[ANSWERED] Failed to find USB device

I have a 2414U PowerLinc V2 that i'm trying to connect to Indigo.

I am running this on a G4 iMac version 10.4.5
Indigo is version 1.8.0

I installed Indigo off the CD and installed the driver package as well (and restarted).

Under the "More Info" of "About This Mac" it shows a USB Bus of:
SmartHome PowerLinc USB E:
Version 4.00
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Product ID: 0x0004
Vendor ID: 0x10bf

I ran Disk Utility and repaired permissions.
I tried plugging into each of my 3 USB ports.
I set the Interface Preferences to PowerLinc USB.

The error message I am getting is:
"Failed to establish connection with interface. Make sure you have run the complete Indigo installer included in the download (or CD-ROM) and that the correct interface settings are chosen in the Preferences dialog"

any ideas?
TIA,
Albert

[matt (support)]

Hello Albert,

Did the Indigo driver file get installed correctly? It should be here:

  /System/Library/Extensions/IndigoOverrides.kext

Do you have a spare USB cable you can try as well? And what does the LED on the PowerLinc do (steady/flash/flicker) when idle (no INSTEON/X10 commands on the power line)? Let me know how it goes...

Regards,
Matt

Hello Albert,

Did the Indigo driver file get installed correctly? It should be here:

  /System/Library/Extensions/IndigoOverrides.kext

Matt, I searched for "IndigoOverrides.kext" in spotlight, it didnt find anything. - but when i looked in the folder, i see it.

Do you have a spare USB cable you can try as well?

Tried another USB Cable, i get the same message.
I also noticed that in the More Info window, sometimes it shows up as the Smarthome PowerLinc and sometimes it just shows up as "USB Device"

what does the LED on the PowerLinc do (steady/flash/flicker) when idle (no INSTEON/X10 commands on the power line)?

the LED just stays on steady.

I just threw Indigo and the extension in the Trash. I will now reinstall it and see if it makes any difference.

I will now reinstall it and see if it makes any difference.

i just noticed that the driver installer mentions PowerLinc 1132U and 1132CU and CM15, but makes no mention of 2414U - that might be my problem.

ok, i installed the drivers off the downloaded version

YAY!! it finally worked!
I switched the to another USB port, and it connected.
Thanks for your help Matt!
Sorry for all the posts, but i guess it may help others with the same issue in the future.
It seems to sum up that i needed to install the drivers from your website (not the outdated ones on the CD) AND i needed to switch the USB port.

Lastly, it seems to be discouraged to plug it into the same powerstrip as my computer devices. would there be anything wrong with plugging it in there only to update the PowerLinc and then plug it elsewhere in the house for control (off memory)?

[matt (support)]

Hi Albert,

Excellent -- glad you got it working! See my other follow-up post (just posted it) regarding uploading to the PowerLinc V2.

Regards,
Matt

I'm having the same problem. At first it seemed that the problem was that the 1132CU was not visible in the System Profiler, so I connected it to a USB port on my iMac. This helped a couple of times but now I am getting the problem anytime I wake my computer from sleep or shutdown etc. (I have a script that closes Indigo when I put my iMac to sleep and launhes it when I wake the computer.) But now, the only way I can re-establish a connection is by unplugging the 1132CU and plugging it back in. Obviously this is not desirable.
Any suggestions other than buying another controller?

[matt (support)]

Unfortunately, it sounds like your 1132CU is partially malfunctioning. I think there is a subtle USB timing problem with some 1132CUs and some Macs. I've seen PowerLincs that work great on PCs but then aren't recognized by Macs at all, or are recognized by some Macs but not all Macs. This can vary from PowerLinc to PowerLinc, which means that a replacement almost always fixes the problem. We saw this a few years ago with some of the initial 1132CUs. Overall, the failure rate now for the 1132CU and the V2s is tiny -- I think Smarthome has improved their QA and/or manufacturing quality quite a bit.

Regards,
Matt

This controller has been working reliably with my iMac for quite some time. This problem has only started recently. Is it possible that Mac has made some change to the USB interfact that could be causing this problem?

[matt (support)]

I think it is possible that there might have been an OS X update or something to do with your system configuration (like a new USB device) that might be causing the problem. However, I think the most likely culprit is your 1132CU has just started to malfunction.

Regards,
Matt

Strange issue developed this weekend with the 2414U.

Basically, Indigo 2.02 stopped connecting to it and the main Indigo window shows the word offline in red next to the connection status.

Indigo prefs, show everything as normal, until you click on the Interface Options box, at which point Indigo pops up with the not connected message.

Looking at the system profiler shows the 2414 connected and live via USB. I even tried unplugging the 2414 and resetting it to factory specs and Indigo still doesn't want to play with it.

Nothing else out of the ordinary happened to the comnputer, cords, etc. that would provide a clue.


Any theories as to what's going on here?

[matt (support)]

Is your PowerLinc 2414U plugged directly into your Mac, or into a USB hub? Try directly into your Mac, and try different USB ports to see if that helps. Also try rebooting your Mac.

You said you tried resetting it, did you follow these steps: unplug it from the wall and unplug the USB cable, hold down the reset button, count to 10, plug it into the wall, continue holding reset button for 15 more seconds, release button, plug in USB cable, and try the Interface->Connect menu item.

Lastly, if you have any spare USB cables, then try swapping in a new cable.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards,
Matt