List of differences between ISY99i and ISY994i?

[universal1]

No doubt some will applaud that I have purchased an ISY994i finally although it is currently in backup(4) status. I really have no idea what additional features it has compared to ISY99i aside from upgrade flexibility. I am sticking with X10. Is there an old list of added features aside from upgrade flexibility? Thanks.

[lilyoyo1]

The main thing is the 99 is no longer supported so it does not work with newer devices. That is one reason to upgrade since help will probably be non existent or extremely limited. 

 If you are planning on using only x10 and never anything else such as insteon, zwave, hue lighting, voice control with Google home/Alexa (or anything network related) then the 99 would probably be sufficient. To be honest the differences between the 2 are night and day. It would be easier to peruse the forums for a few minutes to see what everyone is doing with the ISY now in order to see how far things have come. The 99 is like trying to use a 1st generation Iphone in todays world.

[universal1]

What I am looking for is perhaps the original marketing for the ISY994i which lists the reasons to upgrade from ISY99i. I assume that there was an upgrade in memory. I don't care about anything other than X10. Did they add any features usable by X10? Or did I totally waste the additional $30 ($55 vs. $25 for ISY99i units).

[lilyoyo1]

You'll be hard pressed to find anyone willing to detail differences in something that's well documented on the forums. Especially to compare a device to one that's been discontinued for at least 5 years. 

If you have no interest in moving towards supported updated technology and 30 bucks is that big of a deal, then the 99 is more than sufficient for your needs and I wouldnt worry about the 994

[universal1]

No doubt you sound like someone who is familiar with these forums. I am not. Wouldn't it be easier to either skip commenting on my thread or just provide a link to what I am looking for? I'm not sure what your comments imply. Is it that people who use only X10 forgot why they upgraded? Or maybe they prefer not to remember?

[larryllix]

Some here still use X10 exclusively. Many here use X10 mixed with Insteon and other technologies.

I never owned a ISY99 but even going from v3 to v5 there has been huge improvements. Most here wouldn't even remember what an ISY99 does.
This is like asking the difference between the Ford Model A and your current vehicle. Do you even remember the bolts sticking out? 

[asbril]

15 minutes ago, larryllix said:

Do you even remember the bolts sticking out? 

Larry,  either you are older than me or I am older with advanced memory loss ????

[lilyoyo1]

16 minutes ago, universal1 said:

No doubt you sound like someone who is familiar with these forums. I am not. Wouldn't it be easier to either skip commenting on my thread or just provide a link to what I am looking for? I'm not sure what your comments imply. Is it that people who use only X10 forgot why they upgraded? Or maybe they prefer not to remember?

It's not simply about posting a link. The 99 hasn't been used in years so there aren't any posts about it. Simply reading other posts on the forum will provide the greatest detail on what the 994 is capable of. The forum topics alone will provide that information. 

Since you have the 99 you know what it does. Taking the time to peruse the forum and educating yourself by seeing what people are doing will provide waaay more Information to you than some marketing brochure that touches on basic features. As I said before the topics alone will provide that. If you have no desire for what you see people doing or using with the ISY (since you've clearly stated in the past and present) that x10 is your only concern then the 99 is more than enough for your needs.

[universal1]

You only have to look on ebay to see people selling ISY99i units every day. They are upgrading perhaps? People still use ISY99i so I don't understand your posts at all. If what you are saying is that you spent an hour looking on the forums for the information I requested then thank you very much. If you are just expressing your opinion then you have done it already. No need to continue.

[larryllix]

UDI has offered some really economical incentives for people to upgrade their ISY99 for ISY994 s over the years and may still honour the offer.

Not many saw any advantage to keep them running with the missing technology and the small price to make the technology jump. Then people attempt to sell the old ISY99 that they likely agreed to toss in the garbage. Others attempt to buy them cheap and get a cheap upgrade to an ISY994 or use them for a simple dedicated HA job.

As lilyoyo1 posted for just X10 and smaller aspirations it may do your job just fine. I wouldn't be happy with it as I use many of the multitude of the newer features to control thermostats and Ethernet RGBW bulbs and LED strips as well as get weather data from another CPU board. I don't believe any of this was possible with the older ISY99 and I would be drooling too much.

[larryllix]

33 minutes ago, asbril said:

Larry,  either you are older than me or I am older with advanced memory loss ????

From what I can remember about your memory about me,  you can't remember much either.

Wait.....!  Who are you again?

     

[lilyoyo1]

20 minutes ago, universal1 said:

You only have to look on ebay to see people selling ISY99i units every day. They are upgrading perhaps? People still use ISY99i so I don't understand your posts at all. If what you are saying is that you spent an hour looking on the forums for the information I requested then thank you very much. If you are just expressing your opinion then you have done it already. No need to continue.

Being able to find them on eBay doesn't say much about their value as they have none. You can find iPhone 3's on eBay too so that's not saying much. Outside of some very specific need they are worthless. Many of what you find are probably what larryllix alluded to. 

No I didn't look at all for anything as no one is trying to sell you on upgrading. You've made it clear you don't desire anything the 994 offers since you only want x10. For that use only the 994 offers no additional benefit and as previously stated the 99 is more than sufficient for your needs. 

[asbril]

35 minutes ago, universal1 said:

You only have to look on ebay to see people selling ISY99i units every day. They are upgrading perhaps? People still use ISY99i so I don't understand your posts at all. If what you are saying is that you spent an hour looking on the forums for the information I requested then thank you very much. If you are just expressing your opinion then you have done it already. No need to continue.

universal1,  in my humble opinion buying a 99i at around $ 100 would be a waste of money. If you do not wish to buy the 994i for around $ 200 (Amazon), then go for Smartthings or another less sophisticated alternative.

[LFMc]

 

Probably most of the differences are in the software/firmware itself. This post says it can't be upgraded beyond 3.3.1. If you read the "read me" files of the software above this version, then you will essentially know what most of the "differences" are.  The newer software versions are in the same parent forum as this link above.  There are also other comments in this linked topic on the issue you ask about. 

[io_guy]

Also consider security as the 994 has had a number of SSL related updates over the last few years.  

Either way, just get the 994.  

[Modmike]

On 4/29/2019 at 11:00 AM, larryllix said:

UDI has offered some really economical incentives for people to upgrade their ISY99 for ISY994 s over the years and may still honour the offer.

Not many saw any advantage to keep them running with the missing technology and the small price to make the technology jump. Then people attempt to sell the old ISY99 that they likely agreed to toss in the garbage. Others attempt to buy them cheap and get a cheap upgrade to an ISY994 or use them for a simple dedicated HA job.

As lilyoyo1 posted for just X10 and smaller aspirations it may do your job just fine. I wouldn't be happy with it as I use many of the multitude of the newer features to control thermostats and Ethernet RGBW bulbs and LED strips as well as get weather data from another CPU board. I don't believe any of this was possible with the older ISY99 and I would be drooling too much.

Do they still have incentives? I am willing to upgrade.

[universal1]

Well, I have to object in principle to an outfit that relied initially on the DIY community and now wants to cash in on automation consultants who live off the rich and famous... I am happy with my ISY99is... my only current problem is finding a backup for my ISY99i/IR that I love which works with my Logitech Harmony (which I hate beacuse there is no Linux interface)... I am not interested in the new technologies that cost four times as much as X10... I don't need 1024 scenes... I don't even use scenes... maybe some day I will develop a nice REST framework... but that is later.

[asbril]

I don't think that you would expect Apple to still support the Apple I computer. Each technology product has its life cycle which ends after some time.

This happened long ago with the ISY99i. Now you have the choice of staying with outdated technology or move on to ISY994i. It is really not expensive and with the 5 firmware you get fantastic opportunities that will make you forget your ISY99i and wonder why you did not make the move long ago.

[universal1]

"would expect Apple to still support the Apple I computer"?

I am still wondering about the differences between the ISY99i and ISY994i. My understanding is that it is mainly new technologies that are more expensive that X10 and increased capability such as number of scenes. The only people who need this are the rich. Not so sure this is the kind of approach I want to invest in. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. There may be some security issues that could be important but I prefer a system that is independent of the "cloud" etc.

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, universal1 said:

"would expect Apple to still support the Apple I computer"?

I am still wondering about the differences between the ISY99i and ISY994i. My understanding is that it is mainly new technologies that are more expensive that X10 and increased capability such as number of scenes. The only people who need this are the rich. Not so sure this is the kind of approach I want to invest in. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. There may be some security issues that could be important but I prefer a system that is independent of the "cloud" etc.

The isy is cloud independent in itself. The 994 just allows one to use it to talk to other devices that are cloud dependent such as Google home and Alexa. 

One does not have to be "rich" to use newer technologies. A person just has to be willing to invest their money into modern equipment. 

For example, insteon and quality zwave switches typically costs 50 bucks each. With the multitude of sales that insteon has, it's often you can find them for 25-30 bucks. There are also cheaper zwave alternatives in that same price range which is the going rate for an x10 device. 

You don't have to invest in newer technologies if you are happy with your current setup. Good luck finding a controller that will work with x10 overall. UDI can't afford to sit in the past and not add capabilities because some people don't want to advance their system. In order to survive as a company, they must adapt. If that means losing some customers, I'm sure they are ok with that vs losing the other 95% of users that want modern features

[asbril]

1 hour ago, universal1 said:

"would expect Apple to still support the Apple I computer"?

I am still wondering about the differences between the ISY99i and ISY994i. My understanding is that it is mainly new technologies that are more expensive that X10 and increased capability such as number of scenes. The only people who need this are the rich. Not so sure this is the kind of approach I want to invest in. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. There may be some security issues that could be important but I prefer a system that is independent of the "cloud" etc.

universal1, I don't think that anyone wants to force you to upgrade to ISY994i. If you are happy with what you have, then kudos to you. I have a friend who still has an old flip phone that he only uses to make and receive calls.  He has no computer and no email. This is not about money, as he could easily afford the latest Iphone etc. It is simply his choice as your choice may be to stick with what you have.

But I take offense when you criticize those that wish to use the latest technologies. The ISY994i with the Polisy & Nodeservers are the latest Iphone compared to the ISY99i flip phone. Your comment ".....The only people who need this are the rich. ..."  comes from emotions that we usually not see in this friendly forum, and you may wish to re-think your choice of words.

[Brian H]

The 99i has a smaller firmware storage area. Can't be used with any newer firmware above 3.3.10.

I don't think there where any improvements to X10 in the ISY994i. Just later firmware support for the newer Insteon modules. Like the Siren module added in one of the V5 firmware update.

Did yours come with the optional Advanced A10/X10 Add On module? It added some added features. Not too sure if it can be added to one now. It is a firmware feature unlock and no physical hardware is needed. You just purchased it and it got unlocked remotely.

Is yous an  ISY99i  or ISY99iPRO? In the Help tab About choice in the Administrative Console. It will tell you if it has the PRO features enabled and any Optional Modules installed in it. Like Advanced A10/X10 Add On Module.

There is a section on theISY99i in the UDI Wiki. It should give  you some added information on it and  how it works.  https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY-99i_Series_INSTEON

Do you have the model number and hardware revision for the PLM you will be using with the ISY99i? Should be on the back of the PLM unless it fell off.

I didn't see it lately but I did see the Upgrade to an ISY994i from an ISY99i was discontinued. I suspect that is where some of the ISY99i EBay units came from.