ISY 994 Abandoned for Polisy?

[JSylvia007]

So...  Is it safe to say that those of us with ISY 994i Pro's aren't going to be expecting firmware updates any longer?  Has focus shifted almost entirely to the Polisy product?

Don't get me wrong, the Polisy should be far more performance on the UI side, but there are still issues on the 994 side related to z-wave and battery status indications that just don't show up.  It's been a problem for a while, and it's really the ONLY gripe I have (besides the fact that the admin UI relies on Java).

I've been a UDI customer for almost 15 years now, and I really love the product.  I'm about 90% Insteon and 10% z-wave, and all of my Insteon stuff still works just fine.  Trying to plan for a hardware upgrade/migration to a Polisy if that's really what's going to be required to continue to get updates, etc.

[larryllix]

So...  Is it safe to say that those of us with ISY 994i Pro's aren't going to be expecting firmware updates any longer?  Has focus shifted almost entirely to the Polisy product?
Don't get me wrong, the Polisy should be far more performance on the UI side, but there are still issues on the 994 side related to z-wave and battery status indications that just don't show up.  It's been a problem for a while, and it's really the ONLY gripe I have (besides the fact that the admin UI relies on Java).
I've been a UDI customer for almost 15 years now, and I really love the product.  I'm about 90% Insteon and 10% z-wave, and all of my Insteon stuff still works just fine.  Trying to plan for a hardware upgrade/migration to a Polisy if that's really what's going to be required to continue to get updates, etc.

...I have two ISYs and now two policies now and they are all going obsolete due to loss of hardware availability.

The polisy boxes still have software bugs yet also. * sigh*

Now a new hardware box is being released shortly again.

Who ya' gonna call?

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

[Javi]

Hi @JSylvia007,

With regards to zwave:

Is your firmware 5.0.16 or greater?  Most of the zwave battery status values are present I the 5.x firmware. 5.0.16 is supported by all 994 hardware.  Depending on your zwave hardware you can upgrade it a higher firmware version.

 

With regards to firmware:

While we continue support for older hardware, there is a point when hardware can't support firmware.  This is true for 994 and the zwave 300 series board (for which we offed an upgrade to 500 for many years).  To be honest, at this point there is no reason to offer upgraded 500 zwave modules as the zwave protocol has advanced beyond 500 and you would be purchasing obsolete hardware. Our current integrations require more processing power than available with 994.

 

With regards to Polisy and Eisy (easy) for larryllix:

Our newest firmware supports both platforms.

[KSchex]

I am sorry to hear about these issues, they concern me.  Not being able to maintain your own hardware/software configuration is very costly when you have to go back to the drawing board.

[JSylvia007]

13 minutes ago, Javi said:

With regards to firmware:

While we continue support for older hardware, there is a point when hardware can't support firmware.  This is true for 994 and the zwave 300 series board (for which we offed an upgrade to 500 for many years).  To be honest, at this point there is no reason to offer upgraded 500 zwave modules as the zwave protocol has advanced beyond 500 and you would be purchasing obsolete hardware. Our current integrations require more processing power than available with 994.

My ISY 994i has an upgraded Z-Wave module (firmware v6.82.01) and my ISY 994i Pro is upgraded to the latest firmware of v5.3.4.  It's specifically with Aeotec Window and Door sensors.  They USED to work on the older firmware.  All of my other Z-Wave devices work, but not these.

Specifically these products:

https://aeotec.com/products/aeotec-door-window-sensor-7/

https://aeotec.com/products/aeotec-door-window-sensor-7-pro/

It looks as though the eisy will support the PLM and I can continue to use Insteon, so looks like that will be my upgrade path.  Sorry to see Polisy so short-lived though.  Glad I didn't jump on that bandwagon.

[Javi]

These devices are 700 series so there could be compatible issues, although I have not seen this on other devices.  There was a firmware bump that caused battery level to be displayed as it's own node.  Has an exclusion then inclusion been tried?  This may result in the battery node being added.

[lilyoyo1]

20 minutes ago, JSylvia007 said:

My ISY 994i has an upgraded Z-Wave module (firmware v6.82.01) and my ISY 994i Pro is upgraded to the latest firmware of v5.3.4.  It's specifically with Aeotec Window and Door sensors.  They USED to work on the older firmware.  All of my other Z-Wave devices work, but not these.

Specifically these products:

https://aeotec.com/products/aeotec-door-window-sensor-7/

https://aeotec.com/products/aeotec-door-window-sensor-7-pro/

It looks as though the eisy will support the PLM and I can continue to use Insteon, so looks like that will be my upgrade path.  Sorry to see Polisy so short-lived though.  Glad I didn't jump on that bandwagon.

It's not that big of a deal. Polisy and eisy will continue to be supported in tandem in addition to being able to accomplish the same things. 

There are a few things eisy can do that polisy can't (it has an HDMI port) but overall for most people it's the same.

If you wait long enough, there will be an eisy 2. Unfortunately the days of a 10 year controller are probably over with. 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by lilyoyo1

[JSylvia007]

10 minutes ago, Javi said:

These devices are 700 series so there could be compatible issues, although I have not seen this on other devices.  There was a firmware bump that caused battery level to be displayed as it's own node.  Has an exclusion then inclusion been tried?  This may result in the battery node being added.

So, it's random.  Both of the problem nodes HAVE the battery node, BUT, it NEVER populates...  Its the only devices I have issue with.

[KSchex]

I have found that the Homeseer window/door sensors are much more reliable and easier on batteries than the Aeotec.  

I do have an Aeotec in my mailbox that has been working for years.  It use to eat batteries so I modified it to use D batteries.

Neither display the battery reliably on the ISY.  I think this has something to do with waking up, etc.  

[JSylvia007]

1 minute ago, KSchex said:

I do have an Aeotec in my mailbox that has been working for years.  It use to eat batteries so I modified it to use D batteries.

HA!  I don't use a single window/door sensor to monitor windows or doors...  I use them in these other scenarios...  I have a wine cabinet, my mailbox, and a firearm cabinet all that use these.  It's a really novel solution.

[KSchex]

11 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

It's not that big of a deal. Polisy and eisy will continue to be supported in tandem in addition to being able to accomplish the same things. 

 

It is a big deal for those that can't afford to keep throwing C Notes at hardware upgrades.  I don't want to have to learn about "another system" every couple of years no matter how backward compatible it is.  

[KSchex]

6 minutes ago, JSylvia007 said:

HA!  I don't use a single window/door sensor to monitor windows or doors...  I use them in these other scenarios...  I have a wine cabinet, my mailbox, and a firearm cabinet all that use these.  It's a really novel solution.

I don't either.  I have some on doors but I use some with push buttons attached, garage door motor run, where ever I need a contact input.

[lilyoyo1]

1 minute ago, KSchex said:

It is a big deal for those that can't afford to keep throwing C Notes at hardware upgrades.  I don't want to have to learn about "another system" every couple of years no matter how backward compatible it is.  

Both use the exact same software as the isy994 so there isn't much to "learn" about a new system. Besides that, you do not have to upgrade to a new system... Take polisy for example. It's been out for 3 years and yet your current 994 still operates fine. Ditto for these new systems.

Because technology itself makes things obsolete, UDI can't support older hardware forever if they want to stay relevant. No one is forcing anyone to upgrade unless they want or desire to take advantage of newer technologies and or capabilities. If you don't want to do so, then your current system will work fine for you for years to come.

[Javi]

3 hours ago, JSylvia007 said:

So, it's random.  Both of the problem nodes HAVE the battery node, BUT, it NEVER populates...  Its the only devices I have issue with.

Some Z-Wave devices only report battery level at certain intervals or situations, many of these only have a few values they will report such as 100%, 90%, 80%, ect. .   MFGs known to have this behavior are Eco link and Monoprice but I'm assuming others may have the same behavior given that many components may come from the same MFG.  Some of the devices will resend this value if a switch triggered, such as the tamper alarm.   So if ISY is rebooted and the device has not updated it's battery value, then the value will be empty.

I ran a reboot test on some of these devices along with viewing traffic and there was no commands that would query the battery level, with the exception of node recreation.  The devices which have switch, such as tamper, which updates the battery level all populate as expected. So, at this point this appears to be a limitation of some z-wave devices....maybe a parameter exists to change this behavior, but it would be MFG specific.