bgalbraith Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 Hello, I originally bought my ISY-99i IR/Pro thinking it's the most expensive and most powerful in the product line: The flagship. I decided to bite the bullet but I thought it was worth it and I was also looking forward to the integrated IR capability. But then I installed it and found that the IR side of things didn't work (seemed to be too sensitive). I mentioned it and was sent a replacement IR PCB. Unfortunately, replacing the PCB did not solve my IR problems. So I decided to settle for my IR Linc receiver. Not as flexible I guess, but it works. Lately, I had to upgrade Java and am currently stuck with an error. Anyway, this led me to find out that the 99i is/will no longer be supported. Worse, the 994 is taking over. But I thought the 994 was a lower end product, no? I'm pretty sure I saw it at a lower price than the 99. I also just found out that UDI was offering an upgrade deal (but that expired about a year ago - wish I'd been sent an email or something)... posting.php?mode=post&f=27# So now I'm again faced with a decision: Should I upgrade to the 994? I saw that the upgrade, from a programming standpoint, is pretty straightforward. But, given that I use my 99i with an IRlinc receiver as well as Mobilinc and Mobilinc Connect: 1) is there anything else involved in upgrading; 2) What are the benefits of upgrading or potential drawbacks of staying with the 99? (note that I have the firm intent of doing this fun home automation stuff for the remainder of my life which, I hope, is still a good number of years). posting.php?mode=post&f=27# Thanks for any clarification you can provide!
Michel Kohanim Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 Hello bgalbraith, Hello,I originally bought my ISY-99i IR/Pro thinking it's the most expensive and most powerful in the product line: The flagship. I decided to bite the bullet but I thought it was worth it and I was also looking forward to the integrated IR capability. But then I installed it and found that the IR side of things didn't work (seemed to be too sensitive). I mentioned it and was sent a replacement IR PCB. Unfortunately, replacing the PCB did not solve my IR problems. So I decided to settle for my IR Linc receiver. Not as flexible I guess, but it works. It should have ... do you still see spurious IR events? Lately, I had to upgrade Java and am currently stuck with an error. Anyway, this led me to find out that the 99i is/will no longer be supported. Worse, the 994 is taking over. But I thought the 994 was a lower end product, no? I'm pretty sure I saw it at a lower price than the 99. I also just found out that UDI was offering an upgrade deal (but that expired about a year ago - wish I'd been sent an email or something)... posting.php?mode=post&f=27# I am so very sorry you didn't receive the email. This said, we did send 3 different emails between February and May of 2013 and then offered great discounts at the end of the year last year. This said, please contact sales@universal-devices.com and we'll do our best to accommodate So now I'm again faced with a decision: Should I upgrade to the 994? I saw that the upgrade, from a programming standpoint, is pretty straightforward. But, given that I use my 99i with an IRlinc receiver as well as Mobilinc and Mobilinc Connect: 1) is there anything else involved in upgrading; No, here are the instructions: http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index ... r_ISY-994i. Whatever you do, please do NOT factory reset your ISY and/or the PLM 2) What are the benefits of upgrading or potential drawbacks of staying with the 99? (note that I have the firm intent of doing this fun home automation stuff for the remainder of my life which, I hope, is still a good number of years). posting.php?mode=post&f=27# No drawbacks. Most important benefits: - More memory - Expansion slot for Z-Wave OR Zigbee With kind regards, Michel
ISYhbsh01 Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 I will add that if you are planning to do home automation stuff for the remainder of your life, you will need the 994 to support new Insteon devices. There are already now several recently released Insteon devices, which the 99 with it's older firmware does not support. Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Goose66 Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 Not to mention that, unlike MOST OF the other consumer electronic devices that I own, this one is constantly being improved and enhanced. I saw the upgrade fee as just my contribution to that effort. From my experience, I bet they may work with you on extending the upgrade offer.
Brian H Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 There are Upgrades listed on the bottom of the UDI Sales Page. http://www.universal-devices.com/sales/products/
bgalbraith Posted January 25, 2014 Author Posted January 25, 2014 Thanks to all for the great feedback (especially Michel - Don't know how you do it - Do you sleep?). Regarding the IR, I can still see noise "coming in" from the piggyback PCB though I blocked off the sensor's hole (not sure, I might even have removed the PCB). But that's Ok, the irlinc works well and you've pretty much convinced me to upgrade to 994. I'll contact customer support and see what they say. So, 2 additional questions arise: (sorry) - Any benefits to using the 994's IR instead of my current IRLinc? - My next step is to install a door lock (deadbolt). I'm looking for something that will work with ISY (my upcoming 994) as well as Mobilinc. I've seen a thread discussing UDI being in alpha for Zwave (on a 994 piggy back) and using a kwikset lock. Am I close in my understanding and is this now available? I'm looking for bidirectional communication and the ability to remotely lock and unlock.
DougLorenz Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 I had the same issues.... Bought an ISY-99i IR/PRO years back, but never could get the IR working. Just gave up on that project. I somehow missed the 994i upgrade window, but wasn't overly concerned because the ISY-99i has been working ok, but I recently purchased an Insteon door sensor and tried to add it to my system and the ISY-99i just replied that it couldn't tell what the device was. No way to ever upgrade the software now, so I guess I'm screwed. I don't want to pay full price to buy an all new device and then find out a year from now that I'm going to have to buy an all new device to support Philips Hue or whatever shiny new IoE hits the market after the 994 gets replaced by the next product.
LeeG Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 There is an update option on the UDI Web site. Look toward the bottom of the page that lists the various 994i options.
DougLorenz Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 There are Upgrades listed on the bottom of the UDI Sales Page.http://www.universal-devices.com/sales/products/ Just saw that... So can I purchase the ISY-994i PRO on that page for $159 and that will replace my ISY-99i IR/PRO? The page doesn't make it really clear as to what the special price is an upgrade for...
DougLorenz Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 One other thing... I purchased the WeatherBug and irrigation modules for my ISY-99i, do those modules transfer over to the new device or would I have to purchase them again?
LeeG Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 The 994i PRO replaces the 99i PRO. When you have the 994i installed contact UDI sales with the UUID of the 99i and 994i so the modules can be activated on the 994i.
Xathros Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 Yes. You will contact support with the UUID of both the old 99 and the new 994 and they will transfer your purchased modules at no additional charge. Often within minutes of the request. -Xathros Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
ISYhbsh01 Posted January 26, 2014 Posted January 26, 2014 There are Upgrades listed on the bottom of the UDI Sales Page.http://www.universal-devices.com/sales/products/ Just saw that... So can I purchase the ISY-994i PRO on that page for $159 and that will replace my ISY-99i IR/PRO? The page doesn't make it really clear as to what the special price is an upgrade for... If you currently have the 99i Pro you don't need to buy the 994i Pro for $159. You can upgrade to the regular 994i for $129 and then contact UDI & they will transfer the "Pro" module from the 99 to the 994 along with the other modules you have bought. The difference between regular and "Pro" is not in the physical device, it's in the software. Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
ISYhbsh01 Posted January 26, 2014 Posted January 26, 2014 I don't want to pay full price to buy an all new device and then find out a year from now that I'm going to have to buy an all new device to support Philips Hue or whatever shiny new IoE hits the market after the 994 gets replaced by the next product. This is really the nature of technological advancement. New technologies come out all the time. At some point, if you want to stay up to date with the latest stuff, some of the currently owned technologies will have to be replaced. Take a computer for example, if you are fine with using your 10 year old software you might be ok with your 10 year old computer. However if you want to use the latest & greatest version, you will need to upgrade that computer. It's really unrealistic to expect that an ISY bought today is going to be able to support all kinds of new devices forever. Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
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