlet, but it fails to add with the error "could not determine link table address". I closed and reopened the admin console, but that did not help. I turned off the power to the outlet, turned power back on to the outlet, used the admin console, "start linking", found the outlet, but it fails to add with the error "could not determine link table address". I'm out of ideas. Are there any trouble shooting steps I can take? Could the outlet itself be bad? (It's brand new, never installed, just got it.) Thank you.

The KPL is in the garage, so it's about 1/2 the house plus one garage away. All of the lights in and outside the garage are insteon and work fine. There are two wireless repeaters in the garage (there just because of several motion sensors around the garage). I assume the KPL is on the same circuit as the inside/outside lights, but I don't know. The electrician installed the KPL by running new wiring. It'll take me a bit of troubleshooting to see what he did. There is an in law apartment above the garage. Several of the lights (outdoor) in the in law apartment are above the garage. I have many insteon devices in my house, so I assume there are some on each phase, but I'd have to check it out. Ok, I'll take a look tomorrow. Have to start preparing for Thanksgiving dinner now.

Thank you, Paul. For this, I have to get the address from the device, correct? And then manually add it?

I am trying to set up my first Insteon keypad, #2487S, KeypadLinc On/Off. I run the administrative console, start linking, and then go to the keypad and use small linking button. I can hear the keypad beep, but there's nothing on the admin console. Why would this be? Note that I do not have a load connected to the keypad, as I really just want to use it as a controller of other lights. (I know linking works, as I also linked to a new lamp module.) Thank you.

I have read through this thread: http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/12824-how-to-program-an-insteon-motion-sensor/ And I don't think it answers my questions. So, I'll ask my questions here. My situation is as follows. I have an Insteon motion sensor controlled by my ISY 994i, and to only work at night and to report ons but not offs. I want to use it to control my garage lights. However, I want my garage lights (on/off switch, Insteon) to be on certain days of the week. Here's the programming currently (in pseudo-code). Program Garage Lights: If { it's the weekend from sunset to 10:30pm or it's during the week from sunset to 9 pm } then Set the garage lights on else Set the garage lights off Now, I want the garage lights to come on for 5 minutes if the motion sensor comes on, but I don't want the lights to turn off if it's in the time ranges above. So, I created a second program to ignore motion sensor on events occurring within those times above, but to turn on the lights for five minutes if it's outside that time (I'm assuming the programming of the sensor to night means that the lights only come at night, so I ignored this time period). Program Garage Lights if Lights On: If { Control 'Garage-sensor" is switched on And (the time periods from above, separated by "or") } then no actions else { Set the garage lights on Wait 5 minutes Set the garage lights off } Next, I wanted to ensure that if I manually turned off the lights (using Alexa) during the above time periods, the lights would still come on. So I set up a third program: Program Garage Lights if Lights Off: If { Control 'Garage-sensor" is switched on And status of 'garage lights' is off And (the time periods from above, separated by "or") } then Set the garage lights on Wait 5 minutes Set the garage lights off else { no actions } Do these seem reasonable? Is there any way to condense this, particularly for the time periods (if I change the time periods, it would be nice to change them in one place instead of three). Thank you.

I just set up a scene for a 4-way circuit. The local controller is a keypad (on/off); there is another on/off switch and a dimmer switch in the circuit. They're currently all linked together as controllers. Is it possible for me to use the dimmer switch to apply a level, then have the dimmer switch, keypad, and on/off switch apply this level the next time the light is on? Say, I want 50% power normally. Can I do this using switches only? Or do I have to use the ISY interface? (I would like also to be able to make the lamp brighter using the dimmer switch, without having to turn on my computer; or use Alexa I guess to modify the level.) If this is possible, is the dimmer switch the controller and the on/off switch and keypad the responders? Or what other configuration do I need? Is there a detriment to this configuration? Thank you.

I'm not sure. I put the MS into linking mode by pressing the button on the MS for about 5 seconds, until the light flashes on the MS. Those are the instructions I have to put the MS in linking mode. I don't know how to tell if an MS is in unlinking mode (I honestly don't know what that means). I have not tried linking the MS to a responder as of yet. I had my "old" MS linked to a responder for a long time, but I had to completely rebuild the entire system and lost the linking. (Or at least I think I did -- the light certainly never came on even though I could see the MS's red light indicating movement.) The problem with the MS being linked to a responder is that it also turns off the light. I would like to have an outside light be on during a certain time period (say, dusk to 9:30pm), and during this period it should ignore the MS. However, after this period, the light should light when the MS senses motion and turn off sometime later (when the MS no longer senses motion). The problem I had is that if the light was on during the time period I want it on, the MS would turn it off. The only way I can figure out how to do this is to use programming and not linking.

Ok, I remember why I hate these things. They're difficult to work with. First problem: factory reset does not work. I've tried an old MS and a new one (cut the box open, removed the MS, followed the procedure below). Neither MS beeps at all. Here is the procedure I used: RETURN UNIT TO FACTORY SETTINGS 1. If possible, unlink from all Responders before proceeding. 2.Remove battery. 3.Wait 15 seconds. 4. While pressing and holding the Set button, reinstall the battery. Do not let go of the Set button. 5. Motion Sensor will emit a long beep. Continue pressing and holding the Set button until beep stops, then release. Is the above procedure the correct one? If so, are there any tricks to this procedure? Problem 2: I can't get the old or new MS to be found by the ISY. I hit "link management", then "start linking" and follow the normal linking procedure (which worked today outstandingly well for a light module). Even putting either the old or new MS right by the PLM, the ISY never finds the MS. Are there tricks to this, too?

Thank you. I have tried to add them by finding them, but that did not work, even putting them next to the PLM. I'll factory reset and try again and see what happens. I'll report back (won't have time to do this until the weekend).

I'm trying to set several insteon motion sensors, #2842-222, with my ISY 994i Pro. Is there a FAQ or other info source for how to do this? I have too many questions to ask, so it would be easier for a FAQ/installation guide. For instance, it appears to me that I have to manually add each insteon motion sensor by going to the Universal Devices Admin Console, then Link Management, Add a Sensor, Motion Sensor, then typing in the address. Problem #1: Two of the sensors I have have been outside a while and the address sticker on the outside is not readable. I do not know the address. Is it possible to add these without an address? Or do I need to buy more sensors? (I used to have these sensors set to turn on/off specific lights, without going through software; but now I want to use software for various reasons, one of which that I want the lights to be on at certain times regardless of the sensor and the sensor breaks that and turns them off.) Problem #2: Once you add a sensor, how do you test it to see if it works? Problem #3: How do you configure the sensor using software (the Universal Devices Admin Console)? (Assuming no jumpers other than Remote Software Management are enabled.) Thank you.

Right now my ISY is at a location where the network, cable, phone, etc., all terminate in our basement. The electrical boxes are also at the same location, and I have battery backups and a network driver there too. I could move the ISY and PLM, but that would take at least a day's work. I'd have to run both network cable and electrical to a new location (there are very few outlets in the basement), and that would take a ton of drilling through joists, studs, etc., and maybe even putting up a wall as most of the basement does not have a wall. It would also take time to map out where I want it and buy the parts. This is a good idea, but it would take me a weekend to do. I'll think about this. I have wireless Insteon extenders on different phases of my house (not to mention the switches themselves are on different phases). Does that suffice or do I need to use a passive coupler too?

I get the exclamation point.

My ISY 994i has periodic problems with talking to my Insteon switches. I replaced the PLM in April of this year due to this problem. However, my ISY still will periodically lose contact with switches. This has happened several times after installation of the new PLM. The ISY cannot contact certain switches (it does not seem like all of them, but it's hard to tell). If I leave the ISY alone and come back the next day, even if the switch had an error message over it, if I clicked on the switch, the error message went away and I could turn on and off the switches with no problems. Again, not all switches were marked as not being connected, and all of them that were marked as such were able to be contacted and work once I clicked on the switch. Currently, my ISY is working fine. The next time the ISY cannot connect to switches, how do I debug whether it's the ISY or the switch (or both?)? Also, if it is the PLM, this is the second PLM I've had in not much time. I don't think 5 months is that long for a PLM to fail. Is the Zwave (or another system) more reliable? I currently have 15 Insteon switches, but I want to have many more. However, I only want to buy them if the system itself is going to be reliable. If there is a better, more reliable system such as Zwave, perhaps I buy those instead? Thank you.