Geddy

@Old Surfer Dude Do you use any cloud storage (i.e. Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud)? My first suggestion is to start a folder in a cloud drive and keep everything in that. This way you and anybody that comes after you would have an electronic version of what you're trying to do. As soon as something is printed it's outdated. As @Techman suggests a Topology and a copy of programs is good starting point. But that's just for the "guts" of the system. "Generate Topology" is in the tools menu of the admin console. For programs go to the programs tab and click the root folder ("my programs"). Then right click and select "copy folder to clipboard". Then open a text app (if windows I suggest Notepad) -- something that allows you to paste plain text and not auto correct or auto format. Then PASTE into that text document. SAVE said document. This is now all of your programs stored in a safe place. (note...repeat this process every time you make a backup as part of your documentation set). I suggest using date file names so you know how recent file are without having to look at the details (yyyymmdd-filename). The real start of it all will be general information about the hardware and how to access it. And this is where it gets tricky because people that don't know what they're getting into might not follow all the directions (even if provided and clearly written). So the most important thing would be how to contact UDI support. If somebody walks in without knowing anything and wants to do everything the phone number to support should be first thing they see. This way they can call and say "please help, I know nothing". Important links to include are as you mentioned manufacturer and wiki, but also the forums. Ultimately, they can come to these forums and many can help them find there way of accessing the system and maintaining it. I wouldn't stress too much on "rebuilding from scratch". Not many would want to take the time to do that. And can get very "wordy". Just keep it basic (so you don't have to always make sure it's "up to date") and keep a current backup and program file in the folder. My family has the "what if" shared folder in OneDrive. In there is the "Home Automation Info". I keep the last 3 ISY/Polisy backups and current program text file. Good luck as you progress. Good thinking about it as a just in case.

@SJC85284 no issues for me, and I did the same upgrade path. Perhaps the settings didn't transfer exactly. Have you attempted to just enter the IP address again? You can find it in the old phone. Make sure you have the local http as just the ip address then "local port" set to 80. If you're able to access the ISY from a web browser (http://isy_ip-address:80 -- put your actual IP address in there) then Mobilinc should work just fine. Tagging @InsteonNut to this to help further if necessary. Note - one other oddity that has been discussed in other areas (of this forum and on line in general) is that iOS 15 broke geofence services for most location based automation. Mobilinc is included. So far I'm on iOS15.2 and it still isn't working as expected. So if you have any geofence events setup with Moblinc they more than likely won't work every time.

There's been numerous other posts like this over the years. This last year has probably been one of the biggest questions on everybody's minds if not openly posting here. There's just too much uncertainty to say. It's more in what does your budget allow and what do you want/need to accomplish in the system? Here are a couple to read through: https://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/31786-future-in-insteon/ https://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/34022-is-radiora3-the-ultimate-replacement-for-insteon/ Since Smarthome/Insteon is trying to launch their new Nokia line it's causing the tried & true Insteon camp to wonder what the future holds. Nobody (really) knows or certainly aren't able to say in an open forum until the company officially does/announces something. There are options that would work in the future of the Polisy. So if you're looking for the reliability of the controller that you've had in the ISY you should consider the Polisy as the new controller to handle the future system you go with. The Polisy can use the USB PLM (and some have mentioned success with a USB Stick that Insteon makes/made), or go the z-wave route, or use one of the many Polyglot Nodeserver options that have been developed to incorporate other platforms. There are pros and cons for every system. Just have to dig and figure out what you want them to do and then hopefully find one that can do that and make you happy at the same time.

Great! Glad to hear it was resolved. Yes, UDI offers great support for their devices. The forums are good for general troubleshooting and trying to get answers for common issues. The Polisy has variables that Michel and the rest of UDI are just better suited to handle through their ticket and support methods. Enjoy the options Polisy brings!

@wayneph When you’re in the Alexa app what do the fans look like? I just checked mine and they appear as fan icons then in the type they read fan. Make sure that’s how it appears to you. Since you have so many and none seem to be working right I’d open a ticket with UDI and get some help that way.

@wayneph You probably need to delete any old references in Alexa. Login on the Alexa website - https://alexa.amazon.com/ (you can remove old devices in the Alexa app too, but I find it easier and quicker on the website) Click on "Smart Home" and find the old device names that you've used. Since you said that you're sure you're selecting the device/fan in the Portal to link it back to Alexa you should be able to remove the old entries and have Alexa rediscover your devices. It should then find anything NEW and you should be able to use it as expected. I'm with you on here. I saw the post @Javi made and ultimate update to the wiki and am leaning that direction. I haven't tried it yet to know if it keeps the buttons in sync, but would expect it to since that's the point of the scenes.

WOOHOO! Thank you @Javi for updating the Wiki on this for 5.x instructions. It will be VERY helpful for new users to set it up with the way scenes are handled in 5.x. Mine were setup in the old 4.x world and really causing me problems. 100% THIS @lilyoyo1! This was 100% of an issue I was having with each keypad I setup years ago. The instructions included altering the grouping and that was recently causing me issues. I went back and factory reset each keypad and set them up in the 5.x scene process (as @Javi outlines above). Much better ( more reliable) control of the devices! (Thanks also to @MrBill for a suggestion of changing how they were originally setup.) @Gunn Happy Dance! You finally reset everything. I think you'll find that very helpful for the entire system.

Looking at your about screen you have already purchased ISY Portal. Make sure you go to my.isy.io and setup your account. Instructions for activating ISY Portal: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY_Portal_Installation_Instructions KEY: You've got to APPROVE the portal request from the Admin Console Then to access your ISY remotely through ISY portal follow these directions: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY_Portal_Admin_Console Were you just trying to make sure your portal was active or were you trying to do something else that lead you down the path to try to "Enable Internet Access"? You might need to restart the process from the portal side. You could have entered an incorrect UUID so it isn't contacting your ISY to get the approval to link the Portal.

@ewind I agree there are tons of posts on the forums to try to find everything relevant to such a wide range of questions. But, those tons of posts do help when digested in small portions. Let's see how this can help you! Future replacement. (Near current, but still mostly considered "future") Not as of TODAY, but @Michel Kohanim has recently posted that a migration process is pending and very close to being able to be released. However, as with everything there will probably be some conversion issues so get ready to really read through the migration steps and be ready to work the process. I'm not the best to answer this one. I think @Michel Kohanim or @bpwwer might be better able to answer. From my chair I think the "future" will be PG3. That will ONLY run on the Polisy. There is uncertainty if PG2 and/or PGC will be maintained. It will be up to the individual node developers if they continue to support prior versions. PG3 offers the ability for developers to be compensated for their work and support of their products. So this might mean some only focus on PG3, but others might still offer some updates to PG2/PGC. Adaptor is needed. In this post @Michel Kohanim states what device UDI has been using for testing. He linked to the product at Amazon, and they appear to be in stock currently. NOTE: some have suggested getting a USB extension cable or 90° USB adaptor to angle the stick differently to try to get better z-wave signal propagation. I don't use z-wave so do not know anything about reliability and necessity, but have read those posts so wanted to include the information here for you. Yes...well...sort of. The Polisy needs the PLM connected. I think there's a different cord that is needed (DB9) that came with the serial PLM. Some might not still have it if purchased years ago and Serial PLM are not currently in stock (at Smarthome). There have been tons of post on this in the last 12+ months. Currently even USB PLM are unavailable at Smarthome. They appear to have a listing at Amazon, but $20 over list price. There was mention of an adaptor being available in a post by @MrBill so if needed you might check that out. These two are about the same thing... What do you mean "offer"? It's a little unclear as to the direct future implementation of the Wi-Fi & Bluetooth abilities of the Polisy Pro, but my expectation is that it will be a device that will be able to attach to your network wirelessly rather than having to be near a router/switch for wired connection. As for Bluetooth, I'm not sure how that will be incorporated down the road. Most posts currently suggest getting just the standard Polisy if budget is of concern. However, if you want to have all the bells and whistles that the Polisy Pro has to eventually offer than go for the Pro version. It's personal preference and budget based considerations at this point. (at least IMO) Hope this helps.

@Wes WesthaverNot sure what the life of the SD card is. I've had my ISY since 2016 and haven't had any issues. I'm sure others have had it much longer without issues. As for having a spare...good idea to have, but the likelihood of buying one and losing it before you need it might be higher than just buying when needed. Just have to figure the cost of buying it now and hoping you know where you put it when needed rather than buying a new one if/when it goes bad. As for having a copy of the card...I don't think it's that easy. There is a process to follow to replace the card. It shouldn't take too long. The biggest part is having a recent backup of the system for when you get the new card installed and firmware installed to then restore the backup. Steps to replace the SD card are outlined in the Wiki. Also, if you think that you're going to have a Polisy anytime in the near future then having a backup SD card for an ISY that won't be in use much longer isn't very wise (IMO).

AH HA! The dreaded "equipment" hurdle that not many "home users" consider in troubleshooting. Never thought to ask where the ISY was housed. That makes perfect sense. I swear that I almost suggested changing the ISY orientation in one of my posts, but couldn't remember if that was for an old z-wave or something with the new USB style z-wave that will be used for the Polisy. Indeed, any metal or other radio signal noise can impede the z-wave signal so adjustments are needed to try to limit interference. Glad @Michel Kohanimgot you squared away. Happy times setting up new devices!

Time to open a ticket with UDI. Good luck. Let us know how this gets resolved.

@someguy Check out the Polisy User Guide and see the SSH information: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=Polisy:User_Guide (NOTE: PORT is 22 - that's the default port for SSH) Since it sounds like you don't have much experience with SSH then I strongly suggest you go the UDI ticket route and get more detailed help with your specific issue. You run the risk of really goofing up some stuff accessing the Polisy this way so make sure you have somebody helping you. I was in the same boat as you and unsure of the steps to take when starting up with the Polisy and just had to read and trial and error a few things. It seems that most here know this stuff inside and out and can spout what to run without second thought. You'll get the hang of it with a little help from the support team. Though, it is strange if you're running same as mine that you're unable to add the IP in the Finder window you run the ISY Launcher app.

@someguy Are you able to log into the Polisy through a web browser for the dashboard? If you're able to get that to load then you should be able to get it added to the launcher for admin console of the ISY on Polisy. I just tried the suggestions above and got it to load. So either you're not running the latest version on the Polisy so the ISY isn't installed or running there yet or you've got something blocking you on the internal network access. If you're able to log into the Polisy through the web access what is it showing for version? I'm currently running: Make sure that you've got the Polisy updated to a recent version that has the ISY package installed and running by default. Otherwise, I'm sure there's other commands that need to be run before the Launcher/Finder will see the ISY running on the Polisy. Are you able to SSH to the Polisy? What's the result of the following? uname -a Let us know the result. You might need to update the Polisy to a more current version.

Sorry you couldn't get it updated. I'm sure UDI will take good care of you once a ticket is opened. One last thing I would suggest is just going the "simple" route of using the multi purpose "button" on the front of the Polisy. https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=Polisy:User_Guide#Update_Polisy Update and Upgrade All the Packages Click the button once. Wait for the bootup sequence to finish: Normal Bootup Sequence All three lights on the front light up when powered on After a few seconds, only the left most stays lit for up to a minute All three lights start blinking and a beeping sequence starts which lasts about 5 seconds Everything is operational once only the left most light is lit How old is your Polisy? And have you setup a bunch of stuff on it? I might suggest a factory reset (again using the button on the front), but that would be a last ditch effort. One last suggestion I have...I got mine just a few months ago and had a stalled update out of the box. I forget the command I used, but know I found it around here somewhere. I found this in another thread that somebody was having issues just logging in on the web portion. Not sure if this will help, but might force the update to 13. In SSH type these commands: sudo pkg update && sudo pkg upgrade cat /usr/local/etc/udx.d/static/update13.sh | sudo bash (Try to copy/paste, but if you can't the line between update13.sh and sudo bash is the vertical line on the keyboard) Hope that or the ticket route gets you fixed up.

If it's not finding it there might be a network issue since it's still not setup. Perhaps check your router and see if you see the ISY IP address in the DHCP table (usually "connected devices" or something similar). Make sure you've got the IP correct and manually add it in the finder and try to connect that way and follow the rest of the steps of the process. Make sure that you've got the correct firmware for your situation just to be ready. Mostly if you've got a PLM or not. Make sure the PLM is powered on before the ISY so that the ISY isn't starting in safe mode. I haven't personally replaced the SD card so don't know if there's any other tricks not in the wiki at the moment. But if the launcher doesn't find the ISY you can usually add it if it's on the network at all. If not you might need to go the next step of starting a ticket to get some help going through the steps of SD card replacement.

Perfect! Glad it was network related. In the future here's the meaning of the status lights on the front of the ISY for troubleshooting. https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=Troubleshooting_Help#Front_Panel_LEDs.2FLights

@jlamb I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to upgrade, but it might be time to open a ticket with UDI to get specific help. We've tried most options that have been discussed previously. I just checked my Polisy to see how it compares to what you're saying... Mine: I haven't directly run any update packages in a while. I haven't tried it. One of those "ain't broke, don't fix it" moments. Have you checked the information here: https://www.universal-devices.com/polisy/ Submit a ticket here: https://www.universal-devices.com/my-tickets/

@sjenkins Thanks for bringing this up and thanks all for the feedback. I'm somewhat in the same boat. I had some Insteon sensors at one point, but they long ago quit working. I've been flying blind since, but had made some changes to some potential wet areas with pans that should protect water getting into the house. Although having just had some plumbing work done I would feel better having sensors again. I just ordered some Wireless tag water sensors so hope they'll work well. I've had the temp sensors (2 different types) for a few months and have been impressed by them. As @MrBill states there's been a few cloud issues, and I had the alerts last week when he did. It was a short lived issue and seemed to clear quickly. But it does seem that the company running that might be having some growing pains or just general reliability issues with cloud connections. It's another "big" ticket item that is a risk of not working, but at least they've got a decent track record for many around here. Hopefully @Jimbo can get the leak sensors added to the nodeserver soon, but the app will work good enough for notifications until that happens. Thanks for the work on that Jim!

Unsure if it's the same under Ubuntu, but @larryllix has screen shots (for Windows) of how to increase the memory. The process is also found in many other posts. Hopefully this is available in your system. From the 5.3.4 release thread: Here's how to increase runtime memory it in Linux (hopefully...was just first hit in a Google search). I run Windows 10 and set the font and find that it resets at random times. It's usually after Window Updates and/or java updates. It's not too difficult to reset. It's not every time, but it is somewhat annoying when it happens. But I only change the font size because on a small laptop screen it's sometime difficult to view. But I don't use admin console often so simple fix and relaunch works for when I need lengthy access.

@jlamb Here's the Polisy User Guide. Perhaps that will help. It's been a while since I tried to go in with putty and not local to my Polisy at the moment to try the connection. Note to change the user password once the process is complete. (So it isn't the default pass!)

@GordonGale Error codes can be found here: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Errors_And_Error_Messages As @Techman suggests try to "clean" the SD card contacts. If you have a spare SD card you might try using a new one. Having errors with the SD card can cause intermittent issues in general with the ISY. Here are the directions to replace the SD card: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Replacing/Formatting_an_SD_Card Glad you upgraded to 5.3.4. That's a helpful step in trying to troubleshoot. Always better option to be on "current" firmware because sometimes little (unreported) issues might get cleaned up in the update. Report back after you check the SD card. Maybe also having the event viewer open and set to 3 (Device communications events) then operating some z-wave devices from admin console and at the device might give some insight as to possible communication issues. Sometimes z-wave networks can be tricky. If still having intermittent issues it might be best to open a support ticket with UDI so they can help with the logs and specific troubleshooting steps. Submit a Ticket: https://www.universal-devices.com/my-tickets Email: support@universal-devices.com

@GordonGale What's your ISY Firmware and UI? If you're on the 5.x firmware branch make sure you've upgraded to the latest 5.3.4 to make sure any pesky z-wave bugs are potentially handled.

Again, NO. You cannot use the USB PLM with the ISY994i. Asked and answered (twice now). As @Brian H comments (and I eluded to previously) you can take the "daughter" board out of the USB version and put in the Serial version and it should work. There's been lots of posts about this. Here's one for example: As far as "Insteon going away", nobody knows anything for certain. Sure, devices are hard to find right now, but it's been said that's due to supply chain issues. It's worldwide and many are sick and tired of talking/hearing about it, but it's still true. And sadly, (IMO) the makers of Insteon are now focused on getting the Nokia line out that they're using all internal parts they can get their hands on to make the new line (that should have released earlier this fall). So...to answer the questions you have and that so many others have been asking... Nobody here KNOWS what will happen. We're here to support what people have now. Sure, some like to speculate and some like to say they have "insider" information, but it's still mostly speculation or banter as if there was specific information it probably could not be posted in a public forum until the company makes some sort of announcement. First - No, there's no "NEW" PLM to replace the old. I guess this could be false as I've seen some people talk about a different model number, but without digging into too much of the history of the USB PLM I'll say nothing has been new for a few years. (sure, some that keep up with this more can prove me wrong, and I'm fine with that, but it doesn't change the answer to your initial question. Second - We (the forums) are not pre-sales support to suggest what you should buy. You can review the thousands of posts and suggestions on the forum to determine what works for your abilities and your needs. My current suggestion/recommendation would be to buy a USB PLM, remove the board and use it in a Serial PLM. If you have the skills needed to change capacitors on the existing PLM then you can search the forums for parts to replace failed parts on a failed PLM and remove and replace parts on your own. But that's much more involved, and has also been discussed and documented in other areas of the forums. Third - replacement for when ISY on Polisy is "prime time" - a USB PLM will work with this method. That would be a good thing to have. Since there seems to be available stock in those currently somebody pointed out recently that it's probably because they never sold many to begin with. So there is clearly a "risk" of them being old stock. But, they would be new and should have a decent life expectancy. Good luck!

No, ISY994i only uses Serial PLM. There are numerous threads about this and options. You can take a board out of the USB and put in the Serial and it could/should work (again, plenty of threads describing how to do this can be found through search). If not needing a replacement right away you have the option of waiting for “ISY on Polisy” to be further along in development and can use the USB PLM with the Polisy to run the ISY. You would only need the Polisy and PLM (no longer need the 994i). But that’s currently still being developed so not 100% ready.