More compatibility!

[autoperformance]

Hello everyone with an explosion of multiple Wi-Fi devices, MyQ garage door ... Sonoff etc. Is it possible to be able to control everything via Universal device? If yes, how? I don't want to have to spend $ 100 for each mod that will control a brand. And I don't want endless monthly fixed fee systems.

[MrBill]

39 minutes ago, autoperformance said:

Hello everyone with an explosion of multiple Wi-Fi devices, MyQ garage door ... Sonoff etc. Is it possible to be able to control everything via Universal device? If yes, how? I don't want to have to spend $ 100 for each mod that will control a brand. And I don't want endless monthly fixed fee systems.

So far you don't spend $100 for each mod (nodeserver)... what are you referring to?  My ISY controls many types of nodes.  Under Polyglot 2 no fees are accessed for using nodeservers.    Coming soon, Polyglot 3 will have a method for developers to charge a fee for a nodeserver, but none of us know what that will look like yet.  I understand the developer can structure that different ways from flat fee to subscription, but we really don't have any idea what they will actually charge, I doubt it will be $100 for each tho-- it wouldn't sell.

If you were a new user with no other posts I'd report this post as someone trolling, but apparently you joined the forum on February 26, 2016 and have made 72 other posts prior to this, so please let us know what you are referring to.

 

 

[dbwarner5]

YES!!  Get a Polisy. Look through the store lists for applicable third party interfaces.  This is the easiest way. Devices will show up in your Tree as nodes. 

GREATEST innovation yet by Universal Devices and all the programmers who write the node-servers. 

@Michel Kohanim

Search the forum for more info. For example, I run my ecobee thermostat, Russound sound system, Swimming pool, Kasa lights, Hue lights, etc. all integrated.

[autoperformance]

2 hours ago, MrBill said:

So far you don't spend $100 for each mod (nodeserver)... what are you referring to?  My ISY controls many types of nodes.  Under Polyglot 2 no fees are accessed for using nodeservers.    Coming soon, Polyglot 3 will have a method for developers to charge a fee for a nodeserver, but none of us know what that will look like yet.  I understand the developer can structure that different ways from flat fee to subscription, but we really don't have any idea what they will actually charge, I doubt it will be $100 for each tho-- it wouldn't sell.

If you were a new user with no other posts I'd report this post as someone trolling, but apparently you joined the forum on February 26, 2016 and have made 72 other posts prior to this, so please let us know what you are referring to.

 

 

Sorry about the misunderstanding.

I have an ISY994I pro Zwave with 300 module. I had to pay to have control over my phone with Mobilinc, and I had to pay for ISY994I to work with my ELK security system. i have version 4.9 firmware. I wouldn't teach anyone that the multiple wifi modules on sale at costco are enticing with two wall switches for $ 19.99. Also, I'm not sure what's going on with insteon which seems to be out of stock and if you plug in a small cheap cell phone charger or a led bulb, the wall switch may have erratic operation. So, I prefer Z-wave for its reliability. But at $ 59.99 the wall switch is not cheap. So is it possible to control my Wi-Fi devices like Sonoff? If so, what should I do, and what do I need. I don't know anything about communication between the different smart switch protocols. I don't know anything about nodes and how they work. Thank you for your help. I learn quickly, but I want to be guided a bit on the things to do.

[MrBill]

50 minutes ago, autoperformance said:

i have version 4.9 firmware.

50 minutes ago, autoperformance said:

Zwave with 300 module.

You can upgrade to version 5.0.16C and no farther without upgrading the z-wave board.  Given that ISY is moving to Polisy hardware in the not too distant future, that's where I would go, rather than upgrading the 300 Series board at this point.  No Cost for that upgrade. 

Be sure to read the outdated instructions for upgrading--to be honest I was just re-reading the 5.0.16C instructions as I'm typing this and it says if you want stability stick with the 4.x branch... well that's proven wrong now 5.0.16C is very stable-- that's the portion that's outdated, the steps to follow are fine.  I was reviewing because there are special instructions to follow if you have z-wave. 

Once you're at 5.0.16C you can use UDI's new mobile apps, no charge, but be aware they are still under development and not quite as refined as mobilinc (which will still work for you).

If you have ISY portal you can immediately use the cloud nodeservers at no additional charge.  You can also buy a Polisy (hardware) to use any of the local nodeservers (at no additional charge--at least for now).  Think of the Polisy as your next ISY, because as I mentioned above in addition to its current capabilities of running nodeservers the ISY itself will soon be operating out of that piece of hardware.

Now in my first post I mentioned Polyglot 2 vs Polyglot 3 and the fact that developers would be able to charge, unfortunately this is something you're concerned with, but so far that's uncharted territory for all of us, and no one can tell you how it will play out.   You also don't have to upgrade from PG2 to PG3, (at least anytime soon) and the PG2 nodeservers will continue to work. 

Another path forward is to use your ISY in conjunction with Home Assistant.  Again that does have a small initial investment for hardware however the Universal-devices integration works amazingly well.  Home Assistant is open source software with no charge and currently 1853 built in integrations and an untold additional number also available informally.   I run HA on a Raspberry Pi 4, but there are a variety of hardware options.

So to some degree you're correct, it all costs money it just depends what your personal goals are.  I try to automate as much as possible, and while I don't always keep costs contained I try hard to keep costs down wherever possible.

I'm sure this post creates more new questions than it answers, but it's a good starting point.

[lilyoyo1]

9 hours ago, autoperformance said:

Hello everyone with an explosion of multiple Wi-Fi devices, MyQ garage door ... Sonoff etc. Is it possible to be able to control everything via Universal device? If yes, how? I don't want to have to spend $ 100 for each mod that will control a brand. And I don't want endless monthly fixed fee systems.

In life nothing is free.... especially with automation. It really comes down to how much you're willing to pay. Whether it's apps, modules, upgrades, etc. someone else is doing the work for you and that's what you're paying for. In addition to what MrBill stated there are more things to think about. 

Cheap to free devices will always come with trade offs. While zwave has its own issues, you are paying for the convenience of being able to easily add to the isy. With sonoff, you have to flash the proper software to them and subsequent updates in the future. What zwave and other more expensive devices do for you, you do for yourself with sonoff. 

[autoperformance]

On 9/29/2021 at 3:57 PM, MrBill said:

You can upgrade to version 5.0.16C and no farther without upgrading the z-wave board.  Given that ISY is moving to Polisy hardware in the not too distant future, that's where I would go, rather than upgrading the 300 Series board at this point.  No Cost for that upgrade. 

Be sure to read the outdated instructions for upgrading--to be honest I was just re-reading the 5.0.16C instructions as I'm typing this and it says if you want stability stick with the 4.x branch... well that's proven wrong now 5.0.16C is very stable-- that's the portion that's outdated, the steps to follow are fine.  I was reviewing because there are special instructions to follow if you have z-wave. 

Once you're at 5.0.16C you can use UDI's new mobile apps, no charge, but be aware they are still under development and not quite as refined as mobilinc (which will still work for you).

If you have ISY portal you can immediately use the cloud nodeservers at no additional charge.  You can also buy a Polisy (hardware) to use any of the local nodeservers (at no additional charge--at least for now).  Think of the Polisy as your next ISY, because as I mentioned above in addition to its current capabilities of running nodeservers the ISY itself will soon be operating out of that piece of hardware.

Now in my first post I mentioned Polyglot 2 vs Polyglot 3 and the fact that developers would be able to charge, unfortunately this is something you're concerned with, but so far that's uncharted territory for all of us, and no one can tell you how it will play out.   You also don't have to upgrade from PG2 to PG3, (at least anytime soon) and the PG2 nodeservers will continue to work. 

Another path forward is to use your ISY in conjunction with Home Assistant.  Again that does have a small initial investment for hardware however the Universal-devices integration works amazingly well.  Home Assistant is open source software with no charge and currently 1853 built in integrations and an untold additional number also available informally.   I run HA on a Raspberry Pi 4, but there are a variety of hardware options.

So to some degree you're correct, it all costs money it just depends what your personal goals are.  I try to automate as much as possible, and while I don't always keep costs contained I try hard to keep costs down wherever possible.

I'm sure this post creates more new questions than it answers, but it's a good starting point.

Is it possible to add nodes without the polisy module? All videos on YouTube is with polisy.

[MrBill]

Polyglot 2 also will run on a raspberry pi. 

Polyglot 3 will not.  that said until you need a nodeserver only available under polyglot 3 you can still use 2

[autoperformance]

4 hours ago, MrBill said:

Polyglot 2 also will run on a raspberry pi. 

Polyglot 3 will not.  that said until you need a nodeserver only available under polyglot 3 you can still use 2

So... with the future of polisy, I guess it would be better to invest in this module than buy a rasberryPi? Is there a Polisy model to favor?

 

Thank you for your help! ?

[lilyoyo1]

8 hours ago, autoperformance said:

So... with the future of polisy, I guess it would be better to invest in this module than buy a rasberryPi? Is there a Polisy model to favor?

 

Thank you for your help! ?

You'd buy polisy. It can be found on Universal devices webpage in the store

[MrBill]

9 hours ago, autoperformance said:

So... with the future of polisy, I guess it would be better to invest in this module than buy a rasberryPi? Is there a Polisy model to favor?

I'd recommend the base model at this point.  And if you ever want to add the "pro" to it, it's upgrade-able.  The difference is Pro has wifi and bluetooth, but as yet there is no software that supports either, someday this might be leveraged for bluetooth beacons to identify locations withing the house.

[larryllix]

I'd recommend the base model at this point.  And if you ever want to add the "pro" to it, it's upgrade-able.  The difference is Pro has wifi and bluetooth, but as yet there is no software that supports either, someday this might be leveraged for bluetooth beacons to identify locations withing the house.

I have a feeling the WiFi and BT will never get used. People are getting higher powered routers and mesh systems with antennae all over their houses. Would anybody want another SSID that is tucked in a closet or a basement utility room?.

hmmmm....maybe for user maintenance?

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

[rob.bushkaufer]

I have a use case for the wifi, at least. I run a wireless network for IoT that is isolated from the internet, and being able to join the policy to that would let me remove some gymnastics from my routers. This assumes, of course, that forwarding between the interfaces on the policy could be disabled.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[autoperformance]

10 hours ago, MrBill said:

I'd recommend the base model at this point.  And if you ever want to add the "pro" to it, it's upgrade-able.  The difference is Pro has wifi and bluetooth, but as yet there is no software that supports either, someday this might be leveraged for bluetooth beacons to identify locations withing the house.

Hello everyone, I spoke with Michel Kohanim about the Polisy. He tells me that it is not necessary to upgrade my Z-wave 300 module, since if I can wait a bit, a Z-wave USB stick will be compatible with the Polisy by the end of 2021, or early 2022. If so, the Z-Wave module on the ISY will be obsolete. Again, as you say, it doesn't seem to have any use for bluetooth or WI-FI. Is the WI-FI antenna used for better reception between the router and the polisy? Anyway, I'll probably take the base version, if the internals are the same as the Pro model. I thought it had a difference in the Basic and Pro version as for the ISY. Thanks for your help. It's very appreciated.

[MrBill]

13 hours ago, autoperformance said:

Is the WI-FI antenna used for better reception between the router and the polisy?

The wifi connection can be used for a connections between the router and polisy, however the better connection between router and polisy is always wired.