Isy 994i starting to die??

[jason.russo.96]

I've had my ISY for just about 10 years and it has been humming along ever since.....until today.  I woke up with a notification on my phone that the ISY was offline.  This happens time to time but it's usually for a few seconds until it is online again.  I usually attribute it to network issues. 

Today it didn't reconnect.  I swapped network cables, power supply, plugged it directly into my router (it's usually in a switch), power cycled, etc. I get a notification saying it's back online, but as soon as I go on the app and send a command it is offline again.  I DID manage to log into it via the java browser and I made a backup which took about 45 minutes (normally around a minute?) Also, Aleksa says it's offline as well. 

My router recognizes it's connected, the LED on the switch is blinking, the ISY recognizes when the network cable is unplugged because it starts flashing red.   When I set my Elk alarm, I got the notification on my phone, so i don't know.  

What do you think?  I don't think it's my network. Everything else seems fine. If it was the PLM, I would be able to connect to it, but not send commands. Also, my timers work. I think those are stored in the PLM, correct?

If it is the ISY, I can get another one on Ebay for cheap.  I would just restore my config.  Would all my purchased modules transfer (Elk, network, Zwave).  I would consider a Eisy, but I think I use like 10% of the ISY capability. I don't really need a Eisy, I'm learning Home Assistant right now anyway.

Can an ISY fail?

 

[sdynak]

Maybe this is helpful if you did not see it.

 

https://www.universal-devices.com/finalbye994/

[Techman]

Remove power from the ISY then remove the SD card and clean the contacts with a soft eraser. The contacts can oxidize which can cause issues. If that doesn't help then you could try replacing the SD card which can fail over time.

https://wiki.universal-devices.com/ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Replacing/Formatting_an_SD_Card

Hopefully you have a reliable backup, and your firmware is up to date.

Being that the ISY994 has been discontinued and is no longer supported, your other option is to move up to the EISY.

Edited May 5 by Techman

[jason.russo.96]

10 minutes ago, sdynak said:

Maybe this is helpful if you did not see it.

 

https://www.universal-devices.com/finalbye994/

I understand this, but it should and has been working for a year. 

[jason.russo.96]

Hmm, the SD card theory is interesting. I had issues with a Raspberry Pi that had a bad card. I have a backup I made today.  I'm on 5.3.4

I'll check the contacts, but I don't think that's it.  

I can buy an eisy, then I need to buy a Z wave dongle and a serial adapter. It gets expensive. 

I can get a used ISY on ebay for $40. If I do that, can I transfer all my purchases to it?

Edited May 5 by jason.russo.96

[sdynak]

37 minutes ago, jason.russo.96 said:

I understand this, but it should and has been working for a year. 

I'm not sure what you mean about working for a year but it has some references to your questions and some Q&A at the end which is why I linked it. Thought it might be helpful. 

I still use the 994i also. 

[jason.russo.96]

I'm not sure what you mean about working for a year but it has some references to your questions and some Q&A at the end which is why I linked it. Thought it might be helpful. 
I still use the 994i also. 

If it had something to do with the end of life it would have stopped working last year. That's all I meant.

[Techman]

1 hour ago, jason.russo.96 said:

Hmm, the SD card theory is interesting. I had issues with a Raspberry Pi that had a bad card. I have a backup I made today.  I'm on 5.3.4

I'll check the contacts, but I don't think that's it.  

I can buy an eisy, then I need to buy a Z wave dongle and a serial adapter. It gets expensive. 

I can get a used ISY on ebay for $40. If I do that, can I transfer all my purchases to it?

Being that the ISY994 is no longer supported you can't transfer any purchased modules over to another ISY994. 

[Brian H]

If trying a new power supply. Did not fix the issue.

Checking the SD card and RJ45 jacks for bent or corroded contacts. May give you some added help.

Edited May 5 by Brian H
Fix my post as I originally didn't see new supply tried

[sdynak]

10 hours ago, jason.russo.96 said:

10 hours ago, sdynak said:

I'm not sure what you mean about working for a year but it has some references to your questions and some Q&A at the end which is why I linked it. Thought it might be helpful. 
I still use the 994i also. 

If it had something to do with the end of life it would have stopped working last year. That's all I meant.

Oh ok.. the link didn't indicate anything like that and that was not what I was trying to insinuate. Apologies for any misunderstanding. 

As mentioned in the article you can have a transfer from one unit to another for $125 and paid support ends June 1st this year so might want to get a transfer now before that ends. That was what I was trying to help with as it was in the article I linked and posted below now so you can see. I would reach out to support and open a ticket before it is too late if you want to keep the 994i going for a bit longer and suspect yours if failing. 

Hope you can get it resolved.

 

• Free technical support will cease for any issues relating to ISY994 Series. Paid support will remain available till 06/01/2024.
• You can no longer add modules to your existing ISY994s. 
• All requests for transfer from one 994 to another 994 will require a $125 transfer fee. 

[Techman]

I didn't realize that the modules could be transferred for a fee. The money would probably be better spent on a new EISY with free support. The ISY994 doesn't support some of the newer Insteon modules. You would have to purchase the Zmatter module for Zwave support and ELK access ($30) from the PG3 Store.

[jason.russo.96]

17 minutes ago, Techman said:

I didn't realize that the modules could be transferred for a fee. The money would probably be better spent on a new EISY with free support. The ISY994 doesn't support some of the newer Insteon modules. You would have to purchase the Zmatter module for Zwave support and ELK access ($30) from the PG3 Store.

It says purchased ISY modules transfer over, so I shouldn't have to buy them again if I am reading correctly. 

I would need to buy the eisy, serial adapter, and the zwave module (which isn't available). It's like a $450 investment. 

I wish I had seen this before I just set up a standalone mini pc just to run home assistant. 

Edited May 5 by jason.russo.96
Added picture

[Techman]

If you transfer from your current ISY to a different ISY then the only cost would be the $125.

If you buy the EISY then you would need the Zmatter module ($126) which is currently out of stock but should be back in stock soon.

You would also need the USB to serial adapter for your PLM or you could buy a new USB PLM.  Depending on how old your current PLM is you might be better off with a new PLM as some of the older PLMs had issues with their power supplies which caused them to fail.

 

 

[jason.russo.96]

I have a brand new serial plm in case of failure. 

And of course, everything is working normally today. 

[Geddy]

3 hours ago, jason.russo.96 said:

It says purchased ISY modules transfer over, so I shouldn't have to buy them again if I am reading correctly. 

What "ISY Modules" had you purchased? In reality there's no ISY994 module that transfers to the eisy. About the only "add-on" that you could transfer from the ISY994 to eisy would be the ISY/UD portal license (my.isy.io). 

Since the introduction of Polyglot and the Polisy (and now eisy) everything is handled by Plugins (formerly Node Servers). The prior "Module" method handled by older ISY99/ISY994 devices has been discontinued. 

If you have the "Elk Module" on the ISY994 you will have to purchase the Elk Plugin for the eisy through the Polyglot store.  You can see the full list of currently available plugins here: https://polyglot.universal-devices.com/. Clicking on the names of the plugins will show you more about them and their cost to purchase or subscribe. As @Techman mentions above the Elk plugin is $30 (you'll need to buy that to then setup your Elk system to integrate with IoX on the eisy). 

The backup from your ISY994 will need to include the Z-Wave system as part of the migration process. If you do get the eisy and add a ZMatter dongle when they're in stock you would need to read through the migration steps in the wiki (https://wiki.universal-devices.com/Eisy:User_Guide) and understand the process before blindly attempting. It's not overly complicated, but it is confusing for many and one wrong move can make it difficult and frustrating to migrate. So I often encourage people to read before attempting and making notes.

 

21 hours ago, jason.russo.96 said:

Also, my timers work. I think those are stored in the PLM, correct?

No. PLM is only used for communication. "Times" (programs) are stored and triggered within the ISY code.

21 hours ago, jason.russo.96 said:

I DID manage to log into it via the java browser

What do you mean by "java browser"? Are you using the admin.jnlp or start.jnlp (IoX Launcer) process?

21 hours ago, jason.russo.96 said:

I swapped network cables, power supply,

Check the front LEDs: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/Main_Page#Front_Panel_LEDs/Lights

Is the blue light on really bright? (I mean really, really bright) If it's not super bright it's possible the power supply is diminished. Even the new one could be underperforming. In the link above power supply details are included.

Do you by chance have a static IP assigned on the ISY994 itself rather than DHCP reservation on the router? Sometimes changing from switch to router depending on your network setup could impact the DHCP handling and be an issue. Several years ago UD started suggesting not to set the IP address on the device, but to only handle assigning the IP via the DHCP reservation on the router side. 

 

3 hours ago, jason.russo.96 said:

And of course, everything is working normally today. 

Good to hear. The Alexa issue could have been an ongoing issue that UD was trying to work through over the last few days, but not entirely the issue. Everything you mentioned happening locally does point to a possible device failing issue. It could either be the SD card, a PLM failing, or the actual ISY994 could fail (rare, but it's electronic and can happen).