Returning Indigo User

I've been playing with automation since X10 was new. (which gives away my age a bit). After many systems I had an Indigo installation with all Insteon. I had some issues with failed devices and decided to move to Z-wave. As time progressed, I wanted more control I wanted door locks, and voice control. At the time, Indigo couldn't do door locks with Z-Wave. Then came Homekit and Alexa control and again, initially, Indigo couldn't offer voice control.

I moved off Indigo to Vera. Then Smartthings. Then, just play wifi devices and Homekit.

And I'm moving back to Indigo. Wifi devices are horrible. I have a strong mesh network and I still have issues with wifi devices responding reliably. One day, I open my Home app and find no devices. The iCould sync got hosed. I tried everything and ended up logging out and back into iCloud. I had to delete and reinstall every wifi device. I use with Alexa too so I had to repeat for that. A royal pain. Not to mention, all my automations were lost.

Indigo is not the cheapest solution. $250 for software, plus interfaces plus a yearly fee. It's worth it. It now supports Z-Wave locks. And through plugins, I can even have my Siri and Alexa voice control. I still have about 1/2 dozen wifi only devices with no plugins for Indigo (iDevices Inc stuff), but everything else has plug-ins. In face, I even connected my Lutron hub through Indigo and used Indigo HomeBridge instead of putting the Lutron stuff directly onto Homekit. If iCloud sync every gets hosed again, I can all all the devices back in one step thanks to home bridge.

This isn't even mentioning the superior control you can have with Indigo. But for me, it was about reliability. Granted, Insteon and zwave have issues, but with a few repeaters you can end up with a very reliable system. I also love that adding Insteon gives devices you just can't find. Ironic that I moved to Z-Wave initially due to the greater selection of devices, but I couldn't find anything like the in-line fan controls or keypads with custom laser etched labels.

As far as leaving a mac on all the time, I ended up picked up an older Mac Mini for about $100 on eBay or macofalltrades (i don't remember which). I wanted something that could run at least 10.12. It's actually an advantage not to update all the time so you can save some money if you get a model that doesn't run the absolute lates OS. I wiped the machine, set it up with Carbon Copy Cloner doing a hard drive clone weekly so if it every had a drive failure, I just pop in a new one and I'm back up.Mini's are pretty low power and with remote screen control, you don't need a monitor. It's working great.

Just wanted to share a little of my experience for new users. No home automation solution will be perfect but take it from someone that has tried just about everything, Indigo is a great solution and if you have issues, Matt and Jay are fantastic.

Is there truly a security risk staying with 10.12 after support from Apple ends? My understanding of the Reflector service was it provides a way to access your server without directly opening a port so you can keep your firewall on in addition to blocking any access through your router. Having a dedicated machine means it only runs Indigo. No Safari etc.

I don't know enough about plug-ins security to fully understand the implications.

But your point is taken. You can still go with a used machine but I think anything that can run the latest OS will be $250+.

edit: I did buy a machine that can run High Sierra. I just didn't update yet due to USB concerns noted on the Indigo download page.

[jay (support)]

Is there truly a security risk staying with 10.12 after support from Apple ends?

Honestly - it really depends on your level of risk tolerance. If your Mac is 1) used for Indigo only and 2) is behind a good firewall, then your chances of having security issues is, IMO, minimal. I know others will disagree, but I think the risk is low (my current server is still running El Capitan and I've yet to feel unsafe).

However, the TLS issue is a real one that will only get worse over time. I would recommend that before you go any further you wipe and to a clean High Sierra install. As was pointed out, not everyone (and probably not even a majority) seems to have the issue, and there's anecdotal evidence that may imply that a clean OS install may also avoid the issue. If you do have the problem, try the workaround. It may get undone on the next HS update, but as @lanbrown points out there's not likely to be too many more HS updates which would require you to redo the workaround.

[jay (support)]

Oh, and welcome back...

Thanks all. And I can go up to High Sierra so I will look at moving up. Is there a difference between updating and doing a clean install? I had just done a clean install of 10.12 a couple of weeks ago.

If I compare the cost for indigo software to all the hardware costs(switches dimmers locks sensors rain stuff sprinklers light earthquake cameras...) indigo is <3%

As for the mac. High Sierra is minimum
Many internal and most external web services ( routers switches cameras..) will not work w ssl < 1.x

Karl


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As a plugin dev who only uses Mac for Indigo, I rarely bother updating OSX.

Until last week, when two plugins I was writing both gave a tonne of security warnings that I couldn’t fathom.

Turns out, it was because of what Ian says above - so if you wanted to use even 1 of my plugins, you’d need High Sierra or above. Given the number of plugins on the store that communicate online, you’re going to hit that problem sooner rather than later.


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ok. I'm convinced. High Sierra, for the mini on the way.

[matt (support)]

Hi Mark – Thanks for posting your thoughts and home automation journey for others to read. Indigo's strengths are definitely its reliability, strong and helpful community (and incredible plugin developers), and its cloudless approach to home control. We've had a few folks hop around to different controllers/platforms and then end back up with Indigo. Other platforms definitely have their strengths (simplicity/ease-of-use, price, etc.) but Indigo fills a niche for those that need the power and reliability.

Indigo fills a niche for those that need the power and reliability.

And an awesome user community to boot!

Now, I just need to get my Powerlinc back online after moving to High Sierra. Went through the USB fix steps and no luck yet. I may have to start digging through the forums if my reinstall of the driver doesn't work.

[matt (support)]

Which PowerLinc model do you have?

If it is the 2414U did you download the Indigo 6.1.1 installer and install just the driver (by pressing the Customize... button in the installer UI then deselecting everything but the Indigo Drivers)? After that you should just need to reboot the Mac and the driver should work. This all only applies to the 2414U model.

thanks Matt. I was able to get back up and running. I'm on High Sierra now and all is well.

Just a note. Click on my Home app (Apple's) from work today. No devices responding. Devices are a mix of wifi only devices to those shared via Homebridge in Indigo.

Went to my Indigo app and everything shows up fine. So, my internet is fine. Maybe something hosed with Apple TV which is needed for remote access with Homekit.

Just wanted to comment that Indigo is rock solid and homekit has left me with no access (until I can get home and reboot my Apple TV I assume). At least I can access all my devices that I have in Indigo, which is about 80% of my house. (no plugins for iDevices stuff unfortunately).