Bye Bye ISY994i !
“The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change -”
―
Thanks to you for its enormous success, and after 14 years of rock-solid operations and performance, sadly we must say goodbye to our beloved ISY994i Series.
What Models Are Affected?
With the exception of ISY 994r, ISY 994 PRO OADR, and OEMs all other models are affected.
What Does It Mean for Me?
As long as your unit works, nothing! Otherwise:
- We no longer carry any spare parts and/or replacements.
- Starting 06/01/2023:
- You can no longer add modules to your existing 994s.
- All requests for transfer from one 994 to another 994 will require a $125 transfer fee.
- Free technical support will cease for any issues relating to 994i Series. Paid support will remain available till 06/01/2024.
What Are My Options?
- If you have a Polisy, please migrate to it. Here are the instructions.
- Migrate to eisy | home. Here are the instructions.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please submit a ticket.
January 15, 2023 @ 10:15 am
Dead serious about this… Having watched the demise of Insteon (and return) and subsequent “bricking” of their cloud based gateways while my isy994i pro kept right on ticking, I have ZERO intention of migrating to your “kewl” new devices.
Making my automation dependent on the whims of your business operations would be EXTREMELY foolish of me.
Truthfully, my 994i pro, is no great shakes, with the crappy java interface, but it runs independent of anything external to my house and it’s not THAT difficult to forklift a replacement into my insteon/zigbee infrastructure.
Your support has never been that great, truth be told… Cases closed almost immediately with no resolution or proper answers. Fortunately, I needed little help that I couldn’t find elsewhere.
Hopefully, you’ll opensource the code for the device and may even the schematics… But I doubt it.
Time to go publicize this on reddit
January 15, 2023 @ 10:25 am
Bruce, what exactly are you dead serious about? The fact that you are confusing INSTEON/SmartHome with UD? Or that everything is now cloud based? Or that you are going to publicize on reddit? As if this post is not already public and we should shake in our boots? No one is forcing you to do anything regardless of your level of seriousness. Do as you wish.
Michel
January 15, 2023 @ 11:11 am
I bought my ISY99i in 2017 to extend the life of my X10 devices while gradually adding Insteon devices. Little did I know that it would become the single most reliable home automation device ever!
Yes, I now have wifi-based cameras, light bulbs, and a few plugs, but wifi is way, way more prone to failure than ISY/Insteon, which just keep working. Sure, I had phase-crossing problems with X10, but with the gradual phase-in of Insteon devices, that problem disappeared and I now have rock-solid reliability.
I’m not so tech-savvy as a lot of people here, but the change-over to my eisy was just as easy as UD said: back up the ISY and restore to the eisy, and I was in business. I still haven’t investigated all the new eisy stuff, but as a MacOS/iOS guy, I bought it to have a toe in the door of Matter.
I’m really happy with my decision.
January 15, 2023 @ 12:36 pm
I’m unclear on the relationship among the ISY994i (which I have) and the Polisy and the Eisy.
Are they succeeding generations, so that the Polisy may be slated for eventual obsolescence like the ISY994?
Pardon my ignorance here; my situation is this.
I’m presently using a Smarthome 1132 to drive some X10 switches and dimmers.
But that is plainly old technology; I’m not so much looking for new features as future-proofing the existing system.
Have already replaced a capacitor on the 1132, and planned the 994 as backup; just got it working with help from UD’s Michel Kohanim (thanks!).
Rather than continue testing an outdated box, I’d rather have a current model of controller; is the Polisy last-generation and the Eisy the new kid on the block, or are they both siblings?
P.S. Have been very pleased with UD tech support to date.
January 15, 2023 @ 1:00 pm
Hi Ron,
Thank you very much! Yes, eisy the latest generation of isy systems. So, it supercedes polisy.
With kind regards,
Michel
January 15, 2023 @ 2:01 pm
I have always liked my ISY994i and it has always done what I needed. I originally purchased it for things that the Insteon hub would not do and because it supported my old X10 devices. Well the X10 devices are long gone. The insteon hub was offline while they were rebuilding the company. And now you are getting rid of the 994s. Disappointing to say the least. And no special discount offers for loyal customers to upgrade to supported equipment. I am regretting not buying that Homeseer system when they had those great sales at the end of the year.
January 15, 2023 @ 2:08 pm
John,
It seems that UD is the only company in the world that should support all its products in perpetuity. We are not allowed to have new models, and if so, they should be discounted so much so that it would make us go bankrupt in the process.
January 15, 2023 @ 2:19 pm
Reading these posts here and some are disappointing. As others all seem to agree this little device has and continues to be rock solid. The three or four times I’ve needed support since first acquiring the unit in 2015/2016 Michael has been exceptionally responsive.
As one other poster mentioned things change and if there is a replacement device for this unit which,I assume, will take the product to the next level then I’m OKAY with that.
My only question (and in fairness I’ve not read up on this) is the new replacement unit FULLY capable of running locally (as in if there’s no Internet connection) as the ISY994? If so I struggle to understand why some other posts are seemingly so vicious to UD.
January 15, 2023 @ 2:35 pm
A couple more questions. I just logged into my account and selected my products but nothing is there. I’m pretty sure I pay every year for something but I can’t recall what. I believe it’s support and I also bought the stage add on. I don’t know what polisy is. Just want to k ow the path forward to upgrade hardware.
January 15, 2023 @ 3:16 pm
“It seems that UD is the only company in the world that should support all its products in perpetuity.”
Michel, while I would like very much demand such, in reality, we all know that is not how the world of electronics works. As I was reading this post and comments, I began to look around my office, making note of the age of the items I use. With a handful of exceptions, everything in my office is less than three years old. I really need to do an inventory and update my insurance.
My only complaint would be, what to do with the two ISY994i Pro, Super-Duper Deluxe units I have. I really dislike disposing of perfectly good hardware. If UD could repurpose them, I would send them back and be happy.
For many the ISY994i is all they will ever need. I don’t fit in that group; never have, never will. Give me your best, and I still want more. I’ve been with UD for longer than I can remember and I plan to double that time.
Hang in there, push the limits, give us your best and then do more.
And remember, keep your stick on the ice.
January 15, 2023 @ 3:58 pm
Michel and the team at UD. Thank you for continuing to innovate. so many home automation hubs have failed while you continue to support and innovate. I’m glad I selected UD as my home automation hub. I’m so impressed. I manage three properties reliably with your systems. Thank you and I look forward to migrating to the new platform. if it’s as reliable as the 994, we will all be please!
Regards
January 15, 2023 @ 4:33 pm
Hi Todd,
eisy is 100% local except for things that require cloud connectivity. For instance, to check node server licenses, when you login to the store, you need to login through ISY Portal. Other than that, eisy is identical to ISY994 but much more powerful. Polisy was the predecessor of eisy.
January 15, 2023 @ 4:35 pm
Hi Gary,
Thank you so very much for your vote of confidence. Depending on the age of your 994s, you can send them to us for up to $36.00 refund to your eisy order.
With kind regards,
Michel
January 15, 2023 @ 4:35 pm
Hi Michael, thank you so very much for the vote of confidence.
With kind regards,
Michel
January 15, 2023 @ 5:37 pm
Hi Michel
IMHO, your support of the 994 has been amazing. I bought my unit in 2012 and I’m pretty sure that other than my Elk M1, it is the only piece of electronic equipment from that era that is still functional in my home. Definitely, the stereo system, the TVs, the IP cameras, the printers, and half of the Insteon outlets (and all the Insteon PLMs but that is another story) have given up the ghost. Even my trusty iPhone 5 that I bought back then and used for testing until recently, won’t hold a charge or load the current iOS anymore. Yet my 994 never misses a beat. I’ll miss it, but I’m looking forward to the eisy.
I do have one question – do my ELK and Network Modules transfer over or do I need to repurchase them?
Thanks
Eric
January 15, 2023 @ 5:46 pm
Hi Eric, thank you so very much!
Network module is already included free of charge.
ELK is now a node server ($30 onetime fee) but you get 50% refund if you send your 994 UUID + Paypal invoice to sales@universal-devices.com. Step 11 in our migration guide shows how to migrate ELK module to ELK node server.
With kind regards,
Michel
January 15, 2023 @ 8:20 pm
Will EISY support Matter and integrate with Google Home locally? If so I wouldn’t mind upgrading to EISY. I wish it didn’t depend on the PLM though and had some direct connection to the Insteon environment. Any luck negotiating a license with new owners of Insteon to use your own hardware and bypass PLM? I’ve gotten many years of use out of my ISY that have made my Insteon usable and powerful and it’s been well worth the cost.
January 16, 2023 @ 1:25 am
Will the ISY Portal continue to be supported?
Thanks!
January 16, 2023 @ 3:53 am
Michel,
I have had my ISY994i for many years. I love it and knowing the way things work I bought a spare.
I am looking into the EISY.
There is only one problem I have never been able to figure out. When I make a change to my configuration like adding a dimmer or switch, it takes at least 20-30 minutes for it to configure. Not sur why.
Thanks for the support all these years. I am “dead serious” about that. 🙂
January 16, 2023 @ 6:18 am
I don’t have an issue with sunsetting support for old hardware: it’s a necessary part of the business. This sunset, however, seems a bit early and somewhat tone-deaf to the industry.
Based on my read of this post and some of the documentation on new devices, it would seem that you are sunsetting old hardware before new hardware is fully supportive of the same protocols, at least with regard to the eisy. Unless I’m reading the website wrong, ZWave is current in beta, and Zigbee/Matter aren’t supported until 03/2023. So if I’m running ZWave and Zigbee at home, your proposed migration is not even fully supported.
Based on what I’ve seen in the industry, Insteon is in troubled waters. While they have a new group and some new products, they are still not an accepted standard when compared to Z-Wave/Zigbee and now Matter. But the eisy support for Z-Wave is currently Beta, and Zigbee/Matter is non-existant.
My ISY 994 has been rock solid for years, but the lack of information about the next generation on the website coupled with Insteon’s instability may lead me to other home automation solutions.
Personally, the ISY functions simply as an Insteon/Z-Wave controller, as I have started to move to Home Assistant for wider functionality without the need to run through public node servers. The shakiness of Insteon itself has pushed me to look at alternatives with industry-wide support (Z-Wave, Zigbee, and now Matter). While an updated UI and some more power under the hood seems great, the question I keep asking is, do I continue to invest in controllers for Insteon, or do I move to Z-Wave/Zigbee. With that move, I’m not sure the eisy is my best choice. Unfortunately, it’s hard to make the decision with the lack of information on the website around the eisy.
Additionally, I will say, the discounts are laughable at best: $36 for an ISY994i? It is worth that much to keep the ISY around in a box as backup should the EISY not have the functionality I need.
January 16, 2023 @ 6:37 am
I have been using the 994i for about 8 years with roughly 25 Insteon devices. It’s been rock solid and reliable. That in and of itself will keep me using UD Products. I find the unrealistic and privileged expectations of some people here laughable. Lenovo or Netgear does not give you an existing customer product credit when you buy a new printer or router just because you are upgrading from a 5 year old device.
Any tech product has a finite lifetime and hardware obsolescence is frequently a function of components being discontinued by the foundry. If your 994i is working for you, keep using it, there’s no upgrade cost to you whatsoever, stop complaining. If you upgrade, I seriously doubt the price of a new device is a financial hardship to anyone doing this level of home automation.
For the record, I have no association with UD other than being a satisfied customer.
January 16, 2023 @ 7:25 am
Hi Daniel, that’s the plan. Currently, standard Matter is a 28GB library with minimal support for devices but we are on top of it. We cannot make our own PLMs.
January 16, 2023 @ 7:26 am
Hi Tassos, yes of course.
January 16, 2023 @ 7:27 am
Hi Pat, thank you for your vote of confidence. The reason is that probably you have older INSTEON i1 devices. This means that ISY has to peek/poke one byte at a time for every configuration.
January 16, 2023 @ 7:33 am
Hi Matt,
If you read the post, you’ll notice that the date is 06/01/2023. By then, Z-Wave will be certified and Zigbee supported. We sold less than 100 Zigbee configurations (for RCS and Brultech support) both of which have their own proprietary protocols and do not comply with Zigbee HA. So, regrettably, your configuration will not work with eisy, and therefore eisy is not a good solution for you. Wishing you the best with all your endeavors.
January 16, 2023 @ 7:34 am
Kirboid, thank you VERY MUCH!
January 16, 2023 @ 8:38 am
I feel like I’m losing a best friend but gaining two more in her place. Hard to believe my ISY994i has been running my home for nearly 14 years (I was an early adopter). When she started feeling sluggish I migrated to Polisy. Picking up Polyglot along the way was a game changer. I have hundreds of Insteon devices communicating with Hue, Govee, WLED, Bond, Somfy, Zwave, to name a few. That wouldn’t have been possible with any other technology out there. I’m grateful to Michel and his team for assisting me in every step through every challenge along the way. I have a shiny new eISY sitting idle next to my Polisy that I can’t wait to get running also. The entire UDI infrastructure being with my first ISY has brought me so much joy through the years. She may be unplugged but she’s still on the shelf looking sexy. Thank you UDI!!
January 16, 2023 @ 9:36 am
Sorry if this was already asked, but I have a couple of questions…
1. Will we still use the Java based admin console with the new EISY controller?
2. If yes, then with the new modern EISY, is/are there plans to modernize that rather dated admin console? Specifically, adding more functions and capabilities to the programming ‘language’ along with a more modern, intuitive, better looking user interface?
I ask these things because I have seen some new hardware in recent years, but not much on the software user interface side. This is somewhat a concern for me.
I will say that my ISY994i has be absolutely rock solid for many years. I only hope that the new EISY was designed with the same care and is equally reliable.
January 16, 2023 @ 1:47 pm
I bought a 994i Pro about 6 years ago, before we started building our home, mostly to link home automation to my ELK M1 Gold. Initially with the idea of Insteon, but then went to Sonoff/Tasmota (Wifi) and Z-Wave.
Got the unit up and running quite easily and then added Polisy for added functionality and connecting all the Tasmota devices. It mostly worked like a charm and the couple of times it crashed (ALWAYS when I was a 12 hour flight away!), Michael was there to get me up and running. Once, dialing from Encino to Lake Tahoe and then to Medellin Colombia to rebuild Mongo! Awesome support to say the least.
I got the Polisy as a pre-order and the eISY now too. I love the hugely helpful community, who tirelessly support wannabe-geeks like me. They even welcomed me as a budding developer (they don’t know what they’re getting!)
Looking forward (that may be an exagerration there) to the migration to eISY and to consolidating all my home automation into one box inside my IT cabinet.
And, if UD and the developers don’t kick me out by then, I look forward to publishing some node servers soon.
R.I.P. ISY994
Cheers to you all.
January 17, 2023 @ 8:34 am
My thoughts on the end-of-life of the ISY994i.
My experience continues to be good and I expect so for many years to come. I divide that experience into three parts, Hardware: still running and the uptime has only been interrupted by power outages. Software: well documented, works as described, only a few funny work-arounds for add-on functionality. Support: knowledgeable and responsive, having not needed it in years, I don’t see any changes for me.
As my personal definition of home automation expanded, ISY994i couldn’t support new technologies. One of my Z-Wave devices needed an update and I turned to Home Assistant (HA). Alas, HA has an arcane approach, particularly the scripting language, documentation that can only be understood once you understand the documentation, and hit-and-(mostly)miss support. It is flexible, but be prepared to be a contortionist.
I am considering EISY.
Here’s the problem, though. We live on a finite planet and we must change our throw-away (where is “away”?) mentality. Future designs must incorporate sustainability. A product must be designed for: manufacturing, maintenance, repurposing, recycling, and completing the circle, the design must include the repurposed.
For example, a refurbished computer ($100 on Amazon) could run linux with parallel programs and virtual machines. Specialized hardware (z-wave, insteon, etc.) could be connected to using HDMI, bluetooth, USB, etc. The business model would have to be subscriptions (The ISY994i was about $250 @ 15 years, so $20/year?)
I’ve been in my house for 20 years and it’s been Insteon from day one. I expect things that are part of the house to last the life of the house. (In one house, I repaired a switch that was manufactured a 100 years ago.) This should be the goal of home automation; this is how home automation will cross the chasm. Home automation shouldn’t be a hobby for nerds like us.
January 17, 2023 @ 12:02 pm
It’s rather sad to see the complaining here. I have always had top notch superb service when ever I’ve reached out with a question or a problem. I’ve never been treated with disrespect for not being UTD with the lingo or my lack of system knowledge. I’ve always received EXTREMELY quick replies at any time, of any day. I cannot say I have had the same experience from many, if any other companies.
I plan to move forward with Universal Devices one step at a time.
Thank you to all that have assisted.
January 18, 2023 @ 7:29 am
I am submitting this only as a comment on the post of Mr. Ferrell.
I’ve had two ISY 994i’s – one at a former residence and one at my current residence. The latter has been in service for over 10 years and has worked flawlessly in fact it is probably the only piece of electronics that hasn’t had to be replaced or constantly reset. It’s been rock-solid.
At some point, I added the Z-wave module as there were some devices which offered better solutions that what Insteon had to offer such as the ceiling fan switch among others. And then with the demise of Insteon, I/we were forced to move to Z-wave. In my opinion, Z-wave devices can be “flaky” and I’m not sure that the Z-wave dongle had sufficient power or range but as I added more devices and had better coverage some of my initial issues went away.
To their credit, Universal devices provided integration with Alexa through the portal and that added an incredibly simple and effective way to operate my “smart home”. For example, I say “Alexa good night” and she runs a routine that turns off all the lights in the house sequentially. I have dozens of similar routines.
When I started with ISY, I was a novice and there were several times when I need assistance/support. And the support I received from Michel Kohanim and Steve Lee was nothing but superb. There have been a few times since when I’ve had to rely on their help and I got what I needed on a professional and timely basis.
I will inevitably upgrade to Eisy at some point and like some others have said, it would be nice if there was some kind of discount but Universal devices is in business to make a profit and I respect that.
In closing, Mr. Ferrell, I think you are way off base in trashing Universal Devices, their product and their service.
January 18, 2023 @ 7:52 am
1. Will we still use the Java based admin console with the new EISY controller?
AC remains but most functions are moving to UD Mobile
2. If yes, then with the new modern EISY, is/are there plans to modernize that rather dated admin console? Specifically, adding more functions and capabilities to the programming ‘language’ along with a more modern, intuitive, better looking user interface?
Yes, see above
January 19, 2023 @ 7:16 am
Yet another reason to ditch Insteon…. Remember when you could program your lights for free? Your new “polisy” is disappointing- bubye
January 23, 2023 @ 9:55 am
Hi… So my ISY has been sitting in a box, along with all my Insteon devices. We sold our house last year, moved to ATL, and rented for a year to determine where we are going to live. As with many on here, my home had everything I needed and wanted setup and it just worked! So much so, that I didn’t pay attention to the almost complete demise of Insteon, and I didn’t really get into the Poly stuff, I think I tried using PolyGlot when the weather module went away and never really got it working. Instead I just set a schedule for my sprinklers so they went back to being no better than a off the shelf irrigation controller.
I saw the email about ISY support going away, and was like, oh, we are about to buy a house and I have to get everything setup in this new house. I was going to add the Zwave module to my ISY, but now it looks like I might just be buying a new system.
Some questions that may have already been answered.
Looks like EISY doesn’t support ZWave out of the box?
The ZWave module, doesn’t integrate inside of EISY but rather is a USB plug which seems more prone to damage?
If I move to EISY, can it be operated stand alone without internet connection, just as my ISY could?
Does this do all the Poly stuff if I wanted to try again?
I have been a fan of UD and the rock solid ISY. I was an early adopter when you could still buy Insteon devices at Walmart and CompUSA… (and X10 was still a talked about communication protocol)
If the EISY is as rocksolid and can easily integrate all the various communication protocols, then yay, I guess I will be ordering one soon.
January 23, 2023 @ 10:06 am
Hi Jeff,
ZMatter USB is a USB plugin. You can attach a cable if you’re worried about damage. Yes, eisy can be operated standalone just like 994. Yes, it does all the poly/node server stuff.
Thank YOU so much!
January 26, 2023 @ 2:44 pm
I H4ave had my ISY99i working since 2014 and like others have posted it has been rock solid. I’ve only had to request support a few times and Michel Kohanim responded quickly and helped me resolve the issues. I have nothing but good things to say about the hardware and the support from Universal-Devices. And, it is true that as technology evolves that products do need to come to an end. I don’t fault UD at all. It’s just part of the technology business and I’m actually impressed the ISY99i product life was so long. I just ported over to a Polisy and have things working. It’s just sad to see an old friend go away (the ISY99i). I look forward to staying with Universal-Devices going into the future.
February 1, 2023 @ 6:32 am
Like others, my isy994i-zw is rock solid. I don’t like the fact a PLM is required though (even though mine works fine.) Only way I would consider upgrading is when the new unit and PLM is integrated into one. Doesn’t make sense to upgrade to a shiny new box, but part of the system required another component.
BC
March 9, 2023 @ 8:05 am
@Michel – Count me among the people who were early adopters and a HUGE fan! I go back to the X10 days and once I found the ISY line, I jumped immediately. I have a huge number of devices, all controlled by my ISY994i. It is so rock solid, I hardly ever even think about it; it just works! Coming from a long career in software development, I’ve enjoyed doing the programming, trying different things and its so gratifying when things work as expected. The few times I’ve had issues, you always responded quickly and got me through it.
Just a couple questions:
What is the size of the eisy? The specs here say it is 10x10x5, but looking at the box, that can’t be right as it is rectangular. Also, would there be any issues hanging it on a wall? That’s how I have my ISY mounted, next to the PLM, on a wall in my basement.
As for the PLMs, any update if/when they might be available? I have one spare that died and I had rebuilt by the eBay guy. Wish I had known you guys would be offering that service before I did that. If you get to the point where they will be made again, please offer pre-orders and I’ll sign up for 2 of them!
Thanks for all you do and have done over the years!
March 9, 2023 @ 8:13 am
Hi John,
Thank you very much for the kind words. Means A LOT!
Size: 5 x 3 x 1
Mounting: yes, it comes with a VESA mount. No issues hanging it as long as the top side faces outside (heatsink).
PLM: supposedly end of this month but we are not privy to more than that.
Thanks again and with kind regards,
Michel
March 9, 2023 @ 7:50 pm
Thanks for the info Michel. Just placed my order for the eisy.
Looking forward to the next chapter in my UD experience!
April 27, 2023 @ 6:16 pm
Not sure what the fuss is all about. The device has been working for like forever, long enough I have no idea how long I have had it. At least 12 years.
Support must stop for older products. When my ISY994 croaks, I will get the new rendition of it and hope for another nice long run.
I am more than pleased with my unit and the only complaint i have is the access to the dashboard.
May 31, 2023 @ 10:10 pm
Hey, can you extend this for a week or two? I found another ISY994i buried in a box which I want to upgrade but it’s still registered to the previous owner who I need to contact. It would be most appreciated. Thanks much.
June 1, 2023 @ 8:18 am
Hi Timothy, unfortunately not …