New iMacs

So just downloaded the new version of Indigo, and so far it works great. Thanks to Jay & Matt and every who got this one together. I'm excited indigo now runs on the new M1 chips. Might be doing some upgrading soon.

I did notice that the new iMac's don't have the traditional USB ports, instead now have USB3 and USB4 ports. Both my Z-wave Stick and my Insteon Modem use a lesser version of USB, and my understanding was that both of these devices should be connected directly to the Indigo Server, not to a USB hub. (Although I haven't tried a hub... it may actually work...). But obviously these new Macs will need some kind of intermediary device for those older USB connections.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with Indigo and the new Macs, and what devices were used to connect legacy USB devices.

USB3 is the old connector with the blue insert which means high speed. USB-C is the new connector. You can connect your old USB devices using something like:

https://www.amazon.com/Syntech-Adapter- ... B07CVX3516

[jay (support)]

So there are a couple of things at play here. First, the physical cable connection. The adaptor @FlyingDiver recommends should make the connection possible, as is a cable that has a USB A on one end and a USB C on the other.

The other thing is the version of USB often is the root cause of some connectivity issues. For instance, the PowerLinc generally doesn't like being connected to anything above USB 2. So connecting it to a USB4 ports on your Mac may not work. If that's the case, find a USB 2 hub and connect that to the Mac, then connect the PowerLinc, which may get it working (that's what I'm doing on my development Mac).

It may take just playing around with the various options to get everything working, but I've had good success using a USB 2 hub for both the PowerLinc and the various Z-Wave interfaces.

got it. THANKS... there are so many varieties of USB these days its hard to keep them straight. Good to know USB3 will work for my 2 devices...

Ok so I did buy a new M1 iMac and elected to use the Migration Assistant to transfer everything over from the old one. I did de-activate Indigo before this process, and was easily able to re-activate it on the new M1 iMac. As far as I can tell, the software runs just as smoothly as it should, I'm not seeing any issues whatsoever thus far.

But, what IS a problem are USB connections to the Z-Wave controller and the Insteon Modem. While I'm not an expert on all the different flavors of USB, this computer has 2 USB-3 ports and 2 Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports. All 4 ports have the same reversaible USB-C type of connection.

I have 3 different ways to connect legacy USB devices: The first is an Apple branded USB-C to USB dongle… typical Apple stuff… white with about a 6” cable. The second is a USB-C to USB-3.1 hub. I do not have a power supply for this hub, although it may actually need one. The third is 2 Amazon solid connectors. They connect directly to the back of my iMac and present a legacy USB port.

In all my experimentation, the Z-Wave controller seemed to be the most stable so I’m testing all the options with it first. With the Z-Wave controller plugged into the USB hub, I can get Indigo to communicate with the controller. The Serial Port is listed as ‘usbmodem24101”. The other popup options are “wlan-debug” and “debug-console”

These settings maintain after a re-start.

Next, my Insteon modem, connected to the same hub, can be configured by using Serial port “usbserial-A704EOB2”.

But when I re-start, neither interface are connected to Indio. The only port options for the Z-Wave controller are “wlan-debug” and “debug-console”. On the Insteon configure page, my options are the same 2 as with Z-wave, plus “usbserial-A704E0B2 - port not found”. I can’t configure either device to work with Indigo without jumping thru 2000 hoops.

Next up are my 2 Amazon converters. Both plugged directly into the iMac with the Z-wave controller on one, and the Insteon modem on the other. While I can get the Z-Wave Controller work on Port "usbmodem2301", I can’t get the Insteon modem to connect at all. No amount on shut downs, re-start, unplugging and replugging the modem gets it to connect to Indigo. After re-starting, the Z-Wave controller maintains its port and connection to Indigo.

So now I use the Apple branded USB-C to USB dongle for the Insteon. Nothing. Again, no combination of shutdown, restart, unplugging, plugging in gets the Insteon modem to work.

So where I’m at is the Z-Wave is plugged into the iMac with the solid Amazon converter, and the Insteon is connected via the USB hub. But I have no doubt when I re-start I’ll have to go thru all this all over again.

I totally understand this is not an issue with Indigo, since I wasn’t having any problems with this version of the software (2011.1.1) and the Intel iMac, but an issue with the new M-1 iMac’s and the lack of legacy-type USB ports. But if anyone has any suggestion to keep these ports active across re-starts, it would be a big help. Obviously, the server stays running 24/7, so its only a problem when something causes a re-start.

One thing I’ve considered is my Migration process. Guessing I could easily erase the new M-1 drive, and start over… there aren’t a lot of files on it to begin with… but would like to know this would solve the problem and not make it worse before I go thru all the effort.

[jay (support)]

The Insteon PowerLinc is extremely sensitive to USB bus differences. The most reliable configuration for Macs with USB3 or later that I've found is to connect it to a USB2 hub connected to the Mac. USB2 vs USB3 is a repeatable (at least for me) problem for the PowerLinc. I can always get both my 2413U and USB dongle to work on a USB2 hub (I've got a couple of these Amazon USB2 Hubs along with a spare). I can never seem to get them to work reliably on USB3 or higher whether that's directly connected to a Mac or to a USB3 hub connected to a Mac. YMMV.

The Z-Stick Series 2 (my testing mini) and the GoControl Hubz stick (my development mini) that I have (both use the the SI Labs driver) are more forgiving, but I've also never had any issue using them through the same USB2 hub as the PowerLincs were connected, so that's how I have all 3 of my systems configured (development, test, and production): both interfaces plugged into a USB2 hub which is then directly connected to the Mac.

The interfaces that use the Apple Modem driver (Z-Stick Gen5 and the HomeSeer SmartStick+, perhaps others) will always have a port name change when you switch them to different USB ports. The modem driver names its ports based on the USB bus and port numbers, so switching a device to a different port will change the name of the serial port. It's a pain when testing issues because you have to remember to reselect the port in Indigo every time you move the interface around, but once you get that right I've not seen any issues (though granted I have much less using these types of interfaces).

[MODERATOR NOTE]: just reread the thread, and I repeated some of what I mentioned above. I HIGHLY recommend getting a USB2 hub and trying it for both interfaces. That's been reliable for me for many years though I don't yet have an M1 Mac to try it with.

Hey Jay

Thanks so much for your suggestions... will get the hub ordered TODAY! It's more annoying than anything else, but glad I'm not alone.

I'm looking around in the site, but is the 2413U the only Insteon Modem option to work with Indigo?

[jay (support)]

The USB dongle is also an option.

Just want to echo what Jay has said. I actually had an older USB hub, got it connected, and Indigo found both interfaces without any intervention on my behalf. I also ordered a USB-C to USB-A type connector, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769DMN7R?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
and had the same positive results.

So I have a single cable running from the USB-C ports on my M1 iMac, to a USB2 hub, and all is well, including NOT having to manually configure either interface after a re-start. This is good news!

Just want to echo what Jay has said. I actually had an older USB hub, got it connected, and Indigo found both interfaces without any intervention on my behalf. I also ordered a USB-C to USB-A type connector, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769DMN7R?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
and had the same positive results.

So I have a single cable running from the USB-C ports on my M1 iMac, to a USB2 hub, and all is well, including NOT having to manually configure either interface after a re-start. This is good news!

Nice find!

Trying to get my PowerLinc 2413U working with an iMac Pro. Plugged it into the built-in USB ports as well as a CalDigit hub--no success. Per above, plugged in a USB 2.0 hub to the Mac and then connected the 2413U to that--no luck. 2413U revision is 2.3. Do I need a newer one?

The serial ports displayed in Indigo are a bunch of connected BT and USB devices but not an actual open USB port.

[jay (support)]

It might be, we know that the v2.5 version of the PowerLinc seems to fix some USB issues with newer macOS releases.

First, however, you might try doing a factory reset on the PowerLinc (unplug for 10 minutes, press and hold set button while plugging in and continue to hold for 15 seconds or until you hear a solid beep). You'll want to make sure to Sync all device links (you will likely get prompted to when the PowerLinc gets reset, but you can also select the Interfaces->INSTEON/X10->Start Sync Device Links... menu item).

thanks. Will try that. I don't see the right USB port listed in Indigo under the Serial Port dropdown; is there a way to fix that or is that auto generated based on what's plugged in to the Mac?

[jay (support)]

That means that the FTDI driver (that comes with macOS) isn't able to successfully connect to the PowerLinc - it would create a port starting with "usbserial-" followed by some letters and numbers. Since we don't see one of those, it means the driver doesn't recognize it. It may be locked up (which is why I suggested doing a factory reset), it may be failing, or it may be the older version number is an issue.