Apps for iPhone

[Mustang65]

I know this is probably a third party topic, but I felt this is the area it should go in. What is the BEST app for the ISY994i? I looked at the Mobilinc HD. Is there a better one? Less expensive one? Which one do you use? Any issues with them? What are the pros and cons of them?

 

Thanks

Don

[dbuss]

I know this is probably a third party topic, but I felt this is the area it should go in. What is the BEST app for the ISY994i? I looked at the Mobilinc HD. Is there a better one? Less expensive one? Which one do you use? Any issues with them? What are the pros and cons of them?

 

Thanks

Don

We use MobiLinc HD on our iOS devices and MobiLinc and Agave on our Android devices.

 

They all serve our needs very well.

 

 

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Madelinot]

I recently purchased Mobilinc HD and I must admit that I am really not impressed.  My DSC Alarm system is recognized as a dimmer switch (which can't seem to be changed), and my Honeywell thermostat as well.  They are both useless in the app.    The only things that works relatively well are the real light switches and the leak sensors are okay.   And it seems to be one of the best iOS app out there.  I wish there was a better option.  For the price I paid, I am disappointed.  Really...

[jasont]

I installed the opensource Homebridge project on a $30 Raspberry PI.  There is an ISY plugin (no longer supported, though) that connects to the ISY and lets Insteon devices (and a few select zwave devices) appear in HomeKit, which means you can use the native Home app (or any 3rd-party HomeKIt app) to check their status or manually toggle them.  Being able to swipe into Control Center from any app to quickly see what's going on (or make a change) is something I absolutely love.  

 

The setup wasn't hard, but it did require a good amount of reading and a bit of tinkering to get it up and running.

[Teken]

There are a few extremely simple yet (FREE) smart applications for the ISY Series Controller. The bulk of them have been released and abandoned so beware there is zero support if required. There are also some very cheap smart applications for iOS but they are less than stellar in terms of features and polish.

 

The sad reality is the ISY Series Controller isn't on the radar for the masses or third party vendors.

 

It never ceases to amaze me the general public and the developer community will back some of the worst products eve made.

 

Such as Wink, Smartthings, Revolv, Apple Home Kit, etc. 

 

It's apparent to me IQ, Finances, and Education, have nothing to do with *Why* these people believe in these products. The facts are people gravitate to simple Plug & Play where very little thinking is required. The dumbing down of our society continues at a rapid pace never seen before in the 21st century.  

 

NOTE: ctrHome is one of those simple and free iOS applications which truly offer a no frills point & shoot experience. Works very similar to the older 2412N SmartLinc controller that was killed off years ago. There are times you simply need a tablet that offers big buttons to control X vs Y.

 

Give it a shot ~ Its free . . . 

[asbril]

I use Mobilinc on my Iphone, with ISY Portal,  and it works very well to control my ZWave devices. I highly recommend Mobilinc.

However be aware of the Camera add-on, especially if TMobile is your cell provider. This add-on only works for me when I have a wifi connection, and I ended up use IPCameraViewerPro to access my Foscam cameras.

 

The new Amazon Alexa App also works well (if you have set up your ISY to work with Alexa), but so far you can only see the device status after you click ON or OFF on a device in the App.

[Mustang65]

There are a few extremely simple yet (FREE) smart applications for the ISY Series Controller. The bulk of them have been released and abandoned so beware there is zero support if required. There are also some very cheap smart applications for iOS but they are less than stellar in terms of features and polish.

 

The sad reality is the ISY Series Controller isn't on the radar for the masses or third party vendors.

 

It never ceases to amaze me the general public and the developer community will back some of the worst products eve made.

 

Such as Wink, Smartthings, Revolv, Apple Home Kit, etc. 

 

It's apparent to me IQ, Finances, and Education, have nothing to do with *Why* these people believe in these products. The facts are people gravitate to simple Plug & Play where very little thinking is required. The dumbing down of our society continues at a rapid pace never seen before in the 21st century.  

 

NOTE: ctrHome is one of those simple and free iOS applications which truly offer a no frills point & shoot experience. Works very similar to the older 2412N SmartLinc controller that was killed off years ago. There are times you simply need a tablet that offers big buttons to control X vs Y.

 

Give it a shot ~ Its free . . . 

 

In a way you are absolutely correct.  True, plug and play is the wave of the future, and the program with the most whistles and horns while requiring close to no thought to get it up and running is the way it will be. If you do not invest in Plug and Play along with whistles and horns, the product will eventually fall off the radar screen. I used the X10 ActiveHome pro for years, along with my personal programs, and although ActiveHome Pro left a lot to be desired, it was an easy user interface. Then I got the ISY setup and saw the screen for programming the scenes/modules and thought that the ActiveHome pro was so much simpler from a not programmers point of view. Granted, the Active Home Pro macros gave you the opportunity to really get into programming the system, but 99.9% of people that purchase Home Automation devices, do not want to program, they want to at the MOST, click their way through setting up systems, eliminating the "and", "if", or "then"...) part of the setup. If universal devices created a user friendly set up program (no thinking needed), it would probably double their system sales. Word would get out and sales would increase. They have a great piece of equipment, but need to look at their interface from a non-programmers point of view. They could make an user friendly interface of point and click, and at the bottom of the screen "ADVANCED PROGRAMMING OPTIONS"

 

I got my system up and running... now for more modules..

 

Just my thoughts

 

Don

[Teken]

The modules that offer the most value are the Network Module & Weather Module / Irrigation. For seamless integration with Amazon Echo and other uses is the ISY Portal which offers port free remote access, IFTTT, Amazon Echo - Dot - Tap, Google Home, Geo Fencing, and multi user / multi controller access and control. For me having the Energy Module was probably the most valuable add on module which allows real time interaction with the ISY Series Controller.

 

If you still have and use X-10 that module offers a great method to see the hardware in the device tree besides accessing it via the programs tab. 

[Madelinot]

To add to what I said earlier, I am installing and configuring HomeAssistant now.  It looks promising and there is active development for it.  It's a little bit more involved than simply relying on an app since you need to set up a local install on a Raspberry PI.  But it's VERY easy.  I can report back later when it's all configured...

 

https://home-assistant.io/

[jasont]

Curious to see how it goes with Home Assistant.

 

Right now my setup is:

IOS devices <> Homebridge (w/ ISY plug-in) <> ISY

 

Looks like yours will be:

iOS devices <> Homebridge (w/ Home Assistant plug-in) <> Home Assistant <> ISY

[Mustang65]

To add to what I said earlier, I am installing and configuring HomeAssistant now.  It looks promising and there is active development for it.  It's a little bit more involved than simply relying on an app since you need to set up a local install on a Raspberry PI.  But it's VERY easy.  I can report back later when it's all configured...

 

https://home-assistant.io/

 

Let us know how it goes. Interested as I have a Pi that needs some work.

Don

Curious to see how it goes with Home Assistant.

 

Right now my setup is:

IOS devices <> Homebridge (w/ ISY plug-in) <> ISY

 

Looks like yours will be:

iOS devices <> Homebridge (w/ Home Assistant plug-in) <> Home Assistant <> ISY

 

Thanks

I will take a look at it

 

Don

[Madelinot]

Curious to see how it goes with Home Assistant.

 

Right now my setup is:

IOS devices <> Homebridge (w/ ISY plug-in) <> ISY

 

Looks like yours will be:

iOS devices <> Homebridge (w/ Home Assistant plug-in) <> Home Assistant <> ISY

 

It's actually this:  iOS devices <> Home Assistant Companion (free) <> HomeAssistant running on Pi <> ISY

 

​So far, I can control my DSC Alarm and several Insteon and z-wave sensors.  I added my Foscam cameras as well.  It has a lot of plug-ins (called components).

 

​Looks good so far....

[dinostop]

I was using Mobilinc and then switch over to the Homelink and Nodelink setup with a Raspberry Pi.  With that there are 2 setups with the Homelink to also include programs as well as devices.  My current setup includes: 3 Standard Insteon Switches, 7 Insteon Keypadlinc Switches, 3 Insteon Micro Switches, 3 Standard Insteon Outlets, 3 Insteon Ceiling Fan Controllers, 3 Insteon InLinc On/Off switches, 1 Insteon I/O interface control, 1 Insteon Thermostat controling my heated floor, 2 Ecobee3 Theromstats with 8 temp sensors,  3 Zwave switches, 2 Zwave smart outlets and 1 Zwave water sensor.  I can see them all on my iPhone using Apple Home and can control them all.  I can also create virtual switches that are actually programs that can either be on or off status.

[Goose66]

I recently purchased Mobilinc HD and I must admit that I am really not impressed.  My DSC Alarm system is recognized as a dimmer switch (which can't seem to be changed), and my Honeywell thermostat as well.  They are both useless in the app.    The only things that works relatively well are the real light switches and the leak sensors are okay.   And it seems to be one of the best iOS app out there.  I wish there was a better option.  For the price I paid, I am disappointed.  Really...

 

MobiLinc definitely needs a 5.0 upgrade to recognize devices supported through Node Servers so that they can be displayed correctly and controlled through the app. But can you blame them for not spending time on that yet? 5.0 has been in the works for over 30 months and is still Alpha level software. There is no commitment to it from UDI, so I don't expect 3rd party vendors to invest in it unless and until it becomes a reality.