My ISY994 died. Considering Insteon Hub now. Thoughts?

[mvgossman]

My ISY994 died! I used this with Mobilinc Pro. So, replace or get the Insteon Hub and their iPhone App? Advice sought especially from those who have or had both.

 

On the one hand, the Insteon Hub promises to work with Apple HomeKit with Siri integration.

 

On the other hand, I do depend upon the powerful programming, link creation between Insteon devices, and the MobiLinc Pro App.

 

So what are the tradeoffs? Difficult to find details on how powerful the programming is for the Insteon Hub.

 

If I got the Insteon Hub and discover it doesn't suit my needs, will it work alongside the ISY994 if I got that too, i.e. do all the programming with the ISY994 but preserve the allure of "Hey Siri, turn on the bedroom light" with Insteon Hub?

 

Or do I have a solid option with "Mobilinc Home App" with just the ISY994? What is this, a stripped-down version of Mobilinc Pro? I'm also suspicious of the nature of the "Siri Support" with the Mobilinc Home app, it says "Long press an accessory to see Siri voice command suggestions." Not sure what that means, i.e. can I or can I not turn on Siri on the iPhone (or Apple Watch) and tell it "turn on the bedroom light" or does it have to be through the app?

 

Mitch

[paulbates]

Hi Mitch

 

First, I would contact UDI and see what they can do for you. Depending how old your ISY is, they will most likely work with you. Possible, they can help you resolve whatever is going on with your ISY.

 

I came from Homeseer and used the Insteon Hub on Mark Sandler's Insteon plugin prior to moving to the ISY, here are the tradeoffs.

1. If you want integration flexibility and depth, the ISY is the choice.  These capabilities can't be found in the hub. The hub has very basic scheduling. No programming logic / environment. Can you give examples of the types of automation you do through programs today on the ISY?
    
2. If you want voice/phone remote control and simple set up, the Hub is the answer. It is easier to set up, and does remote control fairly well.

The ISY has proven to be the best solution for me out of Homseer, Insteon Hub and SH Houselinc. Having said that, I am definitely a type 1 on the list above.

 

Paul

[stusviews]

Are you sure it's the ISY (less likely, but possible) and not the PLM (more likely and probable)?

 

What is the specific problem?

[Brian H]

I would say the 2413S PLM is almost 100% of the problems.

They have a known reputation of going belly up.

In the Tools Diagnostics tests. If the PLM Status/Info says Safe Mode. The PLM has joined the large group of dead modules.

 

There is even a very long thread here on the 2413S issues and how some have rebuilt theirs.

http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/13866-repair-of-2413s-plm-when-the-power-supply-fails/

[mvgossman]

Thanks for the advice... Rumors of the demise of my ISY994i are premature, I successfully resurrected it. First I reset the PLM, no better. When firing up the ISY994i, the specific issue is the LEDs flash in a random and rapid peculiar way and lights start going wild in the house as if it's caught in a bizarre loop of code and delivering spurious lighting commands to the PLM. This happens to correlate with a problem we had with the WiFi here which is a symptom of power glitches.

 

I was reluctant to to a factory reset because my last backup is 2 years old, but because it's not all that much different from today's data and can be updated, and because I had nothing to lose I did a factory reset and it's fine. Doing a firmware upgrade at this moment and little doubt it will be fine.

 

So the question is now, how does an ISY994i user get Siri control? I'll start a new thread.

 

The things I do with the ISY994i that I'm not confident the Insteon Hub will do are:

1. Lights on and off repeatedly through the day, such as bright stair lights at dusk, dimmer as the evening progresses.

2. Email alert when home in "Away" mode so any light control action sends a text.

3. Battery alert text for door sensor.

4. Temperature alert from the Venstar thermostat in the form of a text and email.

5. Other advanced programming with a lot of "if" and "else" that I can't recall because I take them for granted.

 

Mitch

[MWareman]

 

 

.

5. Other advanced programming with a lot of "if" and "else" that I can't recall because I take them for granted.

 

Mitch

Can't speak to most of the rest, but given that the main reason people get the ISY over the Hub is this.

 

I'm pretty confident that you'll lose this ability going the other way.

[oberkc]

Can't speak to most of the rest, but given that the main reason people get the ISY over the Hub is this.

 

I'm pretty confident that you'll lose this ability going the other way.

 I am more than "pretty" confident.

 

ISY is for those who want to AUTOMATE things.  The hub seems better suited for those who want a fancy remote control. 

[mvgossman]

Yes, since Mobilinc Pro doesn't do Siri/HomeKit as far as I can tell, nor does Mobilinc Home app as far as I can tell from the cryptic website, I'm wondering if I can get the Insteon Hub to work in parallel to be that fancy remote. Don't get me wrong, the Mobilinc Pro app does a pretty god job and integration on the "Today" screen on the iPhone is nice, I am greedy, I want to be able to say "turn on ______" via the iPhone or Apple Watch. Possible? Hate to spend $100 and discover the ISY994i and Insteon Hub clash.

[paulbates]

I came to ISY from having a hub on Homeseer. When I set up my ISY and PLM, I tried to keep the hub and use the functionality in both places. There wasn't siri control at the time, but I wanted to use the insteon app as my mobile solution.

 

It was too much trouble. The basic problem comes from how each controller (PLM, HUB) considers its dominion over the insteon devices. It results in the necessity to test each system for any new device or and scene change.

 

I gave up on this approach relatively quickly. The time I wanted to spend on automation projects was spent trying to make sure that each change from one system was not breaking the other solution. 

[oberkc]

I understand mobilinc home supports homekit and siri, but dont know whether it supports insteon or the ISY.

[mvgossman]

From the Mobilinc Home page (link below)

 

"Long press an accessory to see Siri voice command suggestions."

 

That's ambiguous to me, I picture it as a means to allow reading of a command into the Mobilinc Home app. In the Mobilinc Pro there is a voice activation option at extra charge, and I did that, it works but requires the app to be running.

 

Will post a question for Mobilinc Home users.

[stusviews]

 

The things I do with the ISY994i that I'm not confident the Insteon Hub will do are:

1. Lights on and off repeatedly through the day, such as bright stair lights at dusk, dimmer as the evening progresses. Not possible with the Hub, an ISY program can accomplish that.

2. Email alert when home in "Away" mode so any light control action sends a text. The Hub can send an alert, but is has to be 24/7. An ISY program folder with a condition will work

3. Battery alert text for door sensor. Both the Hub and the ISY can accomplish that.

4. Temperature alert from the Venstar thermostat in the form of a text and email. The ISY can do that, I don't know if the Hub can.

5. Other advanced programming with a lot of "if" and "else" that I can't recall because I take them for granted. The Hub can't, the ISY can.