How to "hard reset" my Insteon/ISY environment

[Slates]

All,

Recently I have started to have issues with my device reliability, especially with regards to responding to programs. I tried updating to the new releases, but I have noticed reliability actually decreasing with each update. Programs that used to work almost 99% of the time now consistently fail. Manual triggers (buttons, etc) respond perfectly. I also have started to have some phantom links establish themselves, which I determined to have to come from either the ISY or the PLM. I say this because I would hard reset the devices (controller and responder) and it would work fine. As soon as I added the devices back to the ISY (manual with remove links checked) the phantom link would re-establish itself.

 

Rather than trying to debug all of these individual failures, I thought it would be best to just start from scratch. I searched on the forum, but haven't found a true guide to what I would describe as a "hard reset", that is, bringing my systems/devices back to square one.

 

Here is what I am thinking:

1) Remove PLM command to clear PLM links

2) Factory reset of PLM, just in case

3) Clear ISY (not positive how to do this just yet)

4) Hard reset of all devices

5) Update ISY to latest firmware release

6) Add all devices manually with remove links checked

 

Is this a sufficient process to do what I want? While it will be a lot of work, I don't have too extensive of an install, so its achievable in a day.

 

I would appreciate any advice on the process, if I have missed anything, etc. I love the ISY, I think my issues are either caused by bad links, or failing devices. I think this process would at least eliminate the bad links theory.

 

Thanks!

[LeeG]

There are a number of posts from UDI folks that recommend NOT Removing PLM. Also that a Reset of the ISY is rarely useful.

 

What do these phantom links look like? The ISY establishes links automatically in both the device and the PLM when a device is added to the ISY. These links support the operation of Programs and allow the ISY to maintain an accurate status of the device.

[Slates]

Well, when I say phantom links I mean you can't see them in the ISY, but they are obviously recognized somewhere. For instance, I have a switchlinc which I saw this issue:

 

The switchlinc worked fine for 6 months or so, then one day, it started controlling a lamplinc in another room as well. I never added this link, at least not intentionally that I know of. It would turn the lamplinc on and off consistently. I tried removing and restoring the devices on the ISY but nothing changed. I factory reset both devices and the link was gone. I could turn on the switchlinc with no impact on the lamplinc's status. Then, on the ISY,I went into manual mode to add devices, and added both devices. As soon as the devices were added to the ISY, the link came back. If I switched the switchlinc on and off (physically) the lamplinc would turn on and off.

 

I found that the problem occurred whenever I added the switchlinc to a scene. The problem is that the scene didn't contain the lamplinc in it. As a short term fix I have removed the switchlinc from the scene, so it has essentially become a dumb switch. I have tried deleting and recreating the scene, devices, etc to no avail.

 

This combined with other program inconsistencies made me think that maybe I have some issues from day 1 setup.. like maybe I missed some factory resets (I bought the ISY about 6 months after my insteon system). I thought that maybe starting like I had brand new devices would help... I know, I am reaching!

[Chris Jahn]

Well, when I say phantom links I mean you can't see them in the ISY, but they are obviously recognized somewhere. For instance, I have a switchlinc which I saw this issue:

 

The switchlinc worked fine for 6 months or so, then one day, it started controlling a lamplinc in another room as well. I never added this link, at least not intentionally that I know of. ...

 

Thats very odd, maybe a friend did a manual link as a practical joke.

 

Here's the steps I would take:

 

1. Restore device on the LampLinc. This would remove any new manual links that someone may have made.

 

2. If still a problem:

- a. Duplicate the phantom link in the ISY by adding the LampLinc to the scene that the SwitchLinc controls.

- b. Remove the LampLinc from that scene.

-- You may need to repeat this once or twice if somehow multiple links were added to the LampLinc.

 

3. If you still have a problem, use the Tools to compare the device links to help further debug the problem.

[apostolakisl]

After moving a bunch of switches around and replacing a bunch of bad switches with new ones I found things to be not quite right.

 

I went through the house and did a factory reset on every single device then a "restore devices" from the file menu which rewrites all of your devices.

 

I also restored my PLM.

 

The factory reset is a sure fire way to remove all links in a device and the 'restore devices" makes the reprogramming somewhat easy.

 

It is a very time consuming thing to do as it can take hours for ISY to rewrite everything (depending on the size of your install). During those hours the ISY won't respond causing great anxiety. But when it finished everything worked well again.

[Slates]

Yeah, I am thinking that might be the best option for me. The thing is about the phantom link, I would factory reset both devices and as soon as ISY picked them up, the link reappeared. I tried this multiple times, so the link we getting written to the devices somehow, I can only assume from the ISY. I just don't know where the ISY was getting the link. And I am the only one who even knows what an ISY is at my household

 

 

To be honest though, it is really the program reliability that has me concerned the most. Programs that used to work all the time now fail. Manual triggers of controller work 99% of the time still so it seems communication is still strong. I can tell the program ran too, as the KP will be lit up, but the responder didn't change status.