INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Posted on
Wed Jul 13, 2016 11:08 am
eme jota ce offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

matt (support) wrote:
If they have i2CS firmware then, unfortunately, the full define/sync process (not just the sync) should be required. So I'm not sure how to explain the difference between multiple modules with the same version behaving differently. I totally agree swapping out the 2413U is a pain, and we definitely hope to improve it on Indigo's side although it still won't likely be pain-free especially for some modules.


Matt,

In addition to the feature request from my post above, I would like to add a "Thanks" for placing that "Define and sync" message in the log.

It would have been a much greater pain to switch the 2413U, then have a large number of devices malfunction without a clear message in the log as to what I needed to do.

mjc

Posted on
Wed Jul 13, 2016 6:52 pm
toille27 offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

The last post takes me back to an old request Matt or Jay, "feature request list" I think you said you would work on a trigger for "last updated" category in the devices summary so we know when a device went AWOL without notification (or for devices not capable). This is particularly important with the rise of all the battery powered devices and would have helped with the Insteon devices that didn't batch sync.

Posted on
Fri Jan 13, 2017 7:44 pm
mattyf offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

The last couple of times the power has gone out at my house I've had a hell of a time getting indigo to see the modem again. It fails, I unplug the modem for a bit, replug it in, try again. This morning I had to spend 15 minutes unplugging and retrying. (It was connected directly to the imac, not through a hub).

I suppose this means my modem is on the way out? Or is this known behaviour?

Posted on
Fri Jan 13, 2017 7:50 pm
toille27 offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Unfortunately, that's the behavior they exhibit when they are dying. It will eventually go, give it a few weeks....

Posted on
Sat Jan 14, 2017 5:01 pm
jay (support) offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

It could be because of signal noise - do you see any errors in the Event Log when it tries to reconnect?

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Posted on
Wed Apr 26, 2017 7:19 am
Professor Falken offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Is the Powerlinc modem the only practical method of interfacing Indigo (on a Mac mini) with an Insteon network?

I think I am on my second 2413U death spiral in less than 3 years (first one was thankfully still in the warranty period). I am seeing a lot of missed commands and long strings of repeated commands in the Indigo log. We were having some work done on our house, and I was hoping this may have been related to a few circuits having been turned off, but they are now almost all back on and I am seeing a worsening of the behavior. Have already gone through the hard reset process on the device without any luck.

Seems pretty ridiculous that you have to replace these things every 1-2 years, but is that the general consensus among Insteon users in the Indigo community?

Thanks

Posted on
Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:34 am
jay (support) offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

I have had 3 over the past 6 or 7 years, but one is for development purposes. One failed a couple of years ago and was replaced. I'm not sure that it's "consensus" that they fail every 1-2 years - certainly some have experienced that, but others haven't.

The other option is the 2448 RF dongle. It is RF only but if you're sufficiently covered with dual-band devices it may work for you.

What are the exact errors you're seeing? Perhaps something that was done during the work on your house has cause more signal noise and that's the underlying problem.

Jay (Indigo Support)
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Posted on
Wed Apr 26, 2017 10:06 am
Professor Falken offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

I have a fair number of dual band devices, but most of my switches are unfortunately the toggle link powerline only ones (wife likes old school switch look better than the paddle switches). I have a couple of the dual brand bridges scattered around the house as well that bridge phases and otherwise work as repeaters I guess). When everything is happy, it'll run for months with nary a missed signal, but what it's doing now is exactly what it did the last time a powerlinc failed (and replacing it immediately solved the problem back then).

Errors are "send failed (no acknowledgement)". that is on almost all of my outside lights. I am also seeing huge strings of repeated received commands from things with heartbeats (insteon leak sensors and a wireless door sensor, as well as when one of the switches is triggered manually).

Outside of Insteon things, Indigo is otherwise behaving normally, with plugins playing nicely with my alarm system, thermostats (which aren't Insteon), etc.

thanks

Posted on
Wed Apr 26, 2017 10:42 am
jay (support) offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Those symptoms sure sound like signal noise. Usually, failing PowerLinc's exhibit other problems. If you have things that are spewing heartbeat messages like that, then your Insteon network is going to suffer, and the result will be a lot of those no acks...

Before just assuming the issue is the 2413U, I think I'd first try turning off the sensors and air-gapping the switch that's behaving oddly and see if things settle down. One (or more) of those devices may be failing and that's causing the problem.

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Posted on
Wed Apr 26, 2017 12:30 pm
Professor Falken offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

OK, I'll try some of that before buying a new one. Examining the log, I do see a whole lot more repeats coming from that Insteon door sensor than anything else. Maybe that's clogging up the network.

Posted on
Thu May 04, 2017 7:11 pm
Professor Falken offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Reporting back here, in case anyone has similar issues to mine a few posts up.

I tried Jay's suggestions above without any change in the offending behaviors. I also tried hard resetting the powerlinc modem a few times more, also without any luck.

So I went ahead and bought and installed a new 2413U. Resyncing all the Insteon device links is a bit of a pain, especially all the battery powered leak sensors. But once done, everything is now running back to normal for the last two days (fingers crossed).

I am happy to be working correctly, but I hope this one lasts longer that 1-2 years. They are a bit expensive to be that disposable.

Posted on
Fri May 05, 2017 9:41 am
jay (support) offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Glad it's back up. Note: they have a 2 year warranty so if it fails within that it's covered.

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Posted on
Sat May 06, 2017 5:07 am
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Post by jay (support) » Fri May 05, 2017 10:41 am

Glad it's back up. Note: they have a 2 year warranty so if it fails within that it's covered.


OK thanks. I'll be sure and make a note as to when I bought this one. Hopefully the issue won't come up again quickly.

Posted on
Tue May 16, 2017 7:28 am
GoBecky offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

So everything was fine with my system until last Thursday - one of my caregivers attempted to turn on the lights with my RemoteLinc and it didn't work. I checked the log and, while I was napping, the following had appeared (and no, no power outages, no rewindsring, etc. Just a nap.)

Code: Select all
2017-05-11 17:54:32.722   Error   unknown command bytes received FD 00 (ignoring)
2017-05-11 17:55:04.821   Error   PowerLinc not responding -- attempting reset
2017-05-11 17:55:05.081   Power Failure   possible power failure
2017-05-11 17:55:08.437   Interface Failure   lost connection with interface


(No idea what that first line means - I searched my logs and nothing similar has happened at least in the past month.)

Since then, I'm getting the error message that the PowerLinc can't be found, make sure it's plugged in, etc. I can still use my Hue Lights plugin via the client and my Echo Dot (which is part of the reason I haven't acted faster), but my powerline-connected devices are unreachable, one of which is fairly important for safety , so I do need to get this sorted.

So far I've tried resetting the modem (no beeps or lights, although when this happened a few months ago it cleared up with no beeps or lights either), changing the USB connection, and (of course) restarting the Mac. I know there's probably an order I should be doing these things in, but I'm not sure what it is!

I don't mind buying a new PowerLinc if necessary - this one is at least 6 years old - but I want to rule out any other possible issues before I do. So: where do I start, and what should I be looking for?

I'm a wheelchair user & use Indigo to make my home & office accessible & safe without the expense of ECU's: door openers, emergency alerts, & even buttons my service dog can push to activate triggers! Feel free to PM fo info/advice.

Posted on
Tue May 16, 2017 4:33 pm
matt (support) offline
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Re: INSTEON PowerLinc Modem (2413U)

Hi Becky,

It sounds like you've run through everything to try to get the PowerLinc working again. Do try though unplugging it for 30 minutes or so. Sometimes they strangely comeback to life after they've gotten a long nap. Even if it does start working again, I'd suggest you get a spare PowerLinc to have on hand in case it starts to malfunction again.

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