Review on 🏠 UD ISY994i ZW+/IR PRO: Z-Wave Plus Certified Home Automation Controller - Alexa/Google Home Compatible by James Rogers

Bought a year ago. I was starting to switch to this controller from a regular Insteon hub, but was a bit intimidated by the setup. That being said, I wasted a year on an Insteon hub with no flexibility. After putting on my big boy pants and jumping in, I wish I had done it sooner! When I started it was easy. You will need to purchase a hub that plugs into the wall to connect and control the Insteon and X10. X10 is one way communication and I haven't found how to poll/poll X10 devices. I stopped using them a while ago but wanted to give it a try in case I needed one in a pinch. By the way, X10 does not dim. Dimming requires sending multiple dimming commands. Well - X10 is a very old technology. There are software modules that must be purchased to expand the capabilities of the device. For example, I use the Climate/Weather module. This is a one-time purchase that allows me to set up routines that turn on the interior lights earlier on cloudy days based on light conditions received from the local weather station. I'm sure there is a way to do this locally, but the expense didn't make it worth buying the extra hardware. There's another that offers full remote access and integration with Alexa. It's a regular cost ($12.00 per year), which makes sense since this device acts as a mini server that connects to the UD hosting service. The device works right out of the box (once everything is connected and the hub is plugged in) without any additional modules. Modules are updates that simply add functionality. Programming scenes and actually planned programs was my initial intimidation factor. Besides the online manual itself, there are many resources on the web that really help. When I started it was a lot easier than I expected. The biggest benefit I see is the sunrise/sunset offset that can be used. I had to use a different time zone for my Insteon hub to turn on the light before it got too dark. For this reason, my outside light went out too early. This system allows for any offset (before or after sunset or sunrise or both) you wish to use. Another advantage is the power loss function. If the power goes out there is a setting that will run the programs that should have been running at the time of the outage to restore all current lighting settings. Insteon - no. It starts at a point when power has been restored and does nothing to ensure that a light that should be on is actually on. Customer service was great. Yesterday I had a small problem and I emailed the support team. After 20 minutes I got an answer with a fix that I accidentally found on the net. Excellent customer care. I haven't used the IR part of it yet. I want to program my TV remote to start some scenes (lighting sequence control) but haven't tried it yet. Once the device is installed, there is no need to touch it. All this is remote access. At the same time, Universal Devices has a remote administrator and a Java-based toolbar. They have an applet available, so reviewers who say it doesn't work on Windows or current browsers are uninformed. The applet must be installed and running on the desktop. It does not work natively on iOS devices. In fact, I've used the remote app a few times to access my computer remotely and make small adjustments to the programs. Overall, this is a great device and well worth setting up. If you've ever come across an Insteon hub and been told to re-register your devices and start over with programs, you'll be amazed that this device can backup, restore and control your home. Worth the money for me!